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Morgan & Mallet places seasoned special needs nannies for families across the U.S. With over 50,300 professionals in our global database, we have made placements for special needs nannies with expertise in autism, ADHD, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, physical disabilities, and medical complexities.
Finding the right nanny is hard enough without having to constantly explain the care your child needs from scratch to a new one. The last thing you need is a nanny who leaves when the job turns out to be harder than she thought. And then your child starts over, building trust with a stranger all over again.
That’s why we match on experience and personality, carefully checking that the nanny has cared for a child like yours before you meet them. It’s the reason 96% of our placements work out.
Get in touch with us today to speak to a specialist recruiter about hiring a special needs nanny.
What is a special needs nanny?
A special needs nanny is a childcare professional with prior experience caring for children with additional needs. She supports your child for their physical, developmental, or behavioral needs.
The main part of the role is the same job as any nanny, just with extra focus on your child’s specific needs. The special needs nanny builds a daily routine for your child with meals, playtime, school runs, and therapy appointments all accounted for.
A special needs nanny works with what your child actually likes. She or he understands your child’s communication, regulation, and learning style to see what works best. For special needs nannies, our recruiters look for an empathetic and trustworthy candidate with genuine interest in your child’s well-being.
Reading your child’s behavior and what it means is a skill your special needs nanny brings from past experience. The nanny prepares an environment that your child finds welcoming, either through helping with smooth transitions between tasks or soothing your child with songs or textures they like.
The special needs nanny speaks to your child in a language they understand, either through signing or through communication devices. Even on hard days, the nanny stays calm and practiced, responding the way you have asked her to.
Your nanny will support the plan prepared by your child’s therapist. She works alongside your child’s nurse, therapist, or teachers, but does not replace them.
Nanny, babysitter, caregiver or therapist: who does your child need?
A special needs babysitter covers occasional hours, like when you have evening plans or a Saturday brunch. It’s a good fit for you to fill in the short care gaps for your child when you have other plans. The irregular schedule of the role means the babysitter cannot establish an organized routine for your child.
A special needs nanny is a childcare professional you employ directly, working fixed hours during the week. She stays with your child for 30 to 50 hours a week, sometimes more. That kind of time allows her or him to stick to routines, make any hard transitions a bit easier, and keep sensory needs covered. The nanny means you get the same trusted expert in special needs care every week.
A private caregiver for your child or special needs caregiver gives support that’s focused on the medical side. They take care of personal care, feeding, mobility, and medication reminders. For older children or adults with mainly physical needs, a caregiver can be the right hire.
A therapist, whether occupational, educational, or speech and language, works toward clinical goals according to the needs of your child. A formal assessment is done and a program is followed, so you can see progress against clinical targets.
Morgan & Mallet places special needs nannies, but if you’re looking for clinical care, we will let you know from the start. If you’re unsure which of these you need yet, our recruiters can guide you to the choice that would fit your child.
For more information on hiring for a general nanny role, see our hire a nanny page.
Matched by experience, not by a checkbox
Simply looking for “special needs experience” on a resume is not enough. The experience really needs to be strong. Some of our most experienced candidates worked as a live-in special needs nanny where they gained valuable on the job experience.
That’s why when you contact Morgan & Mallet, our recruiter starts off your search with an in-depth call. We want to know what your child loves, because that’s the fastest way for them to build trust. We also ask questions about their preferred method of communication, sensory profile, and therapy schedule.
Laurine Mallet, our co-founder and former nanny herself, also emphasizes matching a special needs nanny with the right personality and energy for your child. With this, the nanny can meet your child at a level they understand best, allowing them to be themselves in a safe space.
“We ask about the personality of the children. Then when we meet a candidate, we can feel if it’s the right match.”
Once we know what to look for, making a shortlist is next. We find nannies from our database of 50,300+ professionals whose previous roles line up with what you’re looking for.
