Does anybody here have support workers?

[Lemon Zing]

I'm just curious, whether members here have support, or even like to be around care professionals. From my experience, some care services are good, but many have employees that are just not that bright.

Besides the women who betrayed me, I just found a lot of these autism type helpers I had in the past, did not even know much about autism at all, and were just doing this job, as there's likely not much else out there. Some were sort of clearly toffee noses and full of crap, in my opinion. One social worker made my sister greet and I swore at him, but they penalized her hard by removing her kids. Now there's quite a messy situation.

The worst abuse I got from a care person, was in 2008 up to 2010, when a man who supported me had knowingly sent me emails with distasteful remarks about my music taste, and rubbish about a wrestler called Eddie Guerrero, who actually died in 2005 and had a friend who was in the same industry. He quite sadly went on to kill his family, then himself a few years after Guerrero passed away. Sure, if one guy is a jerk and emails people being an idiot because a "key worker" updates him about your grievances, and seeing this, starts using their weaknesses against them, that's just the moronic actions of one jerk, so I suppose it isn't right to say that caregivers are all bad people. But that guy was just out of line - a slew of sack worthy offenses. Yep. He even confessed to doing that, then chalked it up as being water under the bridge, which in an ideal world, you'd want to believe, but it's likely false. He drank on a shift once and said the same stuff about my music taste, called his booze, Russian water, and then emailed me saying he was just trying to motivate me and we could make things up. Ah, okay...

Anyway, I've not had decent support from anybody in years now. I got this guy from Morocco several months ago, sent from a nursing home (like, eh?!), and never had anyone for a year before this, as I reckon my social worker burned my bridges by telling the agencies about my court stuff (which was a legal nightmare anyway, because I was lied to and left homeless). So this dude actually called me a 'strange man' in front of my mate one time we seen him outdoors. Well, okay; I couldn't be bothered with him anyhow. He was a nuisance, who was just always moaning about the weather. All he wanted to use my shifts for, was for visiting Costa joints (like, he would have had us getting a bus to go from one to another). And he was rather cheeky and disinterested in shooting films. He knows the guy next door to my parents too, and frowned upon my dad for giving him treatment, as it's "his job." Even complained to his bosses. Like it really even matters. My dad has known our neighbor for like, 30 years.

Also, social workers aren't that trustworthy either. From my experience, they are simply utilized as stool pigeons and are proven contradicting menaces. It's awkward if you actually need help, and it comes from bad people linked to social services. Surely, the NHS 'screens' their staff better than this. Or is it that bad now, that they just employ anybody not qualified to do a really great job?

 

[OkRad]

Sadly, autism has become a big business. Maybe not in the UK. In the US, it's huge. Care workers are cheap work. The states get a big load of money to spend on these CAP workers. Whatever the agency does not spend, it gets to keep.

That means people are hired right off the street. They talk about HIPPA laws and all, but I knew some people who worked in these group home. They had no trouble breaking HIPPA laws, because they would just get fired from a low pay, no benefits job, and all night jobs at that. They would do better at McDonald;s because they would at least have health are. There is not national health care in US, so if you don't have it, too bad.

Social workers are indeed on the bottom of the pecking order and they know it. That is why they get an attitude. I have only met about 2 that actually helped and did not obfuscate the reality of their charges or try to insert their own anecdotal evidence into a situation where hard science was needed.

That is not to say they are all bad. But I would rather have no care at all than just a social worker. My last T was an MSW. A Master's is not as bad a a CCSW, but you have to watch the MSW;s too. It depends on where they went to school. An MSW from a hick nothing school probably won't help .

 

[Southern Discomfort]

I have a care coordinator because I'm a service user in secondary mental health services, I'm on my second carer now as the last one changed his job. They've both been nice people, this new one has given me more time, I don't know if he has less on his "plate" or if it's just because of it being early days or what. So far the new one has been very thorough with paper work, checking my physical health, he's also helping me get another diagnosis of autism because the first one was a little unofficial I think.

Yeah, can't fault these guys so far.

 

[Warmheart]

I’m so sorry you’ve had these painful experiences. It’s awful when someone in position to help, harms someone they’re hired to support, who is vulnerable.

In my own case, I do need a support worker a support team. The blunt, honest truth is that there are many things in adult living which i cannot manage successfully on my own. That’s understandable. We need to ditch the stigma in needing supports.

I have an awesome autism support worker! She is very autism-savvy, and continues her autism education. In fact, the other support workers at the agency I’m receiving services from all must continue learning through lectures, reading, in-person supervision, and online courses, too.

The trick, in the US at least, is to locate a reputable agency (with continued state oversight) which supports autistic adults. Examples are The Arc, People, Inc., Kennedy Donovan Center, and others. You’ve got to find agencies in you4 area, and in the US, this is best done with intake 8nto you4 state’s Department of Developmental Services. They know all the best agencies which meet ethical criteria.

My support team is wonderful. I have self-determination and control of my choices, even though I need supports in order to live (mainly) independently. I love and appreciate those on my autism support team.

I, too, been horribly abused by those in the autism field...in the past. I’ve learned that one must find an ethical agency— and ensure that there is continual state oversight.... supervision into your case.... and that the state has ongoing oversight of the supervisor and the agency! Basically, everyone must know that even if you don’t have parents involved, that the state is watching what they do, on an ongoing basis, because your state service coordinator checks in with you, and the agency, regularly.
All the time. And, that you’ll sing like a canary if anyone is abusive. If you can’t speak it, you’ll email it. If you can’t communicare it well, you’ll have someone on your team to communicate it for you. If you have delayed processing and can’t document, this will be understood. You just need to let anyone working with you know, that there is, and always will be, oversight by the state.

Agencies with ongoing state oversight select better autism support workers..... and tend to support them with ongoing education, too.

This is my experience. I am beyond grateful for the autism agency I receive Services from now. They are fantastic!

 

[Roy pryer]

I have a care coordinator because I'm a service user in secondary mental health services, I'm on my second carer now as the last one changed his job. They've both been nice people, this new one has given me more time, I don't know if he has less on his "plate" or if it's just because of it being early days or what. So far the new one has been very thorough with paper work, checking my physical health, he's also helping me get another diagnosis of autism because the first one was a little unofficial I think.

Yeah, can't thought these guys so far.

There is no support especially from GPs who are useless. They are ok when you have physical problems but know nothing about mental issues. Im sure my GP doesn't believe me when i say i have never had a relationship or sex. Especially by my age (72)

 

[Mr Allen]

I've had support workers for years, first from Thorne House Services for Autism, now known as Autism Plus, from 2001 to 2007, and then Leonard Cheshire Home Care from August 2006 to July this year, and now I have Twelvetrees Home Care to get me up in a morning and Choice Support UK for going out and day to day stuff.

I love Choice Support, I have a good team of fit, good looking young women looking after me. Only problem is that the Manager's a pain to contact, because she answers her mobile even less than my Dad answers his, I've been trying to ring her all week and most of last week to sort out changes to the coming week's calls, and apparently she's on annual leave till the beginning of next week.

 

[Aeolienne]

The only support workers I've had have been to help me find work, not sort out personal relationships (or lack thereof). Even with the former they've been of limited help.