Having the support we need enables us to live the lives we imagined. If we have the right support team, we can receive the right support with minimal impact on our daily lives. What do I mean when I say this? Obviously, when you can’t do things physically for yourself, or you have some other challenges that make navigating daily life tricky, you might need the support of a support worker.
Here are some tips that I’ve learned to manage a support team successfully. I am by no means “perfect” at managing my support team, but I feel like I’ve learned some valuable lessons throughout my journey of needing paid support.
1. Be willing to listen and communicate
This is both useful when you need to resolve any issues that might arise and also makes your team feel that you notice what they do and appreciate it. In the world of disability there is often a fine line between being “overly grateful” and showing genuine appreciation. I am not suggesting that as people with disability we should be grateful that someone shows up at our doorstep on time, but I am saying that when you establish your own team that genuinely care about you and you can see they are actually trying to make your life easier, it is nice to acknowledge their efforts by simply letting them know you appreciate it.
2. Match tasks to the right people
I’m really open with my support crew about my efforts to be fair in sharing out available work and trying to match tasks where possible to the right team member. I think the fact that I am open with my team encourages them to try harder for me.
3. Acknowledging that no one is perfect
I may have a bad day and be grumpy or ‘out of sorts’. As a support worker you find yourself in someone’s midst regardless of their mood. I personally find these days the most challenging, because while 90 percent of the time I accept my disability and the help I need because of it, occasionally I can feel resentful of needing consistent support and the increased level of interaction that needs to take place because of my support needs. I have found that acknowledging my feelings on these days goes a long way to helping my support crew understand how I am feeling. It is just generally a good idea to give people who are working so closely alongside you a “heads up” at times.
4. Understand the mental toll of administration
Another important thing for me has been being mindful of the mental toll that having to do extra organisation to navigate my life can take. I have found using some strategies like doing regular physical activity, doing some art, staying socially connected with my friends and connecting with my psychologist when required are all valuable tools that together make sure I can build and maintain a life that I am happy with.
5. Support workers are just one part of the puzzle
I previously used to struggle with the concept that my life costs money, and very occasionally I still do. But most of the time I choose to remember that the funding my life costs enables someone else’s income and allows me to be the contributing member of society that I strive to be.
I guess all of our lives can be seen as a bit of a mosaic; we all need different things to happen to put it all together and make it into a picture that we can be proud of, the only difference is that when you have a disability you need a different kind of help to your able-bodied peers. We all have a valuable contribution to make to society in some form or other and it is up to ourselves and those who care about us to find out how we can best make that contribution.
