Published on: 7th April 2025
What I love about being a support worker I Akiko
Watch Akiko’s interview:
Akiko has been a support worker for almost five years and loves the opportunity to make a positive impact in her clients’ lives.
“I like being a support worker because I like helping people,”
– Akiko, Deaf Connect Support Worker
Rewarding experiences
One of Akiko’s most rewarding experiences has been working with a deafblind client and introducing her to the world of rock climbing.
“I love rock climbing myself, and I wanted to encourage her to try it,” Akiko shares.
She explains how she introduced her client to the activity by taking her to a climbing center and allowing her to explore the equipment by touch.
“She was just like, ‘OK, let’s go.’ Now, she’s doing very, very good,” Akiko recalls.
Not just ‘cooking and cleaning’
Support work is much more than helping with everyday tasks, it’s about supporting participants to reach their goals, experience new things and be independent. For Akiko, it’s the moments where her clients achieve something new, like rock climbing, that make the job so rewarding.
“I want people to enjoy their lives, not just do chores.”
Want to make a difference and support Deaf and hard of hearing participants to meet their goals?
Join the Deaf Connect Support Work team: https://deafconnect.org.au/services/support-work
*Video transcript:
My name is Akiko. I’m support worker at just on that almost five years, not yet, but almost five years. I like being support worker because I like helping people, help helping other people. I do support a deaf and blind client every week and I encourage her to do rock climbing because I love rock climbing myself. And she actually took it so good and now she’s doing very, very good. But first I told her what rock climbing is and actually took her to rock climbing area and kind of let her touch things because she didn’t know what that is.
And she was just like “OK, let’s go.”
So yeah, that’s how we started. I guess, I really want people to enjoy their life, not just doing chores. And yeah, I just wanted to help them enjoy a little bit more and do what they can achieve.
