Disability Services Instructor
Fact Sheet
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Disability services instructors assess training needs, conduct training programs and organise employment or recreation and leisure activities for people with intellectual and/or physical, sensory, social or emotional disabilities.
Duties and Tasks
Disability services instructors may perform the following tasks:
- work out the needs of people with disabilities, including those needs which may be met through training or work experience
- plan, develop and implement education and/or training programs and check on how well they have worked
- talk to parents, residential care workers, community groups, employers and other interested people
Specialisations
They may specialise in one of the following service areas:
- Competitive Employment: places people with disabilities in jobs and provides intensive on-the-job training and continued monitoring.
- Life Education: teaches independent living skills to people with disabilities, as well as providing literacy and numeracy skills, communication and vocational training, community orientation training, and how to cope with daily living activities.
- Recreation and Leisure: establishes recreation and support networks and provides recreation and community orientation training.
- Supported Employment (Integrated): negotiates with employers to obtain long-term employment placements and provides on-the-job training and continuing supervisory support.
- Supported Sheltered Employment: negotiates work contracts for small business operations, manages the business aspects of the operation and provides occupational training and ongoing support
Quick Facts
School subjects that include some aspect of HOME ECONOMICS provide a useful background to these jobs. In some cases a home economics-related subject is a pre-requisite for entry to courses that provide the training for the job.
Workers performing these jobs would usually be expected to spend more than three-quarters of their day indoors, in an office, factory or other enclosed area protected from the weather. Jobs requiring mainly indoor work are excluded.
These jobs require moderate or better reading and writing skills. Workers may be expected to prepare, understand or act on written materials, such as letters or reports. People may wish to avoid these jobs if their reading or writing English skills are limited to a small range of words or phrases and symbols. Jobs remaining may still require very basic reading or writing skills.
Included are jobs providing health care diagnosis and treatment, such as general medicine, pharmacy, optometry, radiography, speech therapy, dental health, etc. Also covered are community and welfare services, such as social work, family and children services, and counselling, and personal services such as hairdressing and funeral services.
These jobs involve WORKING WITH PEOPLE, to help, inform, teach or treat them. Activities include discussing personal issues, listening to people's problems, and providing advice, instruction, information or treatment to meet their needs.
These jobs involve WORKING WITH THINGS, using the hands, or special tools or equipment to make, fix, install or adjust them. Activities include doing practical and physical tasks, and may require an understanding of how equipment or machinery works.
Jobs in this group usually require completion of secondary education and/or completion of some further study of a vocational nature, such as a Diploma or an Advanced Diploma.
Work Conditions
Disability services instructors may be required to work outside normal business hours. This depends on the nature of the training involved and could include a wide variety of tasks, such as organising a paper round or recreation and leisure activities.
Personal Requirements
- understanding and acceptance of people with disabilities
- good communication, organisational and leadership skills
- enthusiastic and self-motivated
- patient and flexible