Category Archives for "Finding and Choosing Supports"

Mar 22 2020

Top 31 Ways to use Support Workers while avoiding COVID-19

Click here to download a formatted .pdf 2 page version of: Support Workers and Social Distancing March 2020Download

For some participants, personal care, lifting and other physical support needs means you can’t avoid having direct contact with support workers.

But there are many people in the NDIS, who don’t need that physical support. If you are one of those people, you can ask your support workers to help support you, but to work to not touch you or get close to you. Here are a stack of ideas. Please feel free to add your own to share!

The most important thing is to always make sure they wash their hands, really well, as soon as they arrive or meet you.

So, depending on your support needs, your worker could maybe:

  1. meet you outside and go for a walk together, keeping a few metres apart
  2. sit outside, 2 metres apart, and learn to play an instrument together (like ukulele, or the recorder
  3. make and/or fly a kite at the local park
  4. leave your laundry outside the front door, and ask your support worker to pick it up, take it home, wash and dry, and then return it if they’re ok to do this
  5. get a free skype account and talk, and read books, help prompt or direct you with cooking something yummy, watch a TV show or movie at the same time as you, play online games together or even do your online shopping together
  6. take you for a drive (with you in the back if you’re not driving!) with the windows down and play the music loud and sing (this may not be a safe enough distance apart, however)
  7. help you find and collect some free or cheap basic gym equipment, set it up outside, and have the worker direct, from a safe distance, a great workout
  8. if legal and safe, have a fire pit set up and sit either side of it and tell ghost stories, or eat lots of marshmallows
  9. google outdoor yard pranks and have some fun with neighbourhood friends
  10. try geocaching
  11. sit across an outside table at home, and pain rocks, and then walk to a local park and hide them for others to find (google “painted rocks” to learn more)
  12. letterbox the neighbours with you and offer to walk their dogs for free or pay
  13. do your shopping and errands without you if you are at risk, so you are less likely to be exposed
  14. find a free or cheap outdoor table on gumtree or facebook, make a net from an old pair of stockings, grab some table tennis bats online and play ping pong outside in the driveway (or beer pong if you’re old enough and like beer as much as my son!)
  15. wash the car together, but always on opposite sides of the car, and wear gloves
  16. build a garden together and grow some food, herbs or pretty flowers
  17. have your worker help you facetime with your friends
  18. learn a new language together (maybe Auslan – sign language)
  19. tennis is a low contact game, and maybe renting a couple of kayaks or going for a bike ride could work to get outside
  20. remote art programs
  21. have them help you sort out a home budget
  22. check out the bazillions of online learning apps and homeschool resources
  23. do some virtual tours of some of the world’s greatest museums and art galleries
  24. play Pictionary or scrabble by zoom
  25. develop a daily routine and make some visual schedules together
  26. learn to do some outdoor household chores – like sweeping or picking up the dog poop
  27. teach the dog a few new tricks – tonnes of great YouTube videos to learn this
  28. learn a magic trick together
  29. but a cheap blind from the bargain bin, and see if you can borrow or score an old cheap projector, and set up an outdoor cinema at home for an evening – just keep those bean bags a few metres apart
  30. learn about botany, and collect samples from your local parks and build an album of dried leaves and flowers
  31. make a podcast remotely together

I’ve not included links for all of these – a quick google will probably get you a bunch of good answers!

This list was compiled, in part, with some ideas from the (awesome) people in the “NDIS Self-Managing Participants And Their Families” Facebook Group. Thank you for their brilliant ideas.

Feel free to share this list, with credit, but add your own ideas, too!

22 March 2020

Mar 22 2020

FREE COVID19 Webinar for NDIS Participants and Families

For disabled people and families – Practical strategies and ideas, led by Sam Paior – The Growing Space
1 hour on Wednesday March 25th

WA: 8:00AMNT: 9:30AMQLD: 10:00AMSA: 10:30AMVIC/ACT/NSW/TAS: 11:00AM

Book here now: thegrowingspace.com.au/covid19/ (Auslan Interpreter AND live captioning now booked!)


In this one hour Zoom webinar, we are not going to just tell you to wash your hands – you already know about that.
But we ARE going to go through ways to manage service providers and day options and ADE closures and talk about the big issues – and what happens if someone in my group home tests positive?
As well as ways to creatively utilise your support workers now that many recreation options are also closed.
We’ll also talk about related NDIS issues and options and ideas for looking after yourself and those you love.