Some have spent years with children with autism, ADHD, Down syndrome, and developmental delays. We choose candidates with sign language skills, who are familiar with AAC devices, or trained to deal with seizures if these are areas appropriate for you.
What makes all of this work is if you give us as much information as you can about the role and your child’s needs, including the parts that you worry would put candidates off.
One family left the autism diagnosis out entirely when they first spoke to us, but the nanny worked it out the moment she met the child.
Give us the full picture of your child’s day and we’ll find the right nanny for you.
How does Morgan & Mallet vet a special needs nanny?
A certification on its own won’t tell you if a nanny is the right match for your home. Ellie Littlechild, our Dubai-based recruiter, spent years as a nanny before she started placing them. She understands that doing formal courses for ADHD, autism, or sensory needs is great to have, on top of hands-on experience.
That’s why we interview candidates for 90 minutes to learn their journey when caring for children with special needs. We also ask them why they left each job, because a high turnover candidate means lack of stable, reliable support for your child.
We then verify what they’ve shared by asking previous employers directly about the nanny’s duties. Speaking to a minimum of two references by phone is a core part of our vetting process. We ask references open-ended questions about the special needs care the nanny actually did.
What were the child’s needs, how did she meet them, what did she manage on her own, and how did she handle a difficult day. Answers to these questions show our recruiters how the candidate will act with your child.
When candidates present their credentials and certifications, they’re thoroughly verified through our screening tools. All skills in first aid, CPR, diplomas or degrees in special education, sign language, etc. are checked for authenticity.
Can a special needs nanny live in, travel or work after school?
A special needs nanny can be very flexible depending on your needs and their experience. Below are some of the different roles they can do.
Full-time special needs nanny
A full-time special needs nanny works the whole week, taking care of school drop-offs or weekly therapy appointments. A full-time role works for families with fixed schedules.
Live-in special needs nanny
The live-in nanny can cover longer hours in a day. This arrangement suits families whose mornings and bedtimes are the hardest times. Read more about how to hire a live-in nanny here.
After school and part-time special needs nanny
After-school nannies take care of your child from pickup to dinner. When you have short gaps of care in your child’s day, a part-time nanny can cover them. Having the same person for these short gaps helps your child trust a familiar face and routine.
Traveling special needs nanny
A traveling nanny moves with your family between homes and on trips. This keeps the routine stable for your child when everything else has moved.
Within a staffed household
In a staffed home, the special needs nanny can work alongside the housekeeper and house manager so the household tasks are shaped around your child’s care.
Our recruiters in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles can talk you through which arrangement fits your child. Call +1 (646) 965-2308 for a consultation.
How much does a special needs nanny cost?
According to Morgan & Mallet’s 2026 salary data, a full-time nanny in the U.S. earns $60,000 to $120,000 gross a year. Special needs roles can be 15 to 25% above that range with salaries reaching up to $190,000+ for Bel Air or the Hamptons.
The salary depends on how much support your child needs every day.
When you add specialist qualifications like registered behavior technicians or child development associate credentials as a requirement, this makes the salary even higher.
Supply of special needs nannies is something else that pushes salaries higher. A normal nanny search can take anywhere from a few days to six weeks. But it can go up to twelve weeks because the candidate pool of trained and experienced special needs nannies is small.
Setting a higher budget for your special needs nanny helps with the search, and you get someone who has real experience caring for children like your own.
Why families trust Morgan & Mallet
Trusting someone with the care of your child with special needs is a big job and more important than other hires you might make. That’s why we match on personality, skills and experience, then send you three to five candidates to interview and choose from.
It’s how we manage to have a 96% success rate for placements.
When the right match is not there, we let you know and we keep the search open. Sending you someone whose experience doesn’t match would cost your child a settling-in period for nothing.
Morgan & Mallet has placed special needs nannies and childcare professionals with families, including ultra-high-net-worth and royal households, since 2015. Our eight global offices mean we can make placements and source candidates worldwide.
