Profile of a Support Worker

Many of us who have a disability or suffer from severe fatigue related illnesses can be in need of a Support Worker, to either support us with cleaning and/or supporting us at hospital appointments and blood tests or supporting/helping us complete work and grocery shopping,

so what makes a good support worker?

• Be a good listener. some of us may need to externally process any frustrations about how how our mind, body and souls are

• Empathetic. We are at our most vulnerable, therefore may need to have a good cry or scream in frustration

• Have grace towards our tired, so over it time, when we have no capacity for anything, not even make it out of bed

• Use your initiative. see what else needs to be done, Giving step by step instructions is wasting our already limited spoon capacity. Go over and beyond, to what we ask of you

• Calm, cool and collected. Don’t panic if we injure ourselves or we need to go to the hospital, we are panicking ourselves and need someone to keep us calm

• Accepting, we may be quirky and weird, be accepting of how we deal with our chronic illness, (I use humor, inappropriate jokes and comments, and or others may cry loads)