We expect this to be the first in a series as everything is changing so quickly!


Many thanks to Disability Services Consulting for sharing their zoom webinar service with us to use.
pic desc: a blue confused looking icon of a virus with two sharp white teeth and googly eyes

Mar 19 2020

Support Co-ordination in a Pandemic – a practical checklist for Support Coordinators

Here’s a pdf of this post for you to share if you prefer:
Support-Coordination-during-Pandemic-20-March-2020-TGSDownload

Contact EVERY client and help them assess their critical needs, supports and ability to manage if/when it all goes pear shaped.

Here are the questions (reworded from our internal slightly to take out my swearing and add a few things I missed) our team are talking to our clients about.

  1. Do they know what this is all about – have families/carers explained the current situation? Here’s an easy English resource: https://www.thegrowingspace.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Easy-English-Coronavirus-TheGrowingSpace-2020.pdf and a social story: https://carolgraysocialstories.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Pandemics-and-the-Coronavirus.pdf
  2. Do they understand the risks for them (ie: are they at greater risk – smoker, lung concerns, diabetes, immunosuppressed for example – not an exhaustive list) – point them to official information sources https://www.health.gov.au/ and the COVID hotline: 1800 020 080
  3. Are they considering self-isolating and if so, what preparation has been done?
  4. Do they have a week or two of essential supplies – food, hygiene, cleaning
  5. Do they have a month of prescription medication and over-the-counter medication (don’t forget laxatives!)
  6. Do they have enough consumables – continence aids, wipes, catheters, feeling tube gear to last a month or so?
  7. What are their CRITICAL (could die without) support needs, and do the providers of these supports have a plan in place to support them?
  8. If they have significant critical support needs, is there a way a worker could move in a self-isolate with them?
  9. Can their family/informal supports cover if support workers are no longer available – what is the back-up plan if they’re not available?
  10. What are their plans for support if/when day options/ADE/school closes, or if someone in their group home gets sick?
  11. Have they consider having support workers doing as much work as possible outside with participants, keeping well apart if possible, and have they considered all the ways a support worker can help remotely to reduce risk (obviously this won’t be possible for everyone!)
  12. Do they have a cleaner and do they want to keep them on – consider only allowing the cleaner to use the participant’s cloths, mop, duster and vacuum to reduce the chances of spread.
  13. Handwashing – do they understand the protocol, and are they confident to demand this of workers – if self employing or contracting, do they know about the free training on offer – https://covid-19training.com.au/login.php and https://training.disabilityservicesconsulting.com.au/products/infectionfree and, could they put up a poster https://www.thegrowingspace.com.au/a-sign-for-your-door-or-workplace-covid-19/, and set up a handwashing station outside to use before anyone even enters the house? (no-one should share the handtowels which should be washed daily in 60deg water, or they could use paper towels potentially)
  14. NDIS – do they know about the changes – ability to rollover plans etc? Make sure you are well across the daily updates at https://www.ndis.gov.au/understanding/ndis-and-other-government-services/ndis-and-disaster-response#faq
  15. Check in on their mental health – this is a very stressful time for many – ask how often they’d like you to check in, and potentially refer/suggest support from mental health professionals
  16. Follow up with an email for those for whom it might be useful – outline the stuff they’re already doing to prepare, they stuff you talked about that they could action, and the things you’re going to do for them, as well as when you will contact them next (this email could likely work as your casenote).

Please don’t assume you know the answers to above without that direct conversation (where possible). I have been surprised by the gaps, and our support and ideas have been appreciated.

At The Growing Space, we have worked to assign each participant a risk level (A-D) to help us know when things get really bad, who is most at risk, based on the answers to these questions – it also means that if one of our team can’t work,  someone else should be able to quickly and easily pick up and follow up with those who need it the most.

And don’t forget – what is *your* plan for maintaining your mental health, and what is *your* back-up plan if you can’t look after your clients yourself?

Support Coordinators are not medical or legal professionals, so don’t cross those boundaries – be aware of your limitations and refer out as needed.

All the best during these tough times!

Copyright of The Growing Space 2020 – please share, but with credit and no edits. And remember – this is not medical or legal advice, and is very time sensitive – things are changing very quickly  – seek professional advice if you need it!                   March 20, 2020

pic desc: an illustrated green virus icon with an open mouth and scared looking eyes.

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