Situational awareness in support.

 In support work, knowing your clients is key to providing effective and respectful care. This begins with reading their care plans before meeting them, asking thoughtful questions, observing their responses, and understanding their living situations. Your role is to work with their environment, not against it—a principle that some support staff, unfortunately, overlook.

Take, for instance, clients who live in a family home. It's important to build a professional relationship with the family while recognizing that supporting the client means, to some extent, supporting the family as well. At the same time, situational awareness is critical—you must know your boundaries. Helping clients with tasks, like chores, is part of fostering their independence. However, it's equally important not to overstep and be seen as the housekeeper. In cases where the family or client has the necessary funding, suggesting they hire a cleaner might be a more appropriate solution.

Situational awareness goes beyond physical tasks—it also involves recognizing when support may unintentionally lead to infantilization. Often, in the desire to help, caregivers can underestimate clients' abilities or impose overly protective measures that stifle their independence. Support should be about enabling clients to do as much as they can for themselves, even if that means stepping back and allowing them to make mistakes and learn from them. Infantilizing clients not only lowers expectations but can cause frustration for individuals who are capable of more but aren’t given the opportunity to demonstrate it.

This is why policies around safety and supervision should balance care and respect for autonomy. For example, in my housing situation, we are taught not to wear headphones at night and to walk in groups to ensure safety. Support workers perform regular visual check-ins, especially for those with low to medium support needs, to ensure they are managing well without being overbearing. This approach fosters independence while providing an extra layer of care for when it's truly needed.

Additionally, there’s a policy requiring support staff to physically see one another drive off after shifts. Not only does this ensure the safety of staff, but it also prevents unnecessary lingering and gossiping—an issue that can disrupt the dynamics of a support setting. Being aware of gossip, yet staying out of it, is crucial. If it reaches a point where it becomes harmful, it should be reported.

Situational awareness extends into the digital space as well. Just as you need to be mindful of physical boundaries and behaviors, you must also be aware of the impact your online presence can have, especially within the disability community. For me, this means taking steps to avoid becoming a victim of cancel culture by running my content through tools like ChatGPT to ensure it isn’t offensive or revealing too much personal information.

In both care and content creation, a key principle remains the same: respect the client’s agency and abilities while providing appropriate support. The goal is not to shield them from the world, but to empower them to engage with it on their terms.