Working with Autistic Children is so Rewarding
Care worker Stevie Sellers is in line for a top award for her dedication in helping youngsters with autism.
Stevie, 22, has been working with the profoundly handicapped and those with learning difficulties for five years.
Her work has won her a place in the finals of the Care Forum Wales Awards being staged this Friday at Cardiff City Hall.
As a full-time carer for 12 children, Stevie's role helps parents get a rest from their family duties as well as working one-to-one with the youngsters.
Her employers at the Cardiff-based recruitment company New Directions Recruitment nominated Stevie in the Care of Children and Young People section.
Stevie has worked with children with autism since leaving school in 2002 and worked at New Directions for two years.
As well as her caring duties Stevie, of Llandaff, Cardiff, is currently studying for an Open University degree covering a range of courses involving mental health and children's issues.
She said: "I am passionate about my work and always strive to do the best I can. To find I've been nominated for this award by my colleagues came as a wonderful surprise.
"My job is very intensive and the children can sometimes be extremely challenging. But I do it because I recognise how important it is for the parents of these children to have some respite. I might work with a particular child for three hours a day, but the parents have to care for them for the remaining 21 hours.
"Working with children with autism is so rewarding. It's the little things that give me the most satisfaction, like when a child learns to eat with a knife and fork for the first time. A small development like this makes it all seem worthwhile."
Rebecca Ford, head of domiciliary and social care at New Directions, said: "We nominated Stevie because we wanted her hard work and dedication to the young people in her care to be recognised."
Care Forum Wales is a not-for-profit organisation representing all independent sector providers of health and social care services for adults and children throughout Wales.
This article was in the South Wales Echo, Oct 31 2007, by Greg Tindle