PSY1APP W10-12

Disability (Merriam-Webster)

A physical, mental, cognitive, or developmental condition that impairs, interferes with, or limits a person's ability to engage in certain tasks or participate in daily activities.

Disability (Australia Bureau of Statistics)

6 overarching groups:

1. Sensory: sight, hearing, speech

2. Intellectual: Difficulty with learning and understanding

3. Psychosocial: nervous or emotional, mental illness, memory, social and behavioural

4. Physical: breathing difficulty, chronic pain, incomplete use of limbs

5. head injury: stroke, acquired brain injury

6. Other: restrictions in everyday activities due to other long-term conditions or ailments

Vulnerability (Merriam-Webster dictionary)

The state of being open to attack or damage, either physically or emotionally.

People with disabilities are among some of the most vulnerable people in our society due to their dependence on others for care and support or because of social isolation, their place of residence or the nature of their disability.” They also are more likely to experience neglect (depravation of health, care, emotional, social, economic) and violence (physical, verbal, mental, sexual)

Requirements to work with those who are disabled

Mandated Requirements

1. Working with Children Check

2. Police Check

3. Code of Conduct

Desirable

1. Certificates in disabilities: courses in community service, individual support

2. First Aid (usually offered by the employer)

BONUS

If you are currently studying to become a social worker, physiotherapist, nurse or another profession within the health/care industry

Issues of supports prior to the NDIS

• the individual had to fix a box, a program and a particular model for funding

• underfunded

• unfair

• fragmented

• little choice of supports

• no guarantee of funding

• Young adults with disabilities connected with services through their Future for Young Adults (FFYA) or Individualized Support Packages (ISP) funding

• The government gave the money directly to organizations

• The government subsidized lots of services (i.e. Local councils, respite houses, day programs)

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

A program in Australia designed to provide support and funding for individuals with permanent disabilities to manage everyday activities.

The funding is for anyone who meets the following criteria:

• is an Australian citizen/ a permanent visa holder

• has a life long disability

• is aged between 0-65 years

• has developmental concerns and is under the age of 9 (Early Childhood Approach)

Objective of the NDIS

• The main objective of the NDIS is

• to provide all Australians who acquire a permanent disability before the age of 65

• Which substantially impacts how they manage everyday activities

• With the reasonable and necessary supports they need to live an ordinary life.

Early Childhood Approach

An NDIS initiative designed to support children who have been diagnosed with disabilities before they reach the age of nine.

NDIS (Insurance)

• The NDIS refers to insurance on their website as: giving all Australians peace of mind if they, their child or loved one is born with or acquires a permanent and significant disability, they will get the support they need.

  • underpins how the scheme operates- has a greater capacity for cost management

  • maintains sustainability by calculating the total future cost of support for all eligible participants Insurance

  • Value for money both now and in the future: encouraging early investment and intervention to reduce the total future cost of disability for Australia as outcomes for participants improve

NDIS (scheme)

The NDIS refers to the word scheme on their website as NOT a welfare system.

• It is designed to help people get the support they need so their skills and independence improve over time.

• The scheme itself is implemented by the NDIA (agency) and has a board of governance.

Budget Categories under the NDIS

A - core funding

B - capital funding

C - capacity building 

Core Support

The NDIS will fund what is “reasonable” and “necessary” for the participant to achieve their goals. They also take into consideration informal support (family, friends, community)

Capacity Building

• The person with a disability will have a specific plan tailored to the person’s goals and needs.

• The NDIS will place the individualized funding in the person’s plan – choice and control. 

• The government is no longer subsidizing services – Providers offer services and compete for service delivery

NDIS plans

The plan is about the person’s goals. What they want to learn and achieve. It is about their independency. Where they want to work and live.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

A scientific discipline concerned with applying techniques based on the principles of learning to change behavior.

Behaviorist Theory

• used to change behavior

• increase one behavior

• decrease another

• reinforcement schedules: how often and when to use reinforcement to change behavior. What type of reinforcement - negative or positive.

Functional Behavior Assessment (SABC)

A strategy to identify the purpose or function of a behavior by understanding its antecedents and consequences.

• Setting: what is it about the person’s environment that might be contributing to the behavior occurring?

• Antecedent: what happened just before the behavior occurred?

• Behavior: what did the person do?

• Consequence: what happened after this?

Operant Conditioning Theory (Skinner)

• Based on 2 assumptions:

  • The cause of human behaviour is something in the environment

  • The consequence of the behaviour determines the possibility of it being repeated 

    • Reinforcers – responses from the environment that increase the likelihood of the behaviour apetitive stimulus

    • Punisher – negative operants that decrease the likelihood of the behaviour – it weakens the behaviour – aversive stimulus

What is the main goal and method of disability support?

To teach people with disabilities skills for greater independence and community participation. Support workers do tasks with the person, not for them, using behaviourist methods — breaking tasks into smaller steps, using prompts, modelling, and reinforcement to encourage learning.

What is forensic disability support and how does it differ from regular disability support?

It focuses on understanding and changing behaviour by recognising that behaviour communicates needs (e.g., fear, discomfort, trauma). The goal is to understand the reason and replace the behaviour with appropriate skills and understanding.

Good Lives Model (GLM)

The GLM is a strengths-based approach that builds a person’s skills and capabilities to reduce reoffending. It views offending as an attempt to achieve normal human goals (like belonging or autonomy) through harmful means due to personal or environmental deficits that prevent prosocial goal achievement.

How does the Good Lives Model guide intervention?

