Compassionate Special Needs Nanny Arlington, VA

Overview

Employment Type: Full-Time, Live-Out

Location: Arlington, VA 22204

Child: One 11-year-old child

Pets: One cat

Start Date: Mid-March 2026 – April 1, 2026

Schedule: Monday & Friday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM;
Tuesday–Thursday: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Some flexibility required.

- total of ~38 scheduled hours per week

- No weekend care required

Compensation: $32 - 35 dependent on experience and background

Note:

A portion of the compensation will be paid through a Virginia Medicaid waiver program. Onboarding will be required, and the family will fully support and assist with this process. Working hours must be logged through a simple online/app-based system (with training and guidance provided), and the family will ensure proper setup and accurate payment distribution.

Benefits:

- Overtime pay for hours over 40 per week

- Guaranteed hours

- Two weeks of paid time off annually

- Paid federal holidays, coinciding with the parents’ work schedule

- Long-term, stable position intended to last for years

Hello Nanny! is supporting a family seeking a highly compassionate, emotionally intelligent, and experienced nanny to care for their school-aged daughter. This is a deeply meaningful opportunity for a caregiver who genuinely feels called to work with a neurodivergent child with complex medical needs and who finds fulfillment in connection-based, relationship-driven caregiving.

The child is neurodivergent and medically complex, with diagnoses including PANS (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome), Lyme-related illness, chronic pain, and nervous system dysregulation. These conditions may present as anxiety, emotional and behavioral dysregulation, demand avoidance (PDA profile), sensory sensitivities, and fluctuating daily capacity. The role offers a unique opportunity to support a child in a highly personalized way. The ideal candidate will be patient, grounded, playful, flexible, emotionally resilient, and deeply committed to nurturing trust, co-regulation, creativity, and meaningful connection.

Childcare Responsibilities:

• Providing attentive, compassionate, one-on-one care
• Supporting emotional regulation, co-regulation, and relationship-building
• Structuring the day gently with flexibility (visual supports, light routines, low-demand approach)
• Facilitating creative play, imaginative role play, crafts, games, and interactive activities
• Supporting participation in online learning or gentle educational activities when appropriate
• Driving the child (using a family-provided vehicle) occasionally to medical or therapy appointments when tolerated
• Assisting with meals, snacks, hydration, and food navigation using non-pressured approaches and maintaining accurate food/drink intake logs
• Administering pre-prepared medications and maintaining accurate medication logs; keeping simple written notes (food intake, medications, daily observations)
• Supporting hygiene, including toileting assistance as needed
• Light child-related tidying as you go

This role does not include household management or family laundry. The home is intentionally calm, child-centered, and low-pressure, with a strong focus on emotional safety.

Developmental & Emotional Support Focus:

• Support emotional safety and positive peer relationships
• Provide gentle structure and a predictable daily rhythm
• Encourage increased engagement outside the home and reduced isolation
• Support gradual comfort with leaving the home and participating in activities
• Foster independence-building in a low-pressure, supportive way

Ideal Candidate:

The ideal nanny is someone who:

• Has experience with neurodivergence, autism, PDA, PANS/PANDAS, or medically complex children
• Is calm, emotionally grounded, compassionate, and non-reactive
• Understands (or is eager to learn) trauma-informed, low-demand, nervous-system-supportive care
• Is playful, creative, and comfortable with imaginative role play
• Able to understand that emotional outbursts are expressions of unmet needs and respond with patience and emotional awareness
• Is highly reliable, organized, and detail-oriented—especially with medications and documentation
• Is warm and engaging, without being overwhelming
• Is…