For families
Sitters for adult family members with special needs
If you care for an adult sibling with autism, a partner with an intellectual disability, or an adult child who lives with you — finding someone qualified to sit for a few hours is harder than finding a kid sitter. National marketplaces assume kids. Public programs are paperwork-heavy. Local agencies want full-time commitments.
We sit for adults too. Many of our Direct Support Professionals work with adult clients during the week — at day programs, in residential settings, through DD Waiver services. They sit through us for weekend hours that pay better than what their day-job employer pays for the same work.
What to expect
What your Sidekick will and won't do
- Sitters who understand that adults are adults. They do not infantilize. They follow the routine you describe and do not invent a new one.
- Comfort with whatever the day-to-day looks like — meals, hygiene, medication reminders, transitions, the quiet time on the couch that some adults need more than activity.
- Real backup. Sitters who treat your sibling, partner, or adult child like the person they are — not like a charge to be managed.
- Continuity. If you find the right sitter, favorite them. They will show up first in your next matches and the booking gets smoother every time.
Boundaries
What we don't do
- The sitter is sitting, not delivering professional services. They do not run a behavior plan, do not chart sessions, do not document progress against goals.
- We do not bill Medicaid, the DD Waiver, or any insurance. Cash pay only. Our sitters are not employed by your fiscal agent. (If you self-direct your DD Waiver and want to hire one of our sitters through your fiscal agent, that is a private arrangement outside our platform.)
- We do not administer prescription medications. The sitter can hand a routine dose to your adult family member per your written house routine, but they do not measure, calculate, or document.
- We do not represent our sitters as professional DSPs when they are sitting through us. They are sitters with day jobs in the field — the day-job role stays at the day job.
Booking tips
How to set up a good first booking
- Write the day's routine in the profile field (the label still says 'kid profile' — we will fix that). The sitter follows what you wrote.
- If your adult family member uses adaptive equipment, list it by name. Sitters who know the model will say so before they accept.
- Tell the sitter how your adult family member likes to be addressed. Some adults prefer their first name; some prefer a nickname; some prefer a title.
- Favorite the sitter who clicks. Fit matters more for adult bookings than almost any other variable.
Common questions
- Is this also for adults with autism?
- Yes. See /for-families/adult-autism-sitter for the dedicated page — that is where you will find the autism-specific framing and a sitter pool with the most adult-autism experience.
- What about adults with an intellectual or developmental disability?
- Yes. Many of our DSPs work with adult IDD clients during the week. See /for-families/adult-idd-sitter for the dedicated page.
- Will the sitter help with hygiene tasks?
- Within reason and with your adult family member's consent. Write the routine in the profile and the sitter will follow it. The sitter is not a licensed personal-care attendant — full-time PCA work belongs with a licensed home-health agency.
- Can I use the DD Waiver to pay for your sitters?
- Not through our platform. If you self-direct your DD Waiver budget and want to hire one of our sitters as your direct-care staff, you would do that outside our platform — a private employment arrangement between you and the sitter. We do not bill Medicaid and we do not employ the sitter in that capacity.
- How is this different from a publicly-funded in-home support service?
- Public-program caregivers (paid via Medicaid, vouchered programs, or the DD Waiver) require qualifying paperwork and typically come from your adult family member's natural support network. Our sitters are private-pay, no paperwork, no waiting list — and they are off-duty pros from the SpEd, RBT, DSP, and paraeducator world. Many families use both. Our /guides cluster has a longer plain-English comparison.
Other adult bookings
Common bookings
Find a Sidekick in your city
Your adult family member deserves a Sidekick who already gets it.
Tell us what helps; we'll match with a Sidekick whose weekday work fits.