Module 4.Risk Enablement in ActionIn this module, you will learn:
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In Module 3, you learnt about The 4 Essentials of Risk Enablement. In this Module, you will learn how to put these Essentials into action using the process of risk enablement.
This video is an introduction to this module.
This video is an introduction to this module.
The process of risk enablement
The 4 Essentials are positioned within a broader range of things that you need to consider to make risk enablement work.
Figure 9 shows how the Essentials fit with the other aspects you need to work with when enabling risk. The process of risk enablement starts with the 4 Essentials.
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Working Together
As a support worker you usually work as part of a team. Enabling risk successfully always requires you to collaborate with the person.
Other people you will need to work with may include:
Other people you will need to work with may include:
- Disability support workers at your place of work
- Your practice leader or front line manager
- Family members – for example: parents, brother, sister
- Friends of the person you support
- Other people living in the group home
- Others as required – for example: the person’s employer, the taxi driver, health professionals
Staff shift plans might need to change, handover will need to be clear and all staff supporting the person must be aware of the person’s choice to enable a consistent approach to the support provided.
Risk enablement requires consistency. It does not work when some of the team revert back to a protective approach. Remember, the 4 Essentials need to be kept in balance during the entire process.
Teamwork is a key part of the risk enablement process. When teams work together to reach a common view about enabling risk, this can lead to more reflective and creative approaches around the support you provide.
Risk enablement requires consistency. It does not work when some of the team revert back to a protective approach. Remember, the 4 Essentials need to be kept in balance during the entire process.
Teamwork is a key part of the risk enablement process. When teams work together to reach a common view about enabling risk, this can lead to more reflective and creative approaches around the support you provide.
Taking account of context
You will need to consider the context to enable risk-taking behaviour. The context refers to anything in a particular situation you will need to deal with so that risk can be supported.
Context can include things like the:
This list does not include all items you need to consider because all of that will depend upon what the person you are supporting wants to do. Your task is to make their choice happen by thinking about the context that they are in.
Context can include things like the:
- Weather – will it be fine to go outside?
- Cost – what are these and who will pay for them?
- Accessibility – will the person have easy access to shops and public transport?
- Walking paths – are these even or will there be stairs the person will need to use?
- Timing – what times will the movie be shown? What time should the person catch the train to get there?
- Crowds – when is it least busy at the gallery so the person will behave more comfortably?
- Physical – what is the space like around the person? This can include the colour of bedroom walls and type of furniture.
- Social inclusion – will the person become socially isolated if they moved out of home?
- Catering – will the person have any allergies to types of food being served at an event?
This list does not include all items you need to consider because all of that will depend upon what the person you are supporting wants to do. Your task is to make their choice happen by thinking about the context that they are in.
Planning
You will have noticed by now that careful planning is required for risk enablement to work. If there is more risk to manage, there will be more planning.
Examples of planning include:
Risk enablement involves supporting a person with cognitive disability to take risks and this can happen when you have given their situation proper thought and planning so that potential for harm is minimised.
Sometimes you cannot plan everything in advance. There are times when you will need to plan as you go about your work. If a situation changes as you are supporting someone, you will need to manage that.
We have already noted that risk enablement is a dynamic process, and always changing, so you will need to change with it.
Examples of planning include:
- Having discussions with people in the team
- Exploring the context that the risk will occur in
- Finding out more information about the risk before you proceed
- Thinking about other alternatives that can be undertaken while staying true to preferences
- Organising or booking things like transport
- Talking to other people that know the person well
- Trying out alternative activities
Risk enablement involves supporting a person with cognitive disability to take risks and this can happen when you have given their situation proper thought and planning so that potential for harm is minimised.
Sometimes you cannot plan everything in advance. There are times when you will need to plan as you go about your work. If a situation changes as you are supporting someone, you will need to manage that.
We have already noted that risk enablement is a dynamic process, and always changing, so you will need to change with it.
Accountability
When enabling risk, it is important to understand that not everything will go as you have planned it. Accountability starts with describing the process.
Being able to describe the process is an important part of risk enablement. It allows you to reflect upon your practice and think about what you might do differently the next time so that you are less likely to have a negative outcome.
Disability support workers sometimes explain that they worry about what will happen to the person they support, the organisation and themselves if taking a risk involves some negative consequences for the person.
In these situations, you are unlikely to be blamed but you will need to be ready to explain the entire process you undertook to enable risk. Using The 4 Essentials will help you do this.
Being able to describe the process is an important part of risk enablement. It allows you to reflect upon your practice and think about what you might do differently the next time so that you are less likely to have a negative outcome.
