Reflective Journal: Placement in Disability Support Services at Aruma

This is a reflective journal documenting a student's 50-day placement experience at Aruma, a disability support organization in Australia. The journal details daily activities, learning experiences, and insights gained while working with six clients with severe disabilities. Key activities included preparing bowel management plans, creating healthcare reports, participating in NDIS plan renewals, assisting with the development of a sensory room, and collaborating with allied health professionals. The student also learned about medical software, client relocation processes, and the importance of advocacy and personalized care. The reflection utilizes the DIEP model to analyze experiences and understand the meaning and impact of the placement, emphasizing the development of self-care and health knowledge in a practical environment.

Daily journal of my
placements

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................15
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................16

INTRODUCTION
Working for a disability organization comes with is own unique set of challenges and
daily work experiences which often allow people who work in this sector to gain a wealth of
health related knowledge. This reflective report will focus on my placements which are currently
going on under Aruma, which is a renowned disability organization in Australia wherein the
company operates 150 SIL houses in Victoria, Melbourne and I was assigned to two separate
houses, Crispe Street and Morley Street in order to successfully complete my placements. This
report will describe the experiences that I inculcated over a period of 50 days during my stint
with Aruma where I dealt with 6 clients whose disability quotient is quite severe which
developed my self-care and health knowledge and they also required round-the-clock assistance
which led to a busy work schedule at the end of which I underwent rigorous learning in a
practical environment.
MAIN BODY
The experience that I inculcated during my 50 days placement which was held at Aruma,
one of the most well-known disability care organizations in Australia was quite holistic and there
were many learning experiences that I managed to grasp in various areas of social care which
helped develop my competencies from an all-around point of view. The practice of reflective
writing is very important as it helps one to undergo the process of self-evaluation and critically
analyse the activities one did and their outcomes and impact in their apparent planning for the
future. One of the major models which we used to properly describe reflective experiences is the
DIEP framework which helps present a comprehensive view of the learning experience in a
detailed manner. My experience over the course of my entire placement will be described in this
section of the reflective essay using the DIEP model.
The first step of the DIEP model contains the description of the experience which relates
to the basic description of my placement activities such as what type of work I undertook, in
what environment and in presence of which people. My first day was relatively calm and I was
welcomed by my supervisor who familiarized me with the climate of the company and also
handed me a client health folder which contained the medical histories of my clients and also
gave me the responsibility of preparing a bowel management plan. My second day was also
spent with my supervisor wherein my bowel management plan was reviewed by her to grade my

initial performance which she appreciated. After getting familiar with my client and their
medical problems, the supervisor made me engage with the permanent house staff of the
company houses where we all exchanged valuable experiences on the fourth day and my
supervisor also made me get acquainted with the rulebook of the company on the following day
which contained the policies and ethical guidelines to be followed by each employee including
me.
The next day of my place was also quite holistic as I was involved in preparation of
healthcare reports related to my clients which suffer from speech and linguistically problems and
I took part in their advocacy which my supervisor appreciated. The sixth day of my placement
involved the preparation of an NDIS plan which must be renewed upon expiry and I was
involved with multiple parties such as the NDIS plan manager, client and his family, support
coordinator and the operational manager. The following day I was taught a brand new aspect of
social care which is accounting and bookkeeping as my supervisor helped me understand the
ways in which client's and housekeeping books are balanced online and my next day was also
equally busy and full of unique learning opportunities as I was involved in an meeting with
DHHS personnel as some of the clients had to be relocated because their homes were supposed
to go through major structural overhauls. This process of relocation requires complex paperwork
which was prepared by me the next day involving things such as transition plan and record
checklist and the next day was a rare free day for me as I didn't have much work and my next
day was spent following with the house staff for medical background and current enquiries
regarding my client.
My twelfth day at my placement was spent in preparation of an annual financial for my
clients which details their costing requirements for two weeks to make sure either financial needs
are being met and my supervisor was involved in getting it reviewed and approved by the
operations team and the next day was spent entirely with the operations manager and the billing
team to get the final approval on the made plans. On the thirteenth day of the placement, new
learning opportunities opened their doors for me as I was involved in the preparation of a sensory
room which was an engaging space built for disabled people who have trouble socializing and
engaging with their surroundings. The next few days of mine were dedicated entirely to working
towards making the sensory room concept a reality as me and the supervisor decided on using
pastel shades for the purpose of painting the room which we sent quotations for, I purchased

