Blog - Can I Get a Here Here?

I am a support worker for adults with learning difficulties.

I am constantly told that my job is to treat my clients like children, but not in so many words.

According to my manager, we are supposed to be their parents, control their lives, and criticise their choices. I am told that as part of my job I should tell my clients what to do, all the time. And I wonder, 'what gives me that right'?

Ok, sometimes it needs to be done if the person doesn't have capacity, but that's only if, say, they can't count, and need to be told how much money to give a shop keeper. But seriously, you'd think some of my colleagues were from the 50's.

"That jumper doesn't match those trousers very well, go back and change it. That nice red one would be good, wear that."

That may not seem like a big deal to you. But for some of my clients, this behaviour from support workers is constant. Day in, day out. Not because they can't make choices, but "because they have learning difficulties".

That is discrimination.

(And we wonder why some of our guys have "challenging behaviour". I would have challenging behaviour if I had to live like that for one week!)

And this kind of attitude is still EVERYWHERE in social care. It is full of people who

1. Don't care
2. Don't think
3. Don't know what they're talking about
4. Are complete and utter control freaks

Or a combination of the above.

So...this blog is going to be about the utterly unethical, ridiculous, and thoughtless things going on in social care today.

I know.

I work there.

~ Sally Forth