Module 3: The 4 Essentials 

In this module you will learn about the 4 Essentials of Person Centred Active Support. These 4 Essentials will help you to provide just the right amount of support to enable a person to successfully take part in meaningful activities and social relationships.
The 4 Essentials are:
In the Resources section there is a printable summary of the 4 Essentials.
This video talk is a brief introduction to each of the 4 Essentials.  
While you work through this module, consider the following question:

How could the 4 Essentials help you to support people with disability to be meaningfully engaged?
1. Every Moment Has Potential
Every part of the day - every household task – and every social interaction in the community, holds moments of potential for a person with intellectual disability to be involved. The challenge is to find those moments, and provide the right type of support.
This video talk explains the first essential - every moment has potential.
Sometimes support workers feel they need to rush to get tasks done so that there is time for 'special' periods of activity. Person Centred Active Support is about thinking in a different way. Every moment has potential is about looking at the many small steps that make up every task, and how to involve the people you support in as many of these as possible.

For example, think about all the different steps that are involved in these tasks:
  • washing the dishes
  • setting the table
  • collecting the mail
  • choosing which brand of baked beans to buy 
  • paying at the check out
  • washing the car.

Support workers who use Person Centred Active Support also create opportunities to involve people in social interactions within their communities. For example: 
  • saying hello to the neighbours
  • joining a football club 
  • playing cards with housemates
  • volunteering in an animal shelter or Op shop 
  • going to a place of worship
  • walking in the park at the same time everyday, and saying ‘Hi’ to the regular dog walkers.

Activity 3.1

This video shows examples of every moment has potential in practice. 
Watch the video and then do the following activities. Write in the downloadable workbook, located in the Resources section. 
  1. Describe at least 3 moments of potential you saw in the video.
  2. Identify and describe how you could apply moments of potential when supporting people with disability.
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.
LEARN MORE - GO TO EXTRA ACTIVITY 3.1
2. Little and Often
Everyone needs the opportunity to try new things. However, many people with intellectual disability have had a limited range of experience and few opportunities to try new things.

As a support worker, you can create opportunities for the people you support to try new things using little and often. 

If you support a person to experience success, they are more likely to want to try the activity again. 

For some people with intellectual disability, it is hard to be engaged in an activity for a long time. If a person enjoys doing something, even briefly, over time you may find that they participate for longer.
This video talk explains the second essential - little and often.
Little and often is about giving the people you support:
  • lots of opportunities to try new things and find out what they like
  • the chance to try an activity a number of times even if they did not like it the first time
  • the chance to change their minds about likes and dislikes as they get used to something new
  • the chance to stop, take a break and then come back to an activity 
  • the chance to build up their experience of success and enjoyment in an activity.

By supporting a person with little and often you will enable them to build their range of experience and increase their capacity to choose what they want to do.

Activity 3.2

This video shows support workers using a little and often approach to supporting the people they work with. 
Watch the video and then do the following activities. Write in the downloadable workbook, located in the Resources section. 
  1. Write down at least three examples you see of little and often in practice. 
  2. Identify and describe how you could apply little and often when supporting people with disability.
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.
LEARN MORE - GO TO EXTRA ACTIVITY 3.2
3. Graded Assistance to Ensure Success
Every person is an individual with their own support needs. Graded assistance is about giving just the right amount and type of support to enable a person to succeed in a task or social interaction.
This video talk explains the third essential - graded assistance to ensure success.
The type and amount of support each person needs from a support worker will depend on the task or social interaction they are engaged in. You have already seen examples of these in the previous video clips, and will see more as you work through this module. 

Here are some of the ways you can  provide graded assistance for the people you support:
  • Verbal cues – ask or invite the person to be involved
                  Say 'Let’s get the mail out of the mail box'.
  • Visual cues – set the scene so that the person can see what activity you are offering them
    •      Get out the frying pan, oil and steak as you invite the person to come and cook.
  • Step-by-step instructions – give the person clear and simple prompts at each stage of the activity
                 Say 'Let's collect the mail. Let's open the front door and walk to the mail box. Can you open the mail box?' 
  • Sign and gesture - move your hands, arms, body or face to communicate an idea
                 Use your hands to indicate the size of a small and a large drink so the person can choose. 
  • Showing - do the same activity next to the person so they can copy you
                 Demonstrate how to stir the meat in the fry pan and then hand the spoon to the person you are supporting.
  • Physical assistance – provide some physical assistance to enable the person to complete part of a task 
                 Hold open a bag so the person can put something in it.
  • Hand over hand assistance – place your hand over a person’s hand to help them carry out a task
                 Place your hand over the person’s to help guide the vacuum cleaner
  • Visual aids – show a person a picture or object to support them to make a choice
                 Hold up two different t-shirts and watch the person’s response when you ask them to choose which one they prefer.
  • Adaptive equipment – use equipment that compensates for the person’s physical or communication difficulties
                 Use a switch to turn on the food mixer; use a small milk jug instead of a large bottle; use a ‘yes no’ switch to enable the person 
                 to communicate their choice. 

Judging just the right type and amount of support a person needs is not easy. Too much support takes opportunities away from people and too little support means they may not complete a task successfully. You may have to find out by trial and error. 

Remember you can always adjust the type of support you provide or try another way. 

Activity 3.3

This video shows support workers using graded assistance. 
Watch the video and then do the following activities. Write in the downloadable workbook, located in the Resources section. 
  1. Describe at least three different types of graded assistance that you see in the video.
  2. Identify and describe how you could use graded assistance when supporting people with disability.
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.
LEARN MORE - GO TO EXTRA ACTIVITY 3.3
4. Maximising Choice and Control
The fourth essential, maximising choice and control means supporting people to make as many choices about how they spend their day as possible. The more choices a person can make, the more control they have.
This video talk explains the fourth essential - maximising choice and control.
Experience and choice go hand-in-hand. The more experiences a person has, the more alternatives they have to choose from. When a person you are supporting makes a choice, it is important that you respect it. Otherwise it is you and not the person you are supporting who has control.

Supporting people with intellectual disability to make choices can be difficult. Often people may not understand what choices are being offered or the words you are using. 

There are many ways to support a person to make choices and take control. 

You can: 
  • show pictures or objects of the options available
  • use communication devices so a person can look at options and point to their choice
  • listen and watch carefully to see how a person reacts with their body or their face when you offer different options
  • take time to check you have understood the person’s choice correctly
  • offer new experiences and watch how a person responds
  • ask support workers who know the person well how the person communicates what they prefer
  • provide just the right amount of support for the person to be successful
  • step back and let the person take control of what they are doing. 

Activity 3.4

This video shows support workers using different ways of offering people choice and enabling them to take control. 
Watch the video and then do the following activities. Write in the downloadable workbook, located in the Resources section. 
  1. Write down three different ways that the support workers offered choice to the people they were supporting.
  2. Identify and describe how you could use choice and control when supporting people with disability.
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.
LEARN MORE - GO TO EXTRA ACTIVITY 3.4

Summary Module 3

The 4 Essentials are the key elements of Person Centred Active Support.

They are:


NEXT:  Module 4  Putting it Into Practice
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