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Unlocking Potential: How Support Workers Enhance NDIS Participants’ Lives

support worker engaged in a conversation with an NDIS participant

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

Introduction: Disability Support Workers = NDIS Backbone

Support workers carry out several crucial supporting roles for NDIS participants.

First, they provide emotional and social support. Living with a disability comes with a unique set of emotional challenges. And it’s not a one-size-fits-all thing. Rather, each person needs to be treated as a unique individual with their own set of strengths.

Beyond providing support to the participants, support workers also provide emotional support to the participant’s extended care team. This includes their carers, partners, and families. An important thing support workers can offer these people is a break from their caring duties.

Second, support workers can advocate for participants. They can do this because they’ve first invested the time to get to know their participants’ goals and needs. They’ve spoken to everyone involved in the care of their participant, and as a result, they have a deep understanding of what that person needs. And they have the experience of advocating with health services to get results.

In this article, we’ll consider how support workers manage the balancing act of looking out for their participants with the reasonable expectations of families, carers, and the community.

Enhancing Independence: How Support Workers Empower NDIS Participants

Support workers provide practical help to each NDIS participant they work with. This help can take the following forms:

  • Personal care activities and medication management.

  • Domestic care and help with daily tasks.

  • Shopping help and meal preparation.

  • Community care and transportation support.

  • Developing communication skills and basic skill development.

  • Employment support and therapeutic activities.

  • Manual handling and behaviour management support.

  • Respite care, education support, and mental health support.

  • And many other ways….

If a participant needs help with something that’s not on the list, just your NDIS support worker if they can help with it.

Personalised Care: Tailoring Support to Individual Needs

The foundation of the NDIS is that it places the person with the disability front and centre. Each participant’s plan is unique to them. But even once a person has their NDIS plan, how that plan is used to empower the participant is unique.

To provide personalised care, a support worker must meet with a participant for an initial chat. That way, each person can work out if they’re a good fit for each other. And the support worker can explain how they will address the participant’s unique requirements.

The support worker will be flexible in how they provide NDIS supports as per the participant’s preferences.

Building Trust and Connection: The Importance of Strong Relationships

A support worker does two things to build trust with a NDIS participant. First, as outlined above, they listen and understand what this unique person needs. Second, they’re consistent in doing what they say they will do and when they’ll do it.

But before someone can become a support worker, they have to undergo thorough background checks. All of our support workers at the SALT Foundation undergo a NDIS Worker Screening Check. They have police checks and reference checks. If age is a consideration, they’ll also have a Working with Children’s Check.

We conduct checks and listen to participants’ needs to make them feel safe and comfortable. When an NDIS participant is dealing with their disability support worker, the participant should be able to relax and feel safe.

Trust is the foundation of any relationship. When the participant trusts their support worker, the new support worker can then build strong connections with other support workers, families, and carers.

Promoting Skill Development: Support Workers as Coaches and Mentors

Another way disability support workers can empower participants is through helping them develop new skills. In this way, they can function as coaches and mentors. And, dare I say it, as cheerleaders.

Quality care is based on identifying the goals that will enable someone to live independently and helping them develop the skills they need to achieve these goals. Goals come before skills. When you know where you’re going, you can work out what you need to do to get there.

Tapping into the Power of SMART Goals

Here are the ways a support worker can coach and mentor participants:

  • Assisting in the formulation of long-, medium-, and short-term SMART goals. Setting across multiple timeframes helps a person to see how what they’re doing now connects to what they want to do in their future. SMART goals are:

    • S – specific

    • M – measurable

    • A – action-oriented

    • R – realistic

    • T – timebound

  • Planning how to achieve those goals. Just writing a list of goals is not enough. Those goals need to be turned into step-by-step plans to help a person achieve them. When you have a list of goals, AI can help break them down into plans.

  • Helping participants develop new skills and abilities. Once the client has a plan to achieve their goals, it will become obvious which new skills and abilities a person needs to develop.

  • Providing guidance and support for skill acquisition. A support worker can help their participant know where to go to gain the skills they need.

  • Acting as coaches and mentors for personal and professional growth. For a person to get the most out of life, they need to be undergoing personal growth. If employed, then professional growth is going to increase their employability.

  • Creating opportunities for learning and practicing skills. Mastering any new skill can be frustrating. You start off being terrible at it. The only way to get good at it is through practice. Support workers can help you deal with this frustration.

  • Encouraging self-confidence and independence through skill development. Of course, the goal of build skills is to become more independent. A good support worker will build their participant’s confidence, but they’re not going to just do the thing for the person.

Navigating the System: Help with NDIS Plans and Documentation

Let’s get real for a second. The NDIS can be overwhelming.

The journey starts with an NDIS plan. Getting one of those starts with speaking to a Local Area Coordinator. That plan outlines how the NDIS will provide support and funding.

But then a newly minted NDIS participant needs help accessing their NDIS supports and achieving his or her goals.

