Disability Support Worker Tasks

Disability Support Worker Tasks

Disability support worker tasks are almost as diverse as people with disabilities themselves. These tasks are carried out by disability support workers.

Disability support workers are essential for looking after the health and care needs of people with disabilities. After all, these workers do everything from preparing meals and helping with toileting, through to assisting with transport and putting clients to bed at night.

Disability Support Workers

Those with NDIS funding have two options. They can employ support workers direct, by paying them under their ABN. However, alternatively, they can contract support workers direct from an agency or service provider that employs support workers. I do both, contracting some support workers directly and I also use a local service provider.

Disability Support Worker Tasks Examples

Personal Grooming

When it comes to personal grooming, duties can include everything from bathing, the trimming of nose hairs and the cleaning of ears, to the combing of hair and dressing the client.

Dressing clients can be a big job in itself. Paralysed bodies are hard to manage and with some of the larger clients, two people may be required to do the job.

Cooking and Cleaning

Cooking and cleaning are frequent services that a support worker must deliver for the client. This could be due to intellectual impairment or physical incapacity.

Clients must make sure cleaning materials are provided and give you a rundown instruction as to how to operate any equipment and explain their cleaning needs.

Bathing and Toileting

When it comes to bathing and toileting, disability support worker tasks will depend on the ability and capacity of the client. In some cases it may just mean assisting the client to bath themselves.

At the other extreme it may include more medical duties such as changing catheters and administering suppositories. In these cases support workers need to be appropriately trained.

Disability Support Work Tasks in the Community

Support workers also assist their clients in the community. Consequently, this community access can take a variety of forms, depending on the client.

Community access is all about the client’s goals and aspirations. So that could mean support workers are offering their client help at a community garden, assistance at a swimming pool, support at the local shopping centre or even facilitating a fishing trip.

Support Worker Duties and Responsibilities

Finally, disability care needs have to be client focused to fully respect the human rights of the client. So it is not up to care providers to determine what is in clients best interest.

We all make decisions about our lives, good and bad, so the client with a disability must be empowered to make their own decisions. Hence, support workers should not let their own values or moral judgements influence their provision of support of the client with a disability.

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