Living with Attendant Care

      for people with brain injury and spinal cord injury

What is Attendant Care?

Attendant care workers provide assistance for people with disabilities to perform tasks they would normally be doing for themselves.

The attendant care will be unique to you and goal directed.

Good attendant care is where workers and services:

        Keep you at the centre of planning and delivery of services

        Work with you to achieve goals to increase and/or maintain independence.

Attendant care workers are professional workers and maintain professional boundaries.

Where the person with the injury is living with family members the worker will work appropriately within the family setting.

The attendant care will be culturally appropriate.

How to Use this Site

This site is about what its like having attendant care and how to get attendant care right.

If you are new to brain injury, spinal cord injury or attendant care it provides an orientation.

If you want to understand what the experience is like there are a lot of examples of people's experiences and case studies.

To help get attendant care right there are examples of what good attendant care looks like and a description of the principles and standards it's based on.

There are lots of resources.

THE EXPERIENCE OF ATTENDANT CARE

What's it like?

What is attendant care like? The shock of having people coming into your home. Your home a workplace. You are still grieving. Everyone is effected . . . .
READ MORE

Getting it right

Getting attendant care right requires knowing:
What good attendant care is.
What it looks like on the ground in day to day experience. . .
What it's built on: Principles, standards & competencies.
READ MORE

 

“I guess we thought we’ll get home and everything could just go back to normal. But it didn’t. So, it was a bit of a let down. . . . Having a carer in the house really bothered me. They were in my territory. ”
– Donna
   mother of Alana (with brain injury)
“I love being home. It’s great. Just to be myself again. And it’s great being home. I can do what I want when I want. .”
– Rob
    (with brain injury through stroke)
“I’ll talk with them and their families about what their needs are and what they want from the service. We’ll recruit or roster, select our available staff who we think would be appropriate to meet that person’s needs. ..”
– Damien
    Service Coordination Manager.

 

CASE STUDIES

ALANA’S STORY

Alana had a serious car accident aged 14. She has a brain injury. She completed her HSC and lives with parents and sisters

READ MORE

ROB’S STORY

Rob had a stroke. He was discharged to a nursing home and now lives at home.

READ MORE

DAVID’S STORY

When David was 20, he had car accident. He has a brain injury. He has returned to work and to driving.

READ MORE

KAREL’S STORY

Karel had a serious bicycle accident. It left him with a fractured spine. He lives with his wife.  They are in their 80s. 

READ MORE

EMMA’S STORY

Emma and her newborn baby were hit by a car on their first time out walking. She has a brain injury and needs 24 hour care.

READ MORE