Each year, the plan gets reviewed. The NDIS planner hopes they’ll hear positive feedback from the participant about how things are going. A support worker can ensure the participant gets the comprehensive and tailored NDIS plan they need.

Support workers can provide assistance in navigating the complex NDIS system and getting together all the required documentation.

Enough of the right support is better than an abundance of mediocre support.

Emotional Support: Providing a Listening Ear and Encouragement

Living with a disability leads to dealing with emotional trials. A good worker will recognise the emotional challenges their clients face.

When spending time with their client, they will offer a supportive and empathetic presence. Empathy differs from sympathy. When you’re sympathetic, you feel sorry for what a person is going through. When you empathise with someone, you put yourself in their shoes and make them feel understood.

It’s not just clients who benefit from NDIS support workers. They can also offer respite for families and carers. Even if it’s just a break for a couple of hours while they’re spending time with the participant.

And to ensure that everyone thrives, the support worker will encourage self-care and wellbeing of carers and families. They can provide practical tips and strategies for doing this. (Such as a ‘micro-nap’ is a way to get a moment’s shuteye when the day-to-day demands are so great you don’t get enough sleep.)

Enriching Social Engagement: Facilitating Community Inclusion

Relationships make life worth living. To succeed in life, we need other people. Even if a participant’s first relationships are with the people in her support team.

But life becomes more enjoyable when someone supports you learn to have a full life. An NDIS support worker can help their client take part in community activities and events. They can provide assistance in building social connections and friendships.

Sometimes, as a person works toward his goals, he will not feel like doing something at that moment. In these cases, the support worker can gently nudge the participant and remind them that pushing through their feelings now will help them achieve their bigger goals. While balancing sensitivity and kindness, of course.

Collaborative Approach: Working with Families and Other Service Providers

Apart from the person with a disability, the people who know what that person needs are their family. They can help the support worker understand individual needs and preferences.

A great NDIS support worker will establish effective communication channels with families and disability support services. They’ll become a key part of the client’s life as they get to know that person and their needs and preferences better.

They’ll also be able to coordinate services and supports across different providers. Think of it as the company making sure that everyone is working from the same page as they set about empowering the client to achieve his goals.

Acting within the bounds of the client’s consent around privacy, the support worker will share relevant information and updates to ensure the person receives wholistic care.

NDIS support workers want to make sure that everyone works together to achieve and maintain the best outcomes for NDIS participants.

Conclusion: Recognising the Impact of Support Workers in NDIS Participants’ Lives

Support workers are key people in the lives of their participants. As we’ve explored in this article, they do the following things:

  • enhance the participant’s independence.

  • tailor support to meet people’s individual needs.

  • promote the development of skills needed to achieve goals.

  • navigate the NDIS system and make sure NDIS supports get delivered.

  • provide emotional support—to the participant, and their families and carers.

  • encourage the client to get involved in activities with other people.

  • act as a hub that connects the clients and their families with other services.

By doing all these things, every NDIS support worker makes the world a better place for people with disabilities.

Action Steps: Taking Advantage of Disability Support Worker Services in the NDIS

  1. Assess Your Support Needs: Identify areas where a support worker can enhance your NDIS journey.

  2. Seek Recommendations: Consult with other NDIS participants, families, or service providers for support worker recommendations.

  3. Interview Potential Support Workers: Conduct interviews to find the right fit based on qualifications, experience, and compatibility.

  4. Clearly Communicate Goals and Expectations: Articulate your goals, preferences, and expectations to your support worker for a fruitful partnership.

  5. Regularly Review Progress: Schedule periodic reviews to assess progress, address concerns about NDIS supports, and make necessary adjustments.

  6. Provide Feedback: Share feedback with your support worker to ensure continuous improvement and effective collaboration.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Become An NDIS Support Worker?

To become an NDIS support worker, you need to obtain relevant qualifications, such as a certificate in disability or community services, pass a police check and a working with children check, complete the mandatory NDIS worker orientation module, and apply for positions with NDIS service providers.

Can A Family Member Be A Support Worker NDIS?

Yes, a family member can become an NDIS support worker for a relative under the National Disability Insurance Scheme in Australia. However, there are specific conditions and formalities to be met, such as becoming a registered NDIS provider or working through an existing registered provider, meeting qualification and clearance requirements, and adhering to the NDIS Code of Conduct. Additionally, the arrangement must be in the best interest of the participant and align with the goals outlined in their NDIS plan. Approval from the NDIA (National Disability Insurance Agency) is required to ensure that the arrangement complies with all relevant policies and guidelines.

Can NDIS Support Workers Administer Medication?

Yes, NDIS support workers can administer medication, but they must be suitably trained to do so. The administration of medication by support workers is subject to state and territory legislation and must align with the policies of the NDIS provider they work for. The support worker may need to complete a training course in medication management and work under the guidance of a healthcare professional. It’s essential that they follow the participant’s NDIS plan and the medication support protocols outlined to ensure safe and accurate medication administration.

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