To Whom it may concern,
My name is Kim Quinn and I have 5 children aged 3 to 19. Two of them are special needs, my youngest with severe Autism and Micro deletion 1q.21.1, 1q21.2 and other learning and developmental issues. I have known Nick Salter for a little over 3 years and throughout that time he has become an integral part of our family. Nick has been responsible for the children at different times and in different settings and consistently provides a responsible, safe and nurturing environment for them to grow and thrive.
Nick will stay firm in his own private beliefs and values, while respecting and upholding the beliefs and values of the family and the children. He has never denigrated the children, us or our traditions, and works hard to understand and implement the needs of the children on an individual level. He has a wide range of behavioural management strategies, and utilises the most effective way to deal with each child on their level. For example, my 3 year old son is non-verbal, and one time he was climbing on a coffee table on tiles, and Nick’s solution to this situation was to pull out a bath towel and give him ‘magic carpets rides’ across the floor. The end result of that was a happy toddler who didn’t go back to climb the table. With the older children he will use distraction if it fits, but he will also teach them the danger of a behaviour, or a better way to handle a situation. He has used pictures, activities, talks and distraction to teach or explain things, and the children really respond to him.
He encourages my children to move and play and climb and jump, takes them to the park and will horseplay with them any time it is safe. He unknowingly works on speech therapy and physio, just through the way he plays and interacts with them, He also helps with sensory issues like noise control and haircuts. He will encourage even the most fussy eaters, and help the child to learn to feed themselves.
Nick brings with him a sense of calm and peace into the house, and he gives a lot of emotional and mental support to all of us. He can be firm and serious when needed and also light hearted and fun. He will always offer to help, and is extremely clean and well presented. He will encourage the children to pack away after they are finished with things and to be respectful of personal property. He will take them out to a variety of places, including swimming, the beach and the museum as well as smaller days like going for lunch, or having a barbeque in the backyard with a sprinkler running.
Nick is an honest and reliable man with a high level of integrity. He is hardworking and puts in 100% effort into any task and is always willing to help out if someone else is struggling.
Nick Salter has become someone we can rely on, someone we look to in times of trouble, and someone to laugh and play with. He will make a fantastic edition to any family, and will be sorely missed from ours. We wish him only the best in any future endeavours.
Yours faithfully,
Kim Quinn
