story
Overseas Research Trip
By Debbie Mackenzie. When I began assisting with the research Dr Gibilisco would later conduct in Hawaii early in 2008 I became aware that there were people with a general interest in the planned research. There were a variety of views. On reflection and with the wisdom of hindsight I now can see and appreciate [...]
Whose Support Worker Are You?
By an anonymous contributor. My partner is very disabled and a while ago he was invited to an event at Government House as a representative of an organisation he advised. He was to be accompanied by a senior manager from the organisation inviting him. He could also take a support worker with him. He thought [...]
The importance of disabilty support workers
By Peter Gibilisco and Debbie Mackenzie. Reprinted with permission of authors from On Line Opinion. A primary “goal” of the State Disability Plan is to provide support, that is, to encourage people with disabilities to live their own lifestyle. This is referred to in the State Disability Plan, as the pursuit of individual lifestyles: “to [...]
Some Very Special People And Our Relationships
By Vince Pirrottina Gus They say if you have a couple of good friends in your life that you are very lucky. I feel blessed to have had rewarding relationships with some of my Attendant Carers. Each relationship has had a unique value to it and along with my wife Rosanne helped me achieve many [...]
Relationships with Non-verbal Clients
By an anonymous contributor. What I thought was that I would try to explore the relationship between carer and client when the avenues of communication are very limited. I have one particular client with cerebal palsy who can make noise, but does not speak any words that can be understood. She cannot use a computer [...]
Terry’s Tuesdays
Terry received five hours of support every week from Vista as part of its federally-funded dementia support program, leading the way in showing how creative support can be.
Successful working relationships with disability support workers
Written by Maree Ireland. Maybe the word “successful” is not the most appropriate word to use because of the human factor element involved. So how do you measure “success” is it how long the worker stays; is it how well they follow instructions; is it how well they “look after” you, ie they treat you [...]
The Birth Of The Client/Attendant Relationship
By Vince Pirrottina. As always communication is the key to any relationship, this starts when a Client and Attendant meet for the very first time. It is natural for both parties to feel a bit uneasy at first especially with someone new to Attendant Care work. It’s important to make them comfortable and discuss any [...]
Gus and Vince – A Close Relationship
By Gus. My name is Gus and I have been supporting Vince since April 1998 and in that time we have formed a very close relationship, it has got that way at times that we can read each others mind and can be doing something we had been thinking of at that very moment. The [...]
Creativity with Gifts and Appreciation
Ricky writes about gifts she’s given to PCAs and letting PCAs know they and their efforts are appreciated without spending money she doesn’t have.