As you are getting to know your future host family and your child with special needs, it is very important that you ask specific questions before you arrive. You should plan to speak directly to your host parents so they can talk about what’s going on in their household and what their expectations are as parents. On the next page, we will outline some of these questions.
More importantly, this is why it’s important to have these conversations: as an au pair it isn’t enough to know what normal behavior is and is not. If a child is acting out and that’s normal, your host parents will need to tell you how to respond. You must be comfortable with handling the situation how your host parents would want: in a way that is best for the child.