Instead of focusing on punishment, the GLM aims to develop personal functioning — teaching people skills like problem-solving, emotional regulation, and frustration management, so they can meet their needs in safe, constructive ways rather than offending.

What are the primary and secondary goods in the Good Lives Model?

• Primary goods: Core human needs (e.g., health, knowledge, autonomy, relationships, pleasure, creativity, belonging, spirituality).

• Secondary goods: The means of achieving those needs (e.g., studying at university to gain knowledge). Problems in living may arise from issues with capacity, scope, means, or coherence in pursuing these goods.

What explains inappropriate sexualised behaviour in people with an intellectual disability? (Counterfeit Defiance Theory)

• Often caused by poor social skills, limited sexual knowledge, lack of relationships, and poor impulse control — not necessarily deviance.

• This is called Counterfeit Deviance Theory: People with intellectual disabilities are also more likely to be victims of sexual assault.

How are inappropriate sexual behaviours assessed and treated?

• Assessment measures understanding of body parts, intimacy, relationships, and safe sex.

• Treatment targets deficits through education, role modelling, and reinforcement to build healthy social and sexual knowledge.

• Influences like media or lack of role models are addressed through behaviour support and cognitive programs.

How does risk assessment and psychology guide this work?

• Forensic risk assessments identify static (e.g., offence history) and dynamic (e.g., mental health, coping skills) factors.

• The Good Lives Model focuses on building skills to reduce risk, while psychological theories—CBT, social learning, developmental, operant conditioning—help teach prosocial, safe ways to meet needs.

• The “Old Me–New Me” CBT model replaces offending thoughts with positive, controlled thinking.

Volunteerism

An activity performed willingly for the common good without financial gain.

6 defining characteristics of volunteering

1. must be performed based on free will and not due to obligation or coercion;

2. is a deliberative act, requiring careful decision-making;

3. continues over time rather than as one-off special event-focused behaviors;

4. is a function of a person’s goals and not a response to explicit rewards (such as payment) or punishments (such as court orders);

5. volunteering involves service to people or causes that desire help; and

6. volunteerism is usually carried out through organisations or agencies.

Studying volunteerism

A VEHICLE FOR STUDYING:

• Motivation

• Socialization

• Personality

• Situational and Organizational Effects

AS A WAY OF CONTRIBUTING TO SOCIAL POLICY 

•  Programs that influence volunteerism

• Societal impact of volunteerism

Religiosity and Volunteering

• religious people generally volunteer at higher rates than non-religious people.

• although religious attendance increased social motivation to volunteer, only values-based motivation associated with religious beliefs was predictive of actual volunteer hours and intentions.

Theory of planned behaviour

A psychological theory that links beliefs and behavior, suggesting that intention to perform a behavior is influenced by attitudes toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control.

Perceived behaviour control

Perceived behavioral control is a concept from the theory of planned behavior that measures a person's perception of whether they could successfully complete a task or behavior.

What is the Problem of Inaction in volunteerism?

• Although most people view volunteering as good or important, many still don’t do it. 

• argue that factors beyond the Theory of Planned Behaviour are needed to predict volunteer activity—especially perceived behavioural control, which best predicts whether people act.

How can the Problem of Inaction be addressed?

• Through social marketing of volunteerism

• Target those prone to behave as desired (advertising where/when relevant).

• Target those open to good offers (customised messages).

• Address those resistant to behave (requirements or incentives).

What are the risks of enforcing volunteerism through requirements?

• Governmental or educational mandates (e.g., national service, work-for-dole, service-learning) can backfire by causing psychological reactance—a negative emotional and cognitive response when freedom is threatened—leading to reduced motivation and less favourable attitudes.

Overjustification Effect

The phenomenon where external rewards may undermine intrinsic motivation to volunteer.

• “Rewarding people for doing what they already enjoy may lead them to attribute their doing it to the reward, thus undermining their self-perception that they do it because they like it.

• Unanticipated reward may not affect motivation 

What is mandatory volunteerism and its effect on motivation?

Mandatory volunteerism occurs when volunteering is required (e.g., as a course condition). Students who perceived the requirement as controlling showed reduced future intentions to volunteer, especially those who had volunteered more before. The effect stems from loss of perceived autonomy.

Self-determination theory

A psychological framework that emphasizes the role of intrinsic motivation and the importance of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in fostering motivation and well-being. Explains the over justification effect in volunteering.

What is the matching principle in volunteer motivation?

People sustain behaviour when their personal motives and goals are met by that behaviour — volunteering lasts longer when it matches the volunteer’s underlying motivations.

How can the matching principle be used in recruitment?

Persuasive messages that match people’s motives (e.g., values, social, career) are more effective — matched ads or brochures increase appeal, emotion, and volunteering intentions

How does the functional approach explain volunteer satisfaction and retention?

Volunteers are more satisfied and likely to stay when activities provide functionally-relevant benefits (e.g., values, understanding, enhancement, protective, social, career).

What are facilitators and barriers in volunteer environments?

• Facilitators: Conditions that make it easier to gain desired benefits.

• Barriers: Conditions that block them.
  Positive emotions mediate staying in the same organisation; negative emotions predict moving elsewhere

What emotional factors predict long-term volunteering?

Satisfaction, positive affect, engagement, pride, and feeling respected increase commitment; distress and unmet motives reduce it

How do self- vs. other-oriented motives relate to well-being?

• Other-oriented motives (values, understanding, social) → higher well-being, connection, longevity

• Self-oriented motives (career, enhancement, protective) → lower well-being and less positive outcomes.