When Jasmine Crawford of Typical Life Corporation started working as a Direct Support Professional with Connor, the individual whom she helps, he couldn’t ride in a car for more than 30 minutes or sit through a movie. Connor would try to communicate with sounds and hand gestures, but few understood him. He quickly grew frustrated.
Jasmine was determined to change all of that. She started by reading Connor’s Individual Support Plan and observing him.
“I like to watch,” Jasmine says. “I’m very observant, so I would watch how he would interact with the people that he’s most comfortable with.”
Finding a shared connection
Jasmine first connected with Connor over the color blue, their shared favorite. Throughout the last year, their relationship has deepened with Jasmine learning the words he uses and the ways in which he communicates. Co-workers now regularly turn to her when they’re not sure what he’s saying.
“She’s great with Connor,” says Shaye Landis, Lead DSP at the TLC house where Jasmine works. “She knows his language like no other.”
Throughout the past year, Jasmine also has slowly worked to get Connor to enjoy longer car rides, visit more places in the community, and even sit through full-length movies at the theater.
“We accomplish things that people said that he couldn’t do,” Jasmine says. “Being a DSP can be challenging, you know, but it’s also very rewarding when you get to work with individuals and you see where they started from to where they are now.”
Building independence into everyday life
Jasmine also works with Connor on basic goals such as dressing himself, cleaning his home, brushing his teeth, and having more patience.
Away from Connor’s TLC residence, some days include visiting the TLC Day Program for group activities. Other days, Jasmine and Connor decide together what they would like to do in the community. They might grab breakfast at the neighborhood Rutter’s, take a drive, or visit a park.
“He’s always out in the community somewhere with Jasmine,” Shaye says.
Beyond helping someone get through a daily routine, being a DSP is about knowing an individual well enough to understand what he or she needs. It’s about encouraging the person to try new things and being a consistent, steady presence through good and difficult days.
Shaye describes Jasmine as loving, caring, and compassionate, someone willing to help train new employees and fill shifts when needed. Those qualities reflect Jasmine’s philosophy about what it takes to succeed as a DSP.
“It takes a person with patience. It takes a person with a positive attitude. You’ve got to take this job with a grain of salt. You’ve got to have tough skin sometimes,” Jasmine says. “So when you’re working as a DSP, you’ve got to start every day fresh and you’ve got to come in with a new attitude and new mindset and good spirits.”