People living with disabilities have been always been a top priority of society. Special care plans are in place to allow them to continue to live comfortably in their homes or in facilities if they choose to. This is why trained professionals who are committed to working with people living with disabilities are needed in this field—a field that continues to grow and flourish. So, if you’re interested in building a new career, this should be it.
What Do You Do When Working with People Living with Disabilities?
Your responsibilities when working with people living with disabilities largely depend on the health and abilities of the client you are working with. However, generally, disability workers give daily physical, personal, and emotional support to clients.
The following are the common tasks that keep a disability worker’s day busy:
- Accompanying the client on outings and activities
- Performing household tasks such as cooking, serving meals, shopping, cleaning, planning menus, and doing general services
- Acting as a companion while giving support to the client in his daily activities
- Assisting people living with disabilities and making sure that they maintain contact with their friends and family
- Creating support plans for clients to help them develop the necessary skills and abilities that can help them live independently
- Assisting the client to help them develop and maintain a certain level of independence in performing safety, hygiene, and health care
Why Should You be Working with People Living with Disabilities?
There is already an increasing number of disability workers today, and the common thing they say is how fulfilled they are in their career. If you want to know why you should join them in the industry, here are some reasons to do it.
1. It’s more than just a desk job
If you prefer a hands-on working environment, working with people living with disabilities will definitely keep you busy and on your feet. Whether your client stays at home or in a facility, you will always have something to keep you moving. While other disability workers visit their clients at home every day, some others live with in and are around 24/7, depending on the needs of the client.
2. It’s a stable career with numerous opportunities
Australia is facing an ageing population, which is raising the demand for more disability workers. It’s even expected to go higher in the coming years. Data from Job Outlook shows that over the next five years, there’s a foreseen demand of more than 179,000 disability workers. And given that the aged care and disability sectors have very low unemployment rates, you will less likely be out of work.
3. It lets you have work-life balance and family-friendly practices
Working with people living with disabilities can be physically challenging too, especially that it entails disability workers to always be on the move. However, there are a lot of agencies that offer family-friendly practices that enable workers to balance family life and work. They provide benefits and workplace practices, allowing workers to still be able to perform their responsibilities towards their families.
4. There are continuous learning opportunities
With disability care being very important, it is easy to find continuous learning opportunities both online and offline. Workers can easily upskill themselves and do lifelong learning to help them embrace change and become better at their work. There are also on-the-job training as well as volunteer opportunities for the novice in the profession.
5. Australians are clamouring for more choices
With more Australians who can afford special disability care and support, there is now a clamour for more choices. Some of them want to place their family member who is living with a disability in a care facility, while some others want them to receive special care at home. Working with people living with disabilities as a career can help answer these needs.
6. It offers a way to build self-confidence
When you spend much of your day with another person, you have the opportunity to improve your communication and people skills. You get better at being sensitive with what people need and providing them with the best care. Working with people living with disabilities can make you feel more fulfilled knowing that you have in your hands the capacity to provide care for another person.
So, if you’re looking to start a new career or are planning on changing to a new one, working with people living with disabilities should be your next career move.
