Are you the type of person that really gets a kick out of helping others?
It could be something as small as helping your mom hang out the washing,
or going shopping with your grandparents. Well what if I told you you could turn that
passion for brightening someone's day into a career as a disability support worker.
Now if that's got your attention, sit tight because I'm gonna help you
find out just what they do.
Disability workers provide care and emotional support to people who require
assistance with daily living. They help people living the physical or
intellectual disability, with anything from their mobility, personal hygiene and
general household chores, to arranging social activities and providing them
with friendship and companionship. Disability workers cater to the
needs of the people being supported, which can vary depending on whether the
disability intellectual or physical.
Hey, Steve!
- Hey Rebecca. How are you going? - Yeh, good.
I've got some questions about what it's like to work in disability support.
Can you help me out?
- Yeah I can do that. Let's go chat. - Sweet!
So Steve, as a disability support worker, what kinds of people do you assist?
So I work with a different variety of people with disabilities.
So we've got a few that have cerebral palsy, because that's what we specialize in.
But then we've also got people with just different variations, from learning difficulties,
mental disabilities, some people have just been in an accident, so it really does vary.
And why is it important for people with intellectual and physical disabilities
to have this kind of care?
What I've noticed with this job it actually really gets them to experience life.
I think if we left them aside on the wayside they would miss out on a lot,
I know with a few of the guys that I've got, it's really given them more than just an
experience of going out, it's now giving them a life, a group of friends, a community that they know.
Why did you decide to get into disability support?
I got made redundant actually from my old job as a teacher's aid.
My aunty gave the opportunity for this job, so I jumped at it, loved it ever since.
Never looked back?
No, it's four years now and it's awesome.
So, take us through a typical day, what do you get up to?
So a typical day, I go to work, get my bus,
because most of my guys need to be transported in a special vehicle.
So I get them and then we'll go pick them up, and we'll usually go to a set program
or take them to work on their own particular goals
So that will take up probably most of the morning, even into the afternoon.
So we'll do that, we'll go out, have fun day, do whatever they're working on, which is really cool.
And then we'll have lunch together, again getting them involved in the community
and getting them interacting and then at about three or four o'clock
start getting them home because their day's done like us.
Now, all jobs have challenges, what would be some of them in this line of work?
Again, I have a job that can vary because our guys are all different,
but I think it does have a lot of the normal challenges of a normal job,
for some people it can be frustrating, client stuff, people, it's just how it is,
you get in the community some days are just rough.
And then with our guys, there are certain issues they may have in themselves
that comes with a disability and that can sometimes pop up.
And we just need to be ready for it.
So that's that challenges that really come with it, so we need to be ready to face it.
And what would you say the most rewarding part of your job is?
The people that I work with have really accomplished their goals,
so seeing them get involved with the communities around them and no longer
the stigma of a disability being there.
They're now part of the community, a real privilege to be a part of.
What characteristics do you think are best suited in this job?
You have be compassionate about people, you have to love people,
because when it's about people will you will really see the reward in this job,
because they're people just like us, that is the reward of just being with them.
Altight Steve, now it's time to give us The Edge.
- You ready? - I'm ready.
Alright, what steps does somebody need to take to become a disability support worker?
I'd recommend people getting the Cert III and Cert IV in
Aged Care and Disability, would help a lot.
And what advice would you give to somebody looking to start this job?
Be prepared, just knowing that each day is going to be different, but it's going to be awesome.
And if you could do differently, but still end up where you are today, what would it be?
Well, I probably actually getting into the job earlier, it's awesome, I love it.
Great, well thank you so much for having a chat with me today Steve.
It's been heaps of fun.
- Shall we spin out? - I think we should.
Let's do it.