Empowers clients and team members
Independence is one of the greatest privileges experienced. It gives an individual a sense of self-reliance and capability. As children grow into adults and they experience some independence such as driving or working, they become more motivated to become more independent. The same is true for individuals with developmental, intellectual or physical disabilities. In fact, they take pride in their learning and growth as they become more independent. When an individual experiences a challenging task or situation, he may feel he has lost some independence because he may not rely on others for assistance. For example, Ron may have difficulty completing a task for his job and he may need to call on a co-worker to help him complete the task. This can be a problem because it could affect his job security since he cannot complete the task he was assigned to do. Not only can he not complete the task, but his job is also at stake, which can make Ron feel less empowered.
Empowering a client is important because it boosts the client's self-esteem and allows him to feel capable in a specific task. When he feels empowered, he is more motivated to work towards his goal of completing the task. When his motivation is high, he is more likely to accomplish that goal and thus return to his independent lifestyle.
Over the course of my fieldwork, I learned this important lesson when working with the young adult population who is transitioning from school into the workplace. My first experience working with the young adult population was during my second level 2 fieldwork when I was helping young adults with developmental, intellectual, and/or physical disabilities develop and build their skills for jobs and independent living.
One young man I had the pleasure of working with was non-verbal and had visual impairments. Although he didn't verbally communicate, he utilized assistive technology such as a programmed iPad to regularly communicate. He always had a great attitude and was motivated to learn a new skill.
One day, I noticed my client was struggling to roll silverware into a napkin per his manager's directions. He appeared to be discouraged the more he practiced and the utensils kept falling out. When I asked if he wanted help, he nodded energetically and handed me a cloth napkin. I asked him to generally show me how the manager explained it to him. I practiced a few times before I showed him how to roll the napkin to keep the silverware from falling out. When I had him practice doing it, I noticed he wasn't rolling it as tightly as he needed to. I told him we would figure this out together. I encouraged him to keep trying. To prevent him from getting more discouraged, I modified how he should roll it to help him get the right amount of pressure to keep the silverware in the napkin. After I explained and showed him how to do it, he was able to do it correctly the first attempt. His demeanor immediately changed to excited. I encouraged him to practice some more until he felt confident enough to go to work the next day and do it there. Each time I watched him successfully roll the silverware into the napkin, I saw his self-esteem increase as well. I asked him at the end if he felt more confident in himself to do this tomorrow in front of his manager and he nodded.
Through this experience, I feel that I was able to empower my client by helping him use a solution to overcome his challenge. Through this process, my client was able to realize what he was capable of accomplishing for his job's sake, improve his self-esteem in the process, and experience more independence as a young adult.
Empowering a client is important because it boosts the client's self-esteem and allows him to feel capable in a specific task. When he feels empowered, he is more motivated to work towards his goal of completing the task. When his motivation is high, he is more likely to accomplish that goal and thus return to his independent lifestyle.
Over the course of my fieldwork, I learned this important lesson when working with the young adult population who is transitioning from school into the workplace. My first experience working with the young adult population was during my second level 2 fieldwork when I was helping young adults with developmental, intellectual, and/or physical disabilities develop and build their skills for jobs and independent living.
One young man I had the pleasure of working with was non-verbal and had visual impairments. Although he didn't verbally communicate, he utilized assistive technology such as a programmed iPad to regularly communicate. He always had a great attitude and was motivated to learn a new skill.
One day, I noticed my client was struggling to roll silverware into a napkin per his manager's directions. He appeared to be discouraged the more he practiced and the utensils kept falling out. When I asked if he wanted help, he nodded energetically and handed me a cloth napkin. I asked him to generally show me how the manager explained it to him. I practiced a few times before I showed him how to roll the napkin to keep the silverware from falling out. When I had him practice doing it, I noticed he wasn't rolling it as tightly as he needed to. I told him we would figure this out together. I encouraged him to keep trying. To prevent him from getting more discouraged, I modified how he should roll it to help him get the right amount of pressure to keep the silverware in the napkin. After I explained and showed him how to do it, he was able to do it correctly the first attempt. His demeanor immediately changed to excited. I encouraged him to practice some more until he felt confident enough to go to work the next day and do it there. Each time I watched him successfully roll the silverware into the napkin, I saw his self-esteem increase as well. I asked him at the end if he felt more confident in himself to do this tomorrow in front of his manager and he nodded.
Through this experience, I feel that I was able to empower my client by helping him use a solution to overcome his challenge. Through this process, my client was able to realize what he was capable of accomplishing for his job's sake, improve his self-esteem in the process, and experience more independence as a young adult.