Becoming a good disability support worker is not an easy job. Any NDIS participant will be looking for someone who is not only caring and supportive but also is a person who can make you feel independent and empowered all the time.
Here OSAN Ability Assist shares 5 ‘common’ yet ‘must-have’ traits you need have to be a good disability support worker.
Patience
If you are willing to make a successful career as a disability support worker, you need to have lots of patience. You must understand that this is more of a ‘responsibility’ rather than a mere ‘job’. Thus, it requires a firm focus and great patience to thrive. If you have it, you can certainly make it a good career option.
Positive Thinking
To make others independent, you need to think independently first. A support worker always should be a positive and encouraging person so that his/her positive vibes may encourage the participant. This will also help the support worker to rightfully direct the people with disability in the community and help them achieve their goals.
Different Care for Different Person
A support worker should never assume a person with a disability cannot do something. Each person with a disability wants to be taken care of in their own way. As a support worker, you need to learn and respect that. In case you are not sure how to take care of the certain person you are attending, feel free to ask him/her. This is by far the best way to know that person and his/her requirements.
Focus on Your Role
Your role as a support worker is to enable the person with a disability to achieve their goal. For that, you need to focus on every trivial thing the person with a disability does. Whether it is supporting a person to ride in a hot air balloon, going for a walk, or even independently order their own food at a restaurant, just put focus on the goal and work on the barrier. Your role is to support that person to do what they want and make it happen.
Hope for The Best, Prepare for the Worst
While taking care of a person with a disability, sometimes things can get really worse. You may need to deal with complex disability casesanytime. Thus, as a support worker, you always need to prepare yourself for any situation while keeping an optimistic attitude.
Do remember, being a disability support worker, you have an important role to play in the community. You can enable a person to do things that they might have never imagined. You can positively impact that person’s life to be more confident, independent, empowered, and included in society.
Regards: OSAN Ability Assist
