Disability Services and Residential Care Officers
Provide care and support services to people with disability and assist them to access and engage with a variety of social, education, training and social welfare services.
Tom wants to go to the concert
You are a disability services officer in a shared home, supporting Tom, a man in his late twenties who has asked to go to a concert on his own. It is Friday afternoon. The concert is tomorrow night, across town. Tom has bought a ticket with his own money and has told you he wants to travel by himself on the train.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
I'm going to the concert tomorrow and I want to go by myself. I've got my ticket. I'm not a kid. I just want to go on the train like everybody else. Are you going to stop me?
Tell Tom he cannot go alone, because it is your job to keep him safe
Tom is furious and withdraws to his room. He asks how anyone is supposed to have a life. Keeping him safe from every risk took away the very thing you are meant to support.
Ask what he has planned, and walk through the trip together, including who he could call
Tom has thought about it more than you expected. You practise the route on the train that evening and agree on a phone check-in. The plan is his, with a safety net he helped design.
Say yes straight away, give him train money, and wish him a good night
Tom is delighted, and the evening goes well. But no one has talked about what to do if the train is cancelled, and he has a stressful trip home. Respecting a choice includes helping people prepare.
I heard Tom wants to go to a concert on his own. I do not think it is safe. He gets confused at stations. I thought you were meant to look after him. Please tell me you are not allowing this.
Listen to her concerns, tell her Tom has chosen this, and invite her to the planning meeting
Carol is anxious but comes to the meeting. Tom explains his plan himself, and they agree on a few simple safeguards. She goes home worried but included.
Tell her you agree it is too risky and that Tom will go with a staff member
Carol is relieved, but Tom hears of the change and is deeply hurt. You made a decision about his life without him in the room. Dignity of choice is part of the job.
Reassure Carol that you will keep a close eye on Tom, and watch him from a distance on the night
Carol feels better, but Tom spots you following and feels spied on. You tried to satisfy both, but you did it in secret. People deserve to know what is being done around them.
I don't mean anything by it, but I've been talking to Tom as if he's a little kid because it just seems easier. He gets so confused. Is that a problem? He doesn't seem to mind.
Tell him it is fine as long as he is kind, and move on to the next task
Dave keeps going, and Tom starts to speak less and less around him. Talking to adults as children, however kindly, wears away at their sense of who they are.
Report Dave to the manager for disrespecting a resident, without speaking to him first
The manager talks to Dave, who feels ambushed and is defensive. Concerns about dignity are serious, and a direct conversation first often does more good.
Explain how it sounds from Tom's side, and model plain, respectful language together
Dave listens, a little embarrassed, and starts to watch how you talk. Within a week Tom is chatting with him more openly. Tone changes how a person is treated.
How it went
On Saturday night Tom went to the concert, came home late and happy, and told everyone about the band. Supporting people with disability means protecting their right to choose, planning for the risks and being honest with families and colleagues. Could you hold both?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: Ken's kitchen
A fictional case set in a shared house where four adults with disability live with staff support.
The situation
Priyanka was a residential care officer in a group home. Ken, a man in his forties with an intellectual disability, wanted to cook his own dinner on Wednesdays. The staff had always done the cooking because it was faster and they worried about the stove. Ken's sister was nervous about the idea, and the house roster was already stretched with a short-handed shift.
What they did
Priyanka sat down with Ken and asked what he wanted to make. She wrote down the steps with pictures on a card and practised the first two with him over a few weeks. She talked to Ken's sister about what the risks were and what the house would do about them. She explained that Ken had a right to try, and that the plan could be reviewed together if needed.
How it turned out
By the end of the term Ken was making a simple pasta dish on Wednesdays with a staff member nearby. There was one burnt pan along the way and a good deal of laughter. His sister came to dinner one night and said it was the best meal she had eaten in months.
What would you do?
- Why did the staff always cook for Ken before this?
- How do you balance a person's right to take reasonable risks with your duty to keep them safe?
- What would you want in a support worker if you were Ken?