Day centre styles, dress styles I vibe to

 

Hey all so I live with two other housemates many people live in shared houses these days well into adulthood, but mine is what they call in Australia a Sil (supported independent living). The NDIS (national disability insurance scheme) fund it, and we have in the house beings called support workers that help us in what they call ADL (Activities of daily living)

But watching and observing support staff, do there jobs one thing I see is major is not something you would expect but some staff in this area have great attention to detail, and just in general, to the point that I am moving a teddy bear by stealth and all but one member of staff have noticed, But I have let the housing manager know and they are going to do something brilliant they are going to use at about how attention to detail is so important in support.

 But as my housemates have complex needs, they are responsible for dressing them and their level of hygiene. These are some outfit ideas, and I know that choice and control is a thing but how they manage this is simply by offering limited options for them, do they want, shorts or long pants, do they want a dress or a skirt and top? One of my housemates is a full-time mobility aid user and they have the attention to detail of matching her wheelchair blanket or cover if it's summer to her dress.

So there are a few things I want to point out and to me, this is what makes the difference between a good enough support worker and an amazing support worker ( how we judge that is a whole other blog post, but I haven’t for discretion added to the photos under where but they spoke underwear and socks in a stain remover ( shout out to the person in my personal life who byes it in bulk.  Everything is named and because of this we can do a household wash, daily and a tub clean of the washing machine once a week, it is a team effort and that includes the clients in the house including me, it's about teaching and maintaining the skills we need.

So, we have clean underwear, we are all female so have bras or appropriate undergarments (e.g. singlets with in-shelf bras for dignity, as well.

The other thing is our clothes do not smell, as the attention to detail extends to as I mentioned soaking items when needed, using stain remover, as well as prompting me to do my ironing as well.

So you will notice that our hygiene is looked after including reminding us or physically helping us to shower or bathe, and including washing washcloths, and other washable hygiene items such as higher quality shower caps, and plastic loafers, you might now be thinking when do they have time to engage with the clients, well we all pitch in together to the point that our housing manager has had to alter our checklist to include client lead chores, such as washing up, putting washing on, folding laundry and putting it away.

We also are prompted about deodorant and using it effectively as well. So, in putting tougher a well-trained team with attention to detail then there is the positive effect of wanting to help as well.

The other thing you will notice is that there are no stains in the clothing, and that is not just down to soaking things it also does what we call, wardrobe accounting, and encourages us to throw things out that are too stained or damaged to wear out of the house, and to replace things when needed. Including shoes and socks. As shoes at a day centre can become a safety issue you will see they are all closed in and I can tie my one laces, but that is a consideration when people are purchasing shoes, Velcro and slip-ons are becoming more common as well.

You will also notice that they all have sleeves again I have mentioned this about support staff grooming but I realized it goes both ways, that we do not want to see your bits hanging out.  Also, the same with the pants they are comfortable, and the shorts are a length that in a liberal office you could wear to work. Also, you will notice I chose shirts that don’t have slogans on them, but it is up to the client to see if they want to wear the graphic t-shirt the rule of thumb, is if you wouldn’t wear it yourself, then you need to encourage the client not to wear it, If people are going to take it the wrong way, the sarcastic saying t-shirts may not go down as well as expected.

 

Also, something they do when assisting us to get ready for the day ahead is if the person is likely to spill food, drink or drool, take a full change of clothes, and even on summer days take a jumper, a light one but we all have walked into the blasting air-conditioned building and needed to use it, but it's that extra attention to detail that to me and this is highly subjective as someone might be ok with the sarcastic t-shirt, and the coffee stain, but they take great pride in having us well presented and cared for, something that I think the organization needs to be very proud of their staff on the ground for.

 

Also, something that ties into the video over on YouTube, is that hygiene goes further than dressing and presentation, please for the people around them, if they are backpack users, wash or wipe them out some can’t be washed but if you replace them to get the washable ones, and use gloves they can get nasty and if they take a packed lunch you don’t want to deal with the fruit that has turned in the bottom of the bag, and this is something that you can prompt and bring into routine, is to unpack your bag and your lunch box to go near the sink ( hey take the wins that you can if it makes it to the sink amazing, but into the kitchen well its at least where someone will notice it.  ( also when buying lunch boxes please consider can be washed, ( not bags, but Tupperware containers,) please consider day centre demands as you don’t want them to get stolen or to become a weapon, yes that has happened I am sure of it, so don’t get metal, please practice opening containers as well, or if this isn’t possible for the client’s ( and if they can’t they will generally even at the centre, have one on one support make sure that someone can help them to open it the same with drink bottles as well,  I am going to continue about hygiene for people with a disability as when I am listening to a podcast I like called heretics, they ask the question what are we not talking about that we should be and the answer to that question for me is hygiene for people in care, I will also  do a blog around routines and how that can help people feel safe, and how that also affects rostering ( and no you couldn’t pay me enough to do rosters in a disability space as well, )