A Hireup client and carer share their experiences engaging support workers during the holidays, including tips for maximising fun and enjoyment while minimising the stress and anxiety that can accompany holiday-related changes in routine.
Planning and communication keep life moving smoothly – a client perspective
Catherine Caine is a Hireup client who has been using support services for more than two years. And, thanks to a winning formula of planning, communication and having a great support team that includes all-important backup support, Catherine seamlessly navigates holiday periods.
Planning and communication includes knowing and raising holiday dates with your support workers early, so you can work together and make plans that suit everyone.
“It’s all about communication, which is pretty much the most important thing to get right with your support team, and crosses over into everything else. If you’re all on the same page, so to speak, it’s easy and open and you all understand each other with minimal fuss or stress.”
I’m also a big fan of checklists. My team and I have created a checklist that covers all the kinds of supports I need – things like the grocery shopping, laundry or other household tasks, making sure I have enough scripts and medications, so if there’s a gap coming up in the usual schedule, we know it’s all taken care of,” she says.
Another benefit is the assurance checklists offer if you’re unwell or having a low day.
“Having a checklist means we all know what needs to happen will happen, even if I can’t be up and about and asking for it on that day,” Catherine explains.
Catherine is also a fan of flexibility.
“Be open to change. It might mean agreeing to a few hours instead of a full shift on a holiday, or changing to the day before or after a public holiday to help with budget,” she says.
Having a diverse support team can also be an added bonus at holiday times.
“One of my support workers is Muslim, so it’s not as important for him to have Easter or Christmas with family as with other people in my support team, whereas the end of Ramadan and other special Muslim holidays are important for him, so that’s a real plus for creating a schedule that suits everyone,” says Catherine.
Last but never least, and the common thread that runs through all of Catherine’s recommendations, is building trust and chemistry with your support team.
“If you you’re in tune with your support workers, it makes all the difference in the world,” she explains. “One of the really lovely things about Hireup is the way you can write your own profile, so you’re more likely to find people who resonate with you from the start.”
Building happy memories together – a carer perspective
Briana Blackett is the sole parent of two kids with disability – 16-year-old Max and 13-year-old Freddy – both of whom have autism. Briana has used Hireup for a number of years to engage support workers for her sons.
Briana relies on a team of six support workers throughout the year and especially over the holidays to help with a full gamut of support.
This ranges from more complex supports like personal care and helping her sons develop their communication skills, to more seemingly simple activities like helping them go for a bike ride, catch a train, hang out with a friend or go to the shops. All of which help them build their independence, which every teenager craves.
“If you have never needed them, you would never understand how crucial support workers are. For my small family, having access to support workers has been life-changing – to us, it is oxygen. It means my sons can take part in the world and I as their carer can continue to work and make happy memories with my sons,” Briana says.
And as many Aussie families with disability know, support needs don’t stop over the holidays. In fact, Briana says this is when she ramps up her support worker hours so she can continue to work and Max and Freddy can enjoy their holidays as many kids do.
“With the help of support workers, Freddy and Max have enjoyed “splash rooms”, the Australian Museum, surfing lessons, and Jenolan Caves. A highlight was a few years ago when we visited the small town of Carinda with a family friend who also has a child with disability,” says Briana.
“There were six of us – so we joked that we almost doubled the population of the town – and we visited the Carinda Hotel where David Bowie filmed his Let’s Dance music video. There were beautiful yellow flowers lining the road into town and we were able to go camping as a family. These are things we wouldn’t have been able to share if I didn’t have a support worker that could come with us and help.”
Briana’s advice for other parents of children with disability is to imagine what any other kid would be doing in the school holidays and see how you can make that happen for your family.
“If that means applying to the NDIS for funding for support workers over the holiday period, then you can do that. Don’t think because your child has a disability, they can’t take part in “mainstream” school holiday activities, as we’ve found this to be the opposite when we have the right support on hand.”
