Provide support to maintain and develop skills for everyday life

Skills for everyday life allow people to do the things that meet their daily needs. These are also known as activities of daily living that have a direct affect on any individual’s health and well-being. It is often thought that care workers look after people by doing things for them. Another approach is to do things with people. Today care workers should work in partnership with individuals and groups of individuals. Partnership is about working together as equals in order to : -Support the individual to make as many decisions about their care as possible -Support the individual to do as much for themselves as possible.

Activities of daily living – skills that directly affect an individual’s everyday health and well- being Partnership – working together as equals. Working in partnership can maintain and develop individual skills . Care workers can still involve the individual even when doing things for them. They consider individual needs when maintaining skills for everyday life. Doing things for individuals:

Providing too much care can make people’s problems worse:
– Individuals can lose skills they once used
– Individuals do not learn new skills
-Individuals do not regain skills they have lost.

At different stages of life individuals might have different health problems that affect their skills for everyday life.Being aware of the activities of daily living helps care workers understand the problems that individuals might have. Problems with everyday living skills:

-Physical health ( Feeling unwell such as with a fever leads to tiredness and inability to carry on with the usual activities of daily living.
-Learning disabilities (An individual with learning disabilities might take longer to learn new everyday skills)
-Mental health (An individual with mental health problems might neglect themselves so they do not eat and drink)
People may not be strong enough to dress themselves or prepare their own meals. -Physical disability (Some physical disabilities prevent individuals going shopping unsupported) -Social isolation (An individual who is lonely is less likely to communicate with others) Care workers can develop their understanding of an individual’s condition and how best to work in partnership to maintain, regain and develop their skills.If a condition prevents an individual from using skills of everyday life, the result can have a significant impact on the person’s quality of life. The effect of conditions on everyday skills:

-Pain
-Inconvenience
-Isolation
-Humiliation
-Distress
-Discomfort