What is Active Support?
Providing support and care to members of the community, particularly those who need extra support, offers a unique opportunity for support workers, allied health professionals and medical care teams. Not only does it provide us with the opportunity to embody the principle of “care”, but it grants us the time and space to truly make a meaningful and lasting difference in the lives of important people.
The role of a “support worker” or “carer” is not simply about helping, caring for, or assisting another person. Instead, it is about providing a foundation that allows them to create and lead happy, healthy, and autonomous lives. Yet to achieve this, the way that we provide support is crucial for successful outcomes. Whether you are a support worker, carer, allied health professional, or are part of a medical care team, we all collectively provide SUPPORT in some way, shape, or form. However, the nature of this support is the difference between DOING TO and DOING FOR the people we care for. Let’s dig a little further and look at this closely.
DOING TO someone looks like completing tasks on their behalf. For example, independently preparing ingredients and cooking a meal, without the person’s participation. On the other hand, DOING FOR someone looks like getting them involved in the process, while you initiate the process (within reason, of course). For example, showing someone how to successfully prepare ingredients by talking and guiding them through the process, before engaging them in turning these ingredients into a meal. DOING TO people achieves the end result, but what it does not do is TEACH the person how to be actively involved in their own life. This is why at Ability to Achieve, we advocate for the role of DOING FOR people, as it is this method that allows us to lead and guide the process, with the active involvement of the person. In turn, they build their skills, capabilities, and confidence to progressively initiate and achieve tasks on their own. DOING FOR a person does more for them in the long run than DOING TO ever will.
The idea behind DOING FOR our clients is the essence of ACTIVE SUPPORT, which allows the support network to work collaboratively with the person, who is in the driver’s seat of their own care. By ensuring that we provide ACTIVE SUPPORT, we make our jobs and the lives of those we care for far more manageable. If we continue to DO TO people, we prevent them from progressing and developing their skills. Instead if we DO FOR people, we open the door to all possibilities for their growth and success.
A link that our Behaviour Support Practitioners commonly share with the care teams and support networks of our clients is linked below, by the INSTITUTE ON COMMUNITY INTEGRATION. We encourage you to watch the 6 minute video, as it summarises what has been shared above, and offers the necessary insight into the role of a support worker and/or carer. However irrespective of your title, the nature of providing client support is to empower the individual to lead a life that allows them to create and maintain a sense of independence, so that they may be part of the world as their own autonomous being. Just as parents support children as they venture out into the world, our role is to do the same!
Our A2A team hopes that this brief but informative post has provided you with new insights into how to embody the essence of ACTIVE SUPPORT.
If you have anything you’d like to share with our community, we genuinely would love to hear from you (and no, we aren’t just saying that!) Connect with us on social media and share your thoughts in the comments. The more conversations that are had about ACTIVE SUPPORT, the greater than chance we have at integrating it into the care regime across the board.
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