What does support look like today?

In the video above, the guest presenters share their perspectives on support. The overarching message is that we all need support to enable us to flourish.

Duncan and Jordanna emphasise that people need different kinds of support and different intensities of support at different points in life. In terms of impairment, particularly intensive supports might be needed when an impairment is acquired or when someone is a child. For example, Jordanna describes the intensive supports her daughter needs and explains how exhausting this can be for her as a mother. This experience has also given her a newfound appreciation of the support her parents sought for her growing up.

Steve and Antoni emphasise the importance of choice and independence, explaining how the support they receive and give allows them and others to do their “own thing.” Importantly, Antoni stresses that just because someone receives support doesn’t mean they can’t give it.

We provide a link to an audio description version of this video in the See Also section below.

Talking points

• How is support understood as different to care in this video?
• What similarities and differences do you notice in the ways the different presenters talk about support?
• In what ways do these discussions about support reflect contemporary understandings of disability?
• In what ways do you think people’s support needs might be influenced by other factors in their life, such as life stage, culture or geography?

In the next step we look at diverse perspectives on support.