Trina M.

Meet Trina

• Speaks Spanish
• Comfortable with pets
• Has a car

My mother has been an incredible Special Ed teacher for 30+ years and has shared with me her love, respect and knowledge of working with children. I have diverse childcare experience, including as a nanny, babysitter, overnight camp counselor, teacher, coach, theatre director, and mentor. I have experience working with children with special needs in both home and educational settings, including working with many students with Autism, Aspergers, ADD/ADHD, SED, and other development or learning differences. My style as a caregiver employs a balance of clear structure and creative play: developing consistent expectations, rules, and schedules (when possible), and finding opportunities for creativity, exploration, growth, and fun within that structure. I believe that building trust and respect with the youth I work with is essential--this means a relationship that exists somewhere between the rule enforcer and the playmate. It involves a lot of creating and playing crazy new games, making Read more new things, trying new activities together, and teaching new skills. It can mean both getting messy and cleaning up. It also means enforcing homework time, generally healthy eating (with the occasional treats), getting off the computer/TV/game system and getting outside when possible, and consistent bedtime. Setting boundaries like these help to create structure and trust. I'm also very open to addressing specific wants and needs of individual children, as every child and family is not the same. I am conversational in Spanish and love pets, especially dogs and cats!

Trust & safety

Experience