But finding the right hire is not where the process ends for us. Making sure your child feels comfortable with the nanny is the harder part that comes in the first weeks.
Laurine Mallet, our co-founder, has seen this worry when making nanny placements. She understands how it can be difficult for children to accept a new nanny, especially if they were used to the previous one.
This period of adjustment can make the first weeks look different than what you expected. Our recruiters are only a call away to help you through those harder weeks.
We do check-ins to smooth any bumps that show up in the beginning before they become bigger problems. And if things still feel like they’re not clicking, we also offer a replacement guarantee within the first three months.
If you want to read more about our story before setting up a call, you can visit our about us page.
Other nanny roles we place
Rota nanny
A special needs nanny can also be a rota nanny. They work in shifts to give the nanny time off, but also to offer some variation for the child.
Bilingual nanny
We work with families who often choose to hire a bilingual nanny. The child can be immersed in another language should that be something the parent would like.
Newborn specialist
Many families choose to hire a newborn care specialist to help them with the first months of their child’s life. It’s a very specialist role, with a lot of experience needed.
Live-in nanny
It’s common for families to hire a live-in nanny who is available most of the time for their child. It depends on the household and preferences of the family if a live-in nanny is right for them.
Night nurse
A night nurse can help take care of a child through the night. Sometimes parents need a trained and experienced specialist in this area.
Frequently asked questions
How do I hire a nanny for a special needs child?
Write down how your child’s day actually goes, including communication, sensory needs, therapy, and school. Take that to an agency that matches with candidates on experience with children like yours rather than on job titles. Interview two or three candidates who have already done this work, then run a paid trial to test.
Do your nannies have experience with autism?
Yes, and it’s the most requested experience we are asked for. We confirm it by calling the parents the nanny worked for, and asking what the child’s needs were.
Can a special needs nanny work alongside our therapists and school?
Yes, and the good ones expect to. She can carry the strategies your ABA, speech, or occupational therapist has set, keep things consistent between sessions, drive to appointments, and tell you what she is seeing at home.
What happens in the first two weeks?
Plan a paid overlap where you hand over in person. Walk her or him through the morning, the transitions, the calming strategies that work, medication routines, and your emergency plan.
How much does a special needs nanny cost?
Full-time nannies in the U.S. earn $60,000 to $120,000 gross a year, per Morgan & Mallet’s 2026 salary data, and special needs nannies are at the upper end of this.
Can a special needs nanny live in?
Yes. Live-in suits families whose hardest hours are early morning and bedtime, or whose child wakes in the night. She needs her own room and bathroom, and off-duty hours written into the contract and respected.
Is a special needs nanny a nurse or a therapist?
No. She’s an experienced childcare professional. She does not diagnose, prescribe, or deliver clinical treatment.
How quickly can you place someone?
A standard nanny search can take a few days to six weeks, but a search for a special needs nanny can go up to twelve weeks. We would rather take extra time with your search than send someone your child has to get used to twice.
Get in touch to hire a special needs nanny
Tell us about your child and what you need. We will come back with nannies who are right for you.
Call +1 (646) 965-2308 or contact a recruiter below.
New York
office address
260 Madison Avenue, 8th floor, 10016, New York, NY - United States
phone
+1 (646)965-2308
opening hours
Monday - Thursday : 9AM - 6PM
Friday : 9AM - 5PM
Saturday & Sunday : Closed
Miami
office address
1221 Brickell Ave Bricknell, Miami, FL 33131, United States
phone
+1 305 710 3380
opening hours
Monday - Thursday : 9AM - 6PM
Friday : 9AM - 5PM
Saturday & Sunday : Closed
Los Angeles
office address
895 Dove St, Newport Beach, CA 92660, United States
phone
+1 305 710 3380
opening hours
Monday - Thursday : 9AM - 6PM
Friday : 9AM - 5PM
Saturday & Sunday : Closed