Question

For disability describe how you insure that the client is acknowledged as their own expert?

Answer 1

PERSON- CENTRED PRACTICE
Person-centred practice is a service model that places the person at the centre of their own care. The service responds to the whole person and focuses on a social model of care rather than a medical model of care. A social model of care considers all factors that affect or influence a person’s life (social, psychological, physical, cognitive, cultural etc.) a medical model focuses on the problem or illness.
Person-centred practice philosophy embraces a process that sees the person making decisions about their own care needs, which forms part of their human rights. Person-centred practice relies on person-centred planning. This is where the person, or in instances where the person cannot make sound judgments, their advocate, family and/or primary carer, state what they want their plans to focus on. The plans are driven by the person’s goals and aspirations. For example, the person can choose what service they want, the time the service is given to them and when and how long they receive the service.
SELF- ADVOCACY
Self-advocacy refers to the way people act in their own best interests, how they speak up for themselves, make decisions about their care and express their individual goals and preferences. As a support worker with people with disabilities, you will work to extend and develop people’s self-advocacy skills as a primary tool for their empowerment.
People with disabilities may not be confident self-advocates as a result of previous discrimination or stigma, difficulty communicating or thinking strategically, a lack ofawareness of their own rights or a lack of confidence, among many other reasons.
A vital component of your job is helping people meet any challenges they face in becoming successful, confident self-advocates.

Here are some ways you can help people self-advocate:-

EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Make sure people know their rights and understand that they are the experts in their own lives. Provide them with appropriate information, materials and training, if required. For example, some people may benefit from assertiveness training or even informal practise in speaking up for themselves.
AIDS AND SUPPORT
Make sure people have access to all the aids and supports they need to communicate effectively and to support their decision-making. This may include interpreters, physical aids, communication aids, and the presence of a carer, family member or advocate for support during appointments, etc.
STRATEGIZE AND PLAN

Skills in planning and strategising are particularly useful in developing self-advocacy. For example, many people are not confident speaking up for themselves in medical appointments or other situations involving authority figures. You could help the person by role-playing the situation beforehand and forming a strategy that will support the person.