Disability support workers sometimes explain that they worry about what will happen to the person they support, the organisation and themselves if taking a risk involves some negative consequences for the person.
In these situations, you are unlikely to be blamed but you will need to be ready to explain the entire process you undertook to enable risk. Using The 4 Essentials will help you do this.
What did you do?
You can use the process outlined in Figure 9 to help you explain what you did.
Describing the process means you can describe what you did to achieve the outcome you got.
Scenarios are provided next to demonstrate how to put all of this into action.
Describing the process means you can describe what you did to achieve the outcome you got.
Scenarios are provided next to demonstrate how to put all of this into action.
CASE SCENARIO: Cody is Moving out of Home
This case scenario “Cody is moving out of home” is provided to demonstrate how the risk enablement process begins with the 4 Essentials and at the same time, it also considers the aspects of: Working Together, Taking Account of Context and Planning. It ends with being Accountable.
Cody has lived at home with his siblings all of his life. He now wants to move out of home with two of his mates from work. Cody is a 23 year-old man with intellectual disability. His Dad is concerned and thinks that Cody is not being realistic and that he is just following the lead of his friends, but is also aware that saying ‘no’ is not how to deal with this situation.
Click here to learn how the process of risk enablement has been applied to enable Cody to move out of home. Photograph courtesy of Gary Radler Photography |
ACTIVITY 4.1
Please read the questions carefully, then complete the questions in the downloadable workbook located in the Resources section.
- What are considered to be the “risks” in Cody’s scenario?
- List the people who “Worked Together” in Cody’s scenario. Examples have been provided for you.
- Describe what needed to be considered as part of the “Context” in Cody’s scenario. Examples have been provided for you.
- Describe the type of “Planning” that was undertaken in Cody’s scenario. Examples have been provided for you.
CASE SCENARIO: Angela's Birthday Cake
This case scenario “Angela’s Birthday Cake” is provided to demonstrate how the risk enablement process begins with the 4 Essentials and, at the same time, it also considers the aspects of: Working Together, Taking Account of Context and Planning. It ends with being Accountable.
Angela is a 53 year-old woman with intellectual disability. She really enjoys eating sweet foods, especially cake. Angela has Type II diabetes and takes two different types of oral medication (oral hypoglycaemic medication) to keep her blood glucose levels in control. Mostly, Angela does control her diabetes well, though her recent blood test results revealed her glucose control was not optimal. Her general practitioner made some changes to her diabetes medication management plan which Angela has been following for the past fortnight.
Next week it is her birthday and she has requested to have a birthday cake at her party. Her friends and family are coming to her home to celebrate with her. Angela lives in a group home that she shares with three other people where there are 24-hour support staff. Her disability support worker, Joan, is concerned about Angela eating cake because of her diabetes. She is further concerned about Angela eating other foods at the party which could affect her diabetes control. |
Click here to learn how the process of risk enablement has been applied to enable Angela to have a chocolate cake for her birthday.
ACTIVITY 4.2
Please read the questions carefully, then complete the questions in the downloadable workbook located in the Resources section.
- What are considered to be the “risks” in Angela’s scenario?
- List the people who “Worked Together” in Angela’s scenario. Examples have been provided for you.
- Describe what needed to be considered as part of the “Context” in Angela’s scenario. Examples have been provided for you.
- Describe the type of “Planning” that was undertaken in Angela’s scenario. Examples have been provided for you.
ACTIVITY 4.3 Shane's New Start
Please read Shane's scenario below, then complete the questions in the downloadable workbook located in the Resources section.
Shane has recently been in jail and is currently on parole. Shane’s parole conditions state he is required to have stable accommodation. Shane wants to live in his home town with his brother, Macca, who is a fly-in, fly-out worker in another state.
Macca is away from home a lot with work but would also like Shane to live with him. In the past, Shane has felt lonely and isolated and ended up with a group of peers who led him into criminal activity.
Shane has a moderate intellectual disability and has had part-time jobs in the past. He particularly enjoyed working on cars and with mechanics.
A high priority for Shane is not going back to jail.
Macca is leaving his job in 12-months’ time and will be taking up a new job in the local area. You are working with Shane as his disability support worker.
Macca is away from home a lot with work but would also like Shane to live with him. In the past, Shane has felt lonely and isolated and ended up with a group of peers who led him into criminal activity.
Shane has a moderate intellectual disability and has had part-time jobs in the past. He particularly enjoyed working on cars and with mechanics.
A high priority for Shane is not going back to jail.
Macca is leaving his job in 12-months’ time and will be taking up a new job in the local area. You are working with Shane as his disability support worker.
