Full-Time Compassionate Special Needs Nanny Needed in Arlington, VA

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

- Total of ~38 scheduled hours per week

- Monday & Friday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM

- Tuesday–Thursday: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM, some flexibility required

- No weekend care required

Compensation: $32–$35/hour, dependent on experience and qualifications

Please note that 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 (training and guidance provided), and the family will ensure proper setup and accurate payment distribution.

- Overtime pay for all hours worked 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 compassionate, emotionally grounded caregiver to support their school-aged daughter in a calm, low-demand, relationship-centered home.

The child is neurodivergent and medically complex, with conditions including PANS, 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.

This position offers a unique opportunity to provide highly personalized, one-on-one care. The ideal candidate will be patient, grounded, playful, flexible, emotionally resilient, and deeply committed to nurturing trust, co-regulation, creativity, and meaningful connection. Candidates with experience in Floortime, DIR, Positive Development, autism, or neurodivergent care will find this role especially aligned with their skills, though occupational therapy or PANS-specific experience is preferred, but not required.

This role is grounded in a relationship-based, connection-first approach. The family prioritizes emotional safety, trust, and co-regulation over behavior compliance. Care is therapeutically informed and low-demand, focusing on the child’s nervous system, emotional regulation, and individualized needs rather than rigid routines or behavioral correction.

- Connection over correction: Success is measured by the child’s engagement, comfort, and sense of safety, not by compliance or behavioral metrics.

- Co-regulation and emotional support: The caregiver works alongside the child to model calm responses, support emotional regulation, and navigate challenging moments without escalating stress.

- Flexibility and individualized approach: Daily routines are adaptable to the child’s fluctuating capacity, energy, and emotional state. Visual supports and gentle structure are used to create predictability without pressure.

- Playful, creative engagement: Activities such as imaginative play, crafts, interactive games, and gentle learning are tailored to the child’s interests and needs, fostering joy, confidence, and curiosity.

- Nervous-system-informed care: Understanding that behaviors may have neurological or immune-mediated roots (such as PANS, PDA, or sensory dysregulation), the caregiver approaches challenges with curiosity, patience, and openness, rather than correction.

- Relationship-centered trust: The caregiver nurtures a safe, predictable environment where the child feels understood, supported, and empowered, building long-term trust and emotional resilience.

- 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.

- 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

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 nervous system disability 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 comfortable supporting hygiene needs

- Is confident in a home-based, highly dynamic care environment

- Is legally authorized to work in the U.S. and comfortable completing Medicaid onboarding and daily app-based time logs

Qualifications:

- 3+ years of professional childcare or relevant caregiving experience

- Background in special education, behavioral support, psychology, social work, therapy assistance, or related fields

- Experience with autism, PDA profiles, PANS, chronic illness, sensory processing differences, or emotional regulation challenges

- Knowledge of trauma-informed, low-demand, and nervous-system-supportive care

- Experience supporting homeschooling, online learning, or medically flexible education environments

- Experience working with neurodivergent and/or medically complex children

- Valid driver’s license with a clean driving record

- Comfortable using apps or online systems for time logs and daily notes

- CPR/First Aid certified (or willing to obtain prior to start)

- Minimum age of 21

- Non-smoker

- Fully vaccinated

- Ability to pass an extensive criminal and background check

- Ideally seeking candidates who can commit to 3–5 years of employment

- Legally authorized to work in the United States

This position is best suited for someone who genuinely feels called to support neurodivergent, twice-exceptional (2e) and medically complex children. The right nanny will not be seeking a “typical” nanny role, but rather a deeply human, connection-driven position that requires patience, emotional maturity, creativity, and compassion. This child is bright, sweet, sensitive, imaginative, and socially oriented. She thrives with caregivers who are playful, calm, and able to meet her where she is.

Disclaimer:

Hello Nanny! serves as a referral agency, connecting families with qualified candidates. Please note that candidates referred through Hello Nanny! are not employees of the agency. Instead, the hiring family is the direct employer of the candidate and is responsible for all employment-related matters, including compensation, taxes, benefits, and compliance with applicable labor laws. 

Hello Nanny! requires all families to uphold industry standards, including legal pay, paid time off (PTO), adherence to overtime laws, and a clearly defined work agreement. All families who work with Hello Nanny! have agreed to these agency terms and conditions. By applying to this position, candidates acknowledge and agree to this employment arrangement.