Fact sheet 2
Who should I look for to provide support?
Who will be best to support you will depend on what you want
them to do.
You can employ people who have the interests, skills and
experience that will help you reach your goals.
Share your interests
The right person may share your
interests. For example, maybe you like
painting and want to meet other
people who like painting? Choosing
someone to support you who is also
interested in painting is a good idea.
They may know other people with the
same interest. They may know about
places to go like art shows. It is also likely that you will have things
to talk about straight away.
Skills and experience
The best person to support you may know how to do the things
you want to do. They may have experience you can learn from.
Like, if you want to grow plants then choosing someone who has
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made a nice garden could help. They will know about plants and
gardens.
You may find the right people with the right skills in your local area.
They may work at ordinary services. They could be students.
You could employ different people to do different things.
Choosing people to support goals
If you are choosing people to support you based on what you
want to do, you will need to know what you want to do.
You can make a list of what you want to do and the support you
need like this one.
Goal
Support I need
Who could help
Meet more people
Someone to help me Someone confident
talk to new people
who knows places to go
near me
Learn to swim
Help with my kicking
and breathing
A good swimmer –
maybe a life saver or
swimming coach
Get better at painting Someone to show
me how to use
colours
A painter – maybe an
art teacher
Move out of home
Learn to cook and
shop for food
Someone good at
cooking and shopping –
someone who has
moved out of home
Get better with
money
Go to bank, keep
notes of what I
spend money on,
pay bills
Someone who has
looked after money for
a home or business
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Some other things you could need help with are:
 personal care – like having a shower
 your heath – like going to the doctor
 going to places on buses and trains
 getting a job
 learning new things
 therapy type supports like physiotherapy
 planning what you want to do.
You will probably have a long list. You do not have to make your
list on one day. You can add things.
When you have your list you can think about whether the same
person could help with more than one thing.
For example, the person who helps you meet more people may
be able to help you go to places on the train.
Meet more
people
Catch the
train
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What should the person be like?
As well as thinking about skills and interests, it is useful to think
about what you want the person who supports you to be like.
Here are some ideas.
 Happy
 On time
 Listens to me
 Does not tell people my private
information
 Is happy to change what we do
 Knows what to say to people
 Brings what she says she will
 Wears the right clothes for what we
do
 Wants to learn new things
 Wants to get to know me
 Does not do things for me that I can do
 Is not bossy
 Does things without needing to be told
 Helps me to keep trying things I find hard
 Is good at talking to new people
You can make your own list.
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