major furniture for the room along with the machinery which will be used for sources of
entertainment for the clients. My eighteenth day was spent in a meeting with the support
coordinator wherein we discussed about the lethargic attitude of the current behaviour specialist
and since it was an important job role, we decided that all three clients would have a same
behaviour specialist and the next day was spent in getting the new behaviour specialist
acquainted with the history of the patients and the way work is done in the company. My
twentieth day was also dedicated towards working on the sensory room as the delivery of the
goods was executed well and I scanned all the receipts along with their document filing as future
evidence of transactions.
The next few days of my placement brought along with it new learning opportunities as I
was involved with allied health professionals which consisted of behavioural specialist,
occupational therapist and speech pathologist as the condition of one of my client worsened as he
started urinating on his bed and due to the state of the rooms getting dirty, I also filed a
requisition form to the state trustees for new pillows and mattresses. The sensory room also got
due attention as we finally got a hold of a couple quotations for the painting job which I
discussed with my supervisor and one of my client fell down and broke his hip which required a
partial hip replacement surgery for the purpose of which I assisted the support coordinator with
the hiring of a physiotherapist and arranging free sessions with the client. I also took part in
many important meetings on the twenty seventh and twenty eighth days of my placement
respectively wherein I was involved with the NDIS plan manager regarding the renewal of the
plan of a client which could not speak for herself and a cluster meeting which involved all the
operational managers and house coordinators. The next three days that followed involved
meeting with the general practitioner and the behaviour specialist as one of the client's behaviour
continued to escalate and they were diagnosed with a urinary tract infection. I also met with the
support coordinator to arrange a new 1:1 service provider for my clients.
My next day was spent in discussions involving the behaviour specialist and occupational
therapist in order to devise new strategies and behavioural plans for the clients which displayed
behaviour escalation in the past few days. I prepared all the necessary paperwork and duly gave
them to the specialist and I also contacted the allied health professionals regarding the
information of the client's trigger symptoms and past history. The next entire week of my
placement was spent in teaching me about SCOUT which was a medical software programme

recently adopted by Aroma through which medical staff can record their daily progress notes,
medical appointments and any other useful information worth knowing by every personnel in the
organization.
The last few days of my internship went into completing important and varied set of tasks
as on the next day I was involved with the support coordinator to process a circumstances change
request for a client of line who required an active night rather than a sleepover due to her issues
with epilepsy. The next couple of days were also spent in relocating a couple clients of line
whose house was supposed to go through major changes along with rostering the clients for the
next fortnight according to their medical status reports. I got to meet a lot of professionals over
the course of these days such as the speech pathologist, behaviour specialist and the house staff
which were all for the better development for my clients and their increased convenience. I also
got to work with a lot of non-verbal clients which resulted in me meeting the speech pathologist
for multiple appointments to clearly understand the needs and goals of my clients and the final
day of my placement was also spent working as I was in charge of showcasing a house to a new
client and their family which is also an important part of my job description. Overall, I did a lot
of varied activities which challenged me in various ways.
The next step of the model involves the step of interpretation which involves the
meaning of the learning experiences during my placements along with the details and insights
that I gained from them. The very first day which I spent at my placement under Aruma included
getting integrated with the houses I was supposed to work in along with getting data about the
clients which I was going to establish a working relationship with through the guiding hand of
my supervisor. She gave me a rundown of my job roles and responsibilities including a medical
folder which contained the detailed medical information and history regarding my clients. The
next day which I spent during my placement at Aruma was mostly spent with my supervisor
wherein she reviewed my work thoroughly and was pleased to see that I was up to the task and
even appreciated me for making a comprehensive bowel management plan for my patients. I
worked very hard to make this plan as bowel management is a complex field of study revolving
around supporting patients with normal excretion cycles and taking care of their chronic
problems related to their bowel and intestinal functions. By this time, I had gotten thoroughly
inducted with the company and the type of work that happens inside their premises and I was
also fairly comfortable in interacting with the clients under my care. This day was basically spent

