Community Disability Support Worker

**This is an opportunity for students who are studying Psychology, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Social Work, Education, Youth Work, Community Services, Speech Pathology or Health Science, to gain on-the-job work experience**

Join Extended Families and make a real and lasting difference for children and young adults with a disability.

The LinC program (Linking + Inclusion + Community) offers ‘one on one’ support to assist children and young people to access the community by building skills to enable participation and supporting equal access to mainstream activities.

If you are wanting to build on your planning, skill-building, positive behaviour support and motivational skills to support children and young adults achieve their life skills goals, then we encourage you to apply. Experience is not necessary - if your values align with ours, you have the right attitude, a willingness to learn, and an ability to be reflective in your practice we encourage you to apply.

We are looking for people who are happy to work short shift times (minimum 2 hours) and who can commit to participants for 12 months at a minimum.

**Who we are**:
We are a disability services organisation that specialises in providing social inclusion and community participation support to young people with disabilities.

We are growing our team of Inclusion Workers and will be selecting motivated, professional, engaging people who are looking for casual, ongoing work with families. We think this is a fantastic opportunity for allied health, social work, and psychology students to experience practical, on the job experience in their chosen field of study.

**The benefits of working as an Community Disability Support Worker with Extended Families Australia**:

- **Flexible Hours** - we fit around your schedule, you can work as little as 6 hours per week and up to 38 hours per week.
- **Hands on Industry Experience** - Opportunities to work alongside industry professionals, such as Occupational Therapists, Psychologists, Speech Therapists and Behaviour Support Practitioners to provide quality, informed support to people with a disability.
- **Supervision and Support** - You will have access to knowledgeable and approachable Services Facilitators who provide reflective support to you across every aspect of your role.
- **Other Benefits** - Extended Families provides access to a suite of professionally developed online learning courses and other staff engagement opportunities.

**Who you are**:
Ideally you be studying in a relevant field or have experience working in disability support and/or hold Certificate 4 in Disability Services. You will be required to provide evidence of a valid NDIS Worker Screening Clearance, a current employee Working with Children Check, COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate (including booster) and an International Police Check (if required). You must also hold up to date First Aid and CPR Certificates (HLTAID011) and a current Driver Licence with access to an insured motor vehicle.

**What the role involves**:
You would be providing practical support in a range of real-life activities that help young people learn independence skills, develop genuine relationship and engage in their community.

See below some examples of these activities and skills you will be supporting with.
- **Attending social groups**_
- Enhancing social and communication Skills - Social Work and Psychology
- Managing anxiety - Psychology
- Developing and implementing effective modelling - Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Psychology
- Replacing challenging behaviour with positive behaviour - Psychology
- Establishing new and meaningful relationships - Occupational Therapy, Youth Work and Social Work
- **Weekly basketball Game**_
- Strength and endurance - Physiotherapy
- Developing emotional expression and awareness - Psychology and Speech Therapy
- Developing effective communication skills - Social Work
- **Getting to School**_
- Developing time management skills - Occupational Therapy
- Developing self-care skills such as getting dressed - Occupational Therapy
- Practicing person centred approaches - Physiotherapy, Social Work and Youth Work
- Establishing and maintaining a routine - Occupational Therapy
- **Taking the train to the city**_
- Managing Unexpected Situations - Psychology and Speech Therapy
- Planning a trip and topping up Myki - Occupational Therapy
- Identifying triggers and providing support to manage responses - Psychology, Social Work and Occupational Therapy

**Where and when**:
Roles will be based across greater and metropolitan Melbourne, and you choose the hours and positions that suit you.

Key times for this role include before and after school, weekends, and school holidays but they can occur at any time. Frequency may be on a weekly, fortnightly, or monthly basis and shift durations usually range from 2-4 hours.

**How to apply**:

- Extended Families acknowledges the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait