What is a Support Worker?
A support worker is a term used to describe someone who is employed to provide disability support services. This term is often interchanged with carer, or support staff.
A support worker can assist you in your home and in the community.
A support worker can be employed by a larger organisation, usually called a provider, or they may be a sole trader and work for themself.
Considering my need for a support worker?
If you are considering whether you need a support worker, ask yourself these three questions:
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What are my day to day activities - what makes up my daily life and what is important to me?
- What difficulties do I have across my usual activities - what do I struggle with or need help with?
- Are the challenges I experience related to my disability? Find the link between difficulties and your condition/s recognised by the NDIS.
See below for advice on how to unpack these questions.
What are my day to day activities?
Every person's daily activities are unique to them. Your activities are what you complete each day or across the week that involves caring for yourself, maintaining your home, participating in the community, engaging in work/volunteering and potentially caring for others.
Your daily activities may include:
- Personal Care Activities - Showering, toileting, grooming, brushing teeth, shaving, applying deodorant, styling hair, make up etc
- Domestic Activities - Cooking, cleaning, laundry etc
- Community - Attending appointments, shopping, socialising, leisure, study etc
- Carer - Are you a parent or carer for someone else?
- Work - Do you work? What kind of role do you have? Is travel required to get to work?
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ACTIVITY 1 - DAILY ACTIVITY LOG With a pen and paper, or on a device, map out your daily activities. Option 1: List each heading (personal care, domestic, community, carer, work) in separate columns on a blank page. Create a list under each heading of what activities you complete. Option 2: Create a timeline from when you wake up in the morning to when you go to sleep at night. List what you get up to throughout your day and evening on a regular day. If your days vary, create multiple timelines. Option 3: Draw pictures to represent what activities you do in your day to day activities. |
What difficulties do I have across my usual activities?
Due to your disability, you may have challenges that impact how you engage in your daily activities.
Difficulties may be due to:
- Physical limitations, such as difficulties walking, standing, reaching, lifting and handling items
- Cognitive impairment, such as challenges with information processing skills, planning, problem-solving, attention etc
- Psychological factors, such as reduced motivation, emotional regulation, coping skills etc
- Sensory processing, including difficulties engaging in the environment and managing sound, light, taste, touch, movement and understanding what is going on inside your body (hunger, thirst etc).
Across your daily activities, consider the following:
- Does a task take me longer to complete than I would like?
- Do I place myself at risk of injury by performing a task?
- Do I find it overwhelming to complete a task?
- If I complete a task, have I used up all my energy and need to rest?
- Is the way I am currently completing the task sustainable?
- Can I do some aspects of the task but not others?
- Without help from someone else, are there tasks I am unable to complete?
- Do I feel like I am burdening family or friends who help me with completing tasks?
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ACTIVITY 2 - ACTIVITY RATING Rate your activities according to the level of difficulty, risk, overwhelm, energy or burden. Option 1: Review your activity list and highlight the activities you have the most trouble with. Option 2: Create a tick and cross system, or alternative visual scale, to display what activities you have no issue completing, and where you may need some help. |
If you have identified difficulties across one or more tasks or activities, introducing a support worker into your life may be beneficial.
Remember: To use your NDIS funding for a support worker, you must be able to relate the difficulties you experience to your disability.
How can a support worker help me?
A support worker can help you in any way you need across any of your daily activities, where you experience difficulty due to your disability.
A support worker can:
- Complete the task with you - you are involved in the task and need varying degrees of assistance. For example, hanging out a load of washing to dry with your support worker.
- Complete the task on your behalf - you are not directly involved in performing the task. For example, your support worker completes all laundry tasks for you.
You must clearly outline what support you do and don’t need, and find services that align with your requirements.
The NDIS funds support for:
- Assistance with Daily Life in the Home
- Assistance with Social, Economic and Community Participation
- Transport
Review the Core Supports: Quick Guide to understand how to use your Core Supports.
Where do I find funding for support in my NDIS Plan?
Funding for support workers is located in your Core Support budget.
NDIA allows you to use funding flexibly throughout your Core Support Budget.
For example: If you have funding allocated in Assistance with Daily Life that you have determined you are not using, and want to access support for community participation, the funding can be shared between these two budgets.
It is important to note in most cases, funding cannot be used flexibly across Core, Capacity Building, or even Capital Supports. Only funding allocated within Core is flexible amongst itself.
How can I find support providers?
The MyCareSpace Connections Team can help you find local providers with availability - just tell us about your unique needs.
Alternatively, give our Connections Team a call by phone 1300 2888 93.
NDIS THERAPY FINDER - FREE SERVICE
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