in getting me introduced and acquainted with the permanent house staff and getting to know the
experiences and wealth of knowledge they have collected from taking care of and serving
patients for many years, some even decades.
The values and vision of a business are very important to get familiarized with as they
help understand the reasoning behind the company's existence and its broad objectives. On this
note, my fifth day in Aruma was spent in getting engaged with the policies and procedures which
was provided to me in a folder by my supervisor. This day of my placement was one of the best
learning experiences during the entire duration of the placement as I got to advocate and assess
my clients in a comprehensive manner to create healthcare report for the speech pathologist after
their swallowing assessment was complete. Speech pathologists are professionally trained
medical experts who treat disorders related to communication and swallowing. The national
disability insurance scheme (NDIS) is a scheme of the Australian government which helps
disabled people to receive funding to purchase support and get aid based on their personal plans
which details their individualistic goals. I had little to no understanding of how this scheme
works which changed on this day as I got the opportunity to be involved in a meeting where the
expired NDIS plan of one of the patients by my supervisor. This day of my placement was filled
with technical learning with enhanced my skill-sets as my supervisor taught me the ways in
which client's books are to be closed along with balancing these books online for the accounting
department to take further. This process is also called as CERS and happens at the start of each
month wherein the spending of the past month is balanced before a new page is started. All of
the receipts in this transaction are duly stamped and sent to Aruma's office along with a copy
given to the client's family to ensure transparency.
The next day was also filled with new learning experiences and gaining exposure to the
more technical parts of the Australian healthcare industry as one of the houses where I was
conducting my placements in was supposed to get renovated wherein the 8 bedroom house was
supposed to get turned into two 3-bedroom units. As part of my learning experience, I was
involved in a meeting where managers of Aruma and Department of Health and Human Services
(DHHS) were involved where the former were trying to convince the latter based evidence based
reasoning to facilitate the moving of client to another home while theirs is being modified. I
undertook a lot of rigorous paperwork on this day during my placement as the relocation which
was planned in the meeting yesterday was supposed to be backed up with proper documentation

which I helped in as I prepared all the relevant paperwork such as the paper trial, transition plan
along with the record checklist which were compulsory for all three clients which were hoping to
be relocated. The paperwork preparation allowed me to gain relevant knowledge regarding the
place where they will live for the next few months, the hazard and safety check on the property
and presence of proper equipment. After a long wind-up process during the initial days of my
placement where I absorbed every opportunity that came my way, this day was a welcome break
as I did not have any major learning or task to perform.
The following day was entirely spent on communicating with different parties as I
interacted with the house staff to get to know the medical history and past behaviours of my
clients and also chatted with 2 of them and found that they loved socialising and getting struck in
conversations. I also met the families of the clients which were supposed to be relocated to make
them sign the transition papers and clear any remaining doubts in their head if any. The work that
I did on the next day was purely financial in nature as I was given the responsibility to prepare
the financial plans for my clients which detailed the amount that they spend over the duration of
two weeks so that the required amount reaches their bank accounts through state trustees in time.
I duly noted down all of the needs of my clients on a piece of paper and prepared templates for
the plan after consulting the house staff. I spent most of my time in getting in touch with the
operational manager and billing team to get the financial plans signed off and alert support team
of the shift in finances that is bound to occur. I also took calls from the state trustees who said
that they are in need of more information about the requested amount of funds and I also
communicated the financial plans to the family of my clients.
The fourteenth day was dedicated to sensory rooms and their purpose was to provide a
calming sensory room which can used at any time of the day by the SIL support staff to engage
clients in activities and motivate them to communicate in a space built for learning and self-
soothing. I also ordered some items needed for the sensory room online the next day and
informed the departments in charge about their time of estimated arrival. Things were relatively
calm and non-hectic on the fifteenth day compared to other days of my placements as the
management of Aruma decided to paint the sensory room and pastel shades were decided upon
as they promote a soothing environment. The layout of the sensory room was also planned on the
next day which involved various artistic walls and shapes for the clients. The seventeenth day
was spent on major machinery purchases which I thought about intensely such as starry night

