Community Living Assistant

AVOIDING ASSUMPTIONS...

When Nate first meets Diana he notices that all she does during the day is watch TV. She is happy watching TV but after the training Nate receives from EBI, he is not sure if this is following the philosophy of community inclusion and having fulfilled days.

Nate isn’t sure what to do because it is Diana’s choice to watch TV and he wants to support her in her decision.

Before his next visit with Diana, he takes a look at the weekly newspaper listing of local events. He reads that there is a parade that morning during the same time that he is scheduled to be with Diana.

When he arrives at her house, he asks her if she would like to go to see the parade. She agrees and has a wonderful time there. The following week he finds another local event and asks Diana if she would like to go. She again agrees, stating that she enjoys going out but never knows what to do.

At this moment Nate realizes that the reason Diana watches so much TV is that she is not sure what else to do or how to find out. Nate makes it a habit of bringing the paper with him each time so that Diana can see what is available in the community and choose which events to go to.

In this situation, it is important not to make assumptions about what the person that you support wants to do. By presenting options, the person you support has a choice whereas before she did not know what her choices were.