A day in the life of...Dave Phillips, Support Worker

Dave Phillips joined Green Light in January 2019. He is a Support Worker with the Tresleigh team, who support four adults with autism and learning disabilities in a home split into four self-contained apartments in a popular village between Truro & St. Austell.




Q: What previous experience of autism or learning disability did you have before joining Green Light?

A: I have a family member with autism. 

Q: What kind of things do you and your team do on a typical day?

A: Make the most of the time. We encourage and challenge the people we support and ourselves in achieving a normal day but then to do something new.

Q: What kind of things would you be doing to support the people living in your home?

A: Interacting and having fun everyday.

Q: What are the challenges & rewards of supporting people with autism & learning disabilities?

A: It rarely feels like work and it shows when we get our just rewards of a huge smile from the people we support.  Only challenge is long shifts but most of the time they fly by, with a full and busy day. 

Q: As you head to work; what do you most look forward to?

A: Never knowing what we can achieve and working with some amazing people

Q: What has surprised you most about working with people with autism & learning disabilities?

Tresleigh

A: The love we get shown and having someone who relies on us to get through the day then gives us some amazing feedback, even from people who may be non-verbal.

Q: Have you learned anything unexpected about yourself or your skills and abilities?

A: I can actually do this and enjoy doing it!

Q: What kind of skills & values would you say people need to have, or develop, in order to be great at this kind of work?

A: Patience and being open to swift changes helps.

Q: What's been the highlight of your career working with people with autism and learning disabilities so far?

A; Having some wonderful feedback from those around me.

Q: As you leave work, at the end of a typical day, how do you know you've done a great job?

A: I smile and feel great


Why not check out Dave's previous guest blog '10 tips for staying mentally well during covid 19'   


Comments

  1. Lovely to read your blog post, Dave. Great to see how Tresleigh continues to go from strength to strength.

    ReplyDelete

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