light projectors. The next couple of days involved in a detailed meeting with the support
coordinator where my input regarding the attitude and availability of the behaviour specialists
was appreciated and I also explained the new behaviour specialist get a brief rundown of
company working style and the medical history of clients. I also learned how to properly frame
and analyse purchase receipts the next day as I took the delivery of my sensory room goods.
Unfortunately the very next day, one of my client started displaying harmful escalation in
their behaviour which I realized after I saw them urinate on the bed which had no mention in
their past medical history and I got into a meeting with allied health professionals to discuss
future course of action which I found very knowledgeable as these professionals are experts in
their domains. This same client after a few days started displaying worse symptoms which made
me consult the general practitioner which diagnosed her with a UTI and the medicine and
strategy changes were communicated to the behaviour specialist by me. I found this experience
quite hectic and it got worse as one of my clients also fell on the twenty second day of my
placement and was in need of partial hip surgery as a result. I had to work like a team with the
support coordinator in getting my client access to a physiotherapist and get 5 free sessions
arranged for her which I liked as I appreciate working in teams. Since these incidents also
resulted in a lot of things such as clothes, bed sheets and pillows, I also filed a requisition form to
the trustees with $2000 as I diagnosed the fact that continued exposure to such filth can put my
clients at harm's way. I also partnered with Hipages to get acquainted with a few painters for
getting the sensory room painted and after meeting some of them and hearing their quotations, I
discussed them with my supervisor after which I chose to green light the cheapest one.
I also got in touch with the support coordinator to find a new 1:1 service providers for my
clients as I noticed that the current ones are not doing their job properly which is dangerous as
most of my clients are autistic and need proper scheduling of their daily routines. I was also
involved in several meetings on the twenty seventh and twenty eighth day of my placement as
one of my client was about to get their NDIS plan expired and I got in touch with the NDIS
manager regarding the same. My supervisor analysed the way I performed in the meeting and
gave me critical feedback for further improvement such as lack of communication skills and
having average negotiation skills. There was a cluster meeting held wherein I, the house
coordinators of Aruma and the operational managers discussed the current status and assistances

that the clients might need going forward which was a great experience as I leaned new tricks to
stay on top of the needs of my clients.
Since the escalation in behaviour which was records in one of my clients in the previous
days was quite worrisome, the thirty second day of my placement involved detailed meetings
with both, the behavioural specialist and occupational therapist to develop a new behaviour plan
for my clients. I submitted a lot of paperwork including medical sheets, chemical restraint forms,
and behaviour recording charts along with progress notes. This task was quite exhaustive but I
felt relived in knowing that I can handle complex social care tasks on my own to a certain extent.
I also communicated with the allied health professionals to inform them about my client's
escalation frequency and triggers. My next week was spent around SCOUT which is a medical
software which allows medical personnel to record important information regarding all aspects
of their work. I learned about entering the plans, resident profiles, disabilities and other
important data so that everyone in the company has access to the most basic information and I
also leaned formal and informal list making which is also very beneficial for quick access of
contact information.
I was involved in the correction of a grave error the next day as one of my clients whom
has a serious problem of epilepsy an requires 24 hour support got funded a sleepover rather than
an active night under her NDIS plan and I was also placed in charge of the relocation process of
two clients and the complete shifting of all their major documents such as medical notes and
NDIS documents. I made sure their specifications and requests were all fulfilled and their new
place was squeaky clean in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. I also met with the behaviour
specialist to inform all the latest medical information of my clients to her and I also visited the
speech pathologist a couple of times during these last days of my internship to develop a new
communication plan for clients who could not speak for themselves and to make use of a new
communication diary to boost their engagement. I was also present in a house staff meeting and
was the leader there wherein major discussions happened regarding the activities and suggestions
that can be implemented for making clients happy as the COVID-19 lockdown has been quite
harsh on them. This activity did wonders for my confidence and I also met the occupational
therapist for discussing the goals for one of my clients. Even my last day was spent learning as I
was tasked with showing a new home to the family of a new client for the purpose of which I

