Skills Needed to Work With Developmentally Disabled People

17% of children ages three to seventeen have one or more developmental disabilities. With almost one in six people living with a developmental disability, careers that care for and serve people with developmental disabilities are on the rise. In fact, special education jobs alone are expected to grow by over 20% in the next year.

Working with people with developmental disabilities is an incredibly rewarding and meaningful way to contribute to your community and develop your career. It takes a special kind of person to dedicate their lives to becoming advocates and caregivers.

Patience

Working with people who have a developmental disability is rewarding, but it can also be very challenging. Their disability can add extra obstacles to their day-to-day lives that cause frustration, confusion, and sensory overload. They may also have trouble communicating or completing everyday tasks in a timely manner.

There will be long days. But patience, like any skill, is cultivated. And once you’re able to see the person rather than the disability, we find that it’s pretty easy to be patient with the small things.

Kindness and Empathy

If you want to work with people with disabilities, it’s important that you cultivate kindness and empathy. The people we serve at Integrity Inc. are some of the most vulnerable members of our community. They have to deal with challenges that most of us never have to imagine.

As a caregiver, kindness and empathy are what allow you to communicate and act with patience even in the face of difficult behavior.

Optimism and Perseverance

There is nothing quite as uplifting as working with people who are doing their best every day to improve and grow. It is so rewarding to help people achieve their goals, especially when they’re overcoming great obstacles.

But it often requires a lot of optimism and perseverance to navigate the system in which you have to operate as a special needs professional. Focusing on the care you’re able to provide for your clients will help when you’re dealing with governmental red tape, paperwork, and bad days.