- What are considered to be the “risks” in Shane’s scenario?
- How will you be person centred with Shane?
- Thinking about the 4 Essentials, and the Risk Enablement Process, how will you enable Shane’s preference? Describe what you would consider for each of the Essentials below.
b. Being Proactive
c. Staying True to Preferences
d. Minimising Harm
You have now thought about the 4 Essentials in relation to Shane’s scenario. The questions below ask you to think about the process of risk enablement.
- Can you find examples of how you have worked together to enable Shane’s preference?
- Explain whether you had taken account of context to enable Shane’s preference.
- Can you find examples of the planning you did to enable Shane’s preference?
- Briefly describe what you did to enable Shane’s preference. You can write your answer next to each Essential [see workbook].
ACTIVITY 4.4 Chloe Catches the Train
Please read Chloe's scenario below, then complete the questions in the downloadable workbook located in the Resources section.
Chloe catches the train to work each day and has been doing so for many years. Recently, however, a new ticketing system has been introduced where train commuters have to ‘touch on’ and ‘touch off’. Chloe often forgets to do so and, as a result, has incurred large fines.
The support workers are now considering driving Chloe to work, or arranging a bus to come and pick her up.
Chloe is upset and frustrated as she enjoys catching the train but does not seem to understand she cannot afford to keep incurring fines.
Her support worker says, “Well, it’s tough, I know, but she just has to realise she can’t catch the train anymore. If she’s going to choose not to touch on and off, then that’s the consequence. No more train, it’s just too risky.”
The support workers are now considering driving Chloe to work, or arranging a bus to come and pick her up.
Chloe is upset and frustrated as she enjoys catching the train but does not seem to understand she cannot afford to keep incurring fines.
Her support worker says, “Well, it’s tough, I know, but she just has to realise she can’t catch the train anymore. If she’s going to choose not to touch on and off, then that’s the consequence. No more train, it’s just too risky.”
- What is considered to be the “risk” in Chloe’s scenario?
- How will you be person centred with Chloe?
- Thinking about the 4 Essentials, and the Risk Enablement Process, how will you enable Chloe's preference? Describe what you would consider for each of the Essentials below.
b. Being Proactive
c. Staying True to Preferences
d. Minimising Harm
You have now thought about the 4 Essentials in relation to Chloe’s scenario. The questions below ask you to think about the process of risk enablement.
- Can you find examples of how you have worked together to enable Chloe to catch the train?
- Explain whether you had taken account of context to enable Chloe to catch the train.
- Can you find examples of the planning you did to enable Chloe’s preference?
- Briefly describe what you did to support Chloe to catch the train. You can write your answer next to each Essential [see workbook].
ACTIVITY 4.5 Scissors for Romeo
Please read Romeo's scenario below, then complete the questions in the downloadable workbook located in the Resources section.
Romeo likes to cut out pictures from magazines for his scrapbook but staff say it is too dangerous for him to have a pair of scissors. Staff keep the scissors in the locked office because if Romeo sees the scissors he will try to grab them.
Romeo has developed a reputation for behaviours of concern and staff have asked for a referral to the behaviour support team to stop Romeo from grabbing the scissors.
Romeo has developed a reputation for behaviours of concern and staff have asked for a referral to the behaviour support team to stop Romeo from grabbing the scissors.
- What is considered to be the “risk” in Romeo's scenario?
- How will you be person centred with Romeo?
- Thinking about the 4 Essentials, and the Risk Enablement Process, how will you enable Romeo's preference? Describe what you would consider for each of the Essentials below.
b. Being Proactive
c. Staying True to Preferences
d. Minimising Harm
You have now thought about the 4 Essentials in relation to Romeo's scenario. The questions below ask you to think about the process of risk enablement.
- Can you find examples of how you have worked together to enable Romeo's preference?
- Explain whether you had taken account of context to enable Romeo's preference.
- Can you find examples of the planning you did to enable Romeo's preference?
- Briefly describe what you did to support Romeo to have a pair of scissors. You can write your answer next to each Essential [see workbook].
If you have any questions about this module, or would like some further guidance about the activities, you can send an enquiry using the Contact Form. Suggested responses to the activities are provided in the Resources section.
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SUMMARY MODULE 4
You can use the risk enablement process to support anyone who wants to take a risk. In this module you learnt that:
- Risk enablement is collaborative, requires careful planning and considers the context you are working in
- Advanced planning is not always possible, but you can still make judgements and refine your responses as you go to minimise harm
- Using the risk enablement process diagram will help you to be accountable by describing the process you took to enable risk for the person you support.
Header photograph courtesy of Gary Radler Photography