was given all major details of the client to make sure they are suitable with other people already
residing in the house they want to use the unoccupied rooms for.
The next step of the DIEP model is related to the process of evaluation in which the
learning experiences are analysed to judge their benefits and relevancy. I was delighted on the
first day as I was taking the first steps towards a dedicated social worker in healthcare and the
supervisor gave me a holistic task of preparing a bowel management plan for the patients under
my care. My overall experience was positive on the second day as I was recognized for my
efforts and my interaction with the client's key workers to know their medical condition better
was also a great experience as I got to learn a lot of new things. The experience I gained on the
next day was highly valuable from my point of view as interacting with these workers on a
cordial and friendly basis helped me make some friends at the place of my placement and also
learn about many practical tips and tricks to go on about my job.
The experience on the next day was also a learning curve for me as I got exposed to the
various rights and regulations which every employee in the company is held to and I also got to
know about the various rights of people suffering from disability. I got to advocate and speak on
behalf of my clients on the fifth day which boosted my confidence as I was performing and
learning in a practical setting and I even got encouraged by my supervisor who had my back and
made me feel assured. The next few days were also filled with great learning opportunities as I
got to know about the various people involved such as the house supervisor, client manager and I
also learned a lot about the operational processes involved such as plan renewal policies. My
supervisor taught me a lot of things related to accounting as I got to immerse myself in
technicalities of social care along with documentation and frameworks involved in client
relocation. My ninth day included a great learning experience as learning to file paperwork is a
valued skill in the field of healthcare and I felt happy and satisfied as I got to use my theoretical
knowledge to a wide set of social care processes. The activities that I performed the next day was
quite challenging for me as I was still uncomfortable with crunching numbers but I was satisfied
as I got to interact with my clients and house staff in an engaging and proactive manner.
My fourteenth day was filled with unique opportunities as I was involved in the creation
of a sensory room in the house for my clients as they were non-verbal and rarely engaged in
activities. This was a very memorable experience for me as I had zero previous experience with
the building and usage of sensory rooms. My next few days spent at Aruma were all dedicated to

the building of the sensory room concept for the purpose of which in ordered paint quotations,
furniture and machinery which was a great technical experience for me as my choices were client
oriented and I was learning a skill that is rare in the current job market. The next couple of days
were spent learning about the meetings that were held for the purpose of performance reviews
and critiques and I also learned about how to induct new employees in the company which is a
great skill to have for any individual.
During the next few days, the pressure of work that I felt during my placement was at the
highest due to some unfortunate circumstances. I had to work closely with the allied health
professionals and the behaviour specialist as one of my clients kept displaying escalation in
behaviour wherein I learned to take proper precautions at the primary stage to avoid future
complications. I also got to work closely as a team with my support coordinator as one of my
clients broke their hips and were in need of partial hip replacement surgery and coordinating
with both the support staff and the physiotherapist helped me become proficient at working in a
group. I also learned to take proper care of my clients as I filed a requisition form in advance to
get their pillows and sullied bed sheets replaced with quickness on my twenty fifth day of my
placement. I also learned the art of judging and taking quotations as the painters I met through
Hipages gave me varied quotations for the paint job and I took the cheapest option displaying an
economically sound mind. The supervision that I received from my supervisor when I was in an
NDIS meeting on my placement's twenty seventh day was also very beneficial as I found critical
areas that I lack in. I also took part in a cluster meeting which was a fruitful experience for me as
I got to learn the various activities that social care organizations have put in place to make sure
that their client's needs are being met on a consistent basis.
I learned about completing and filling a lot of paperwork on the next day due to the
behavioural tendencies being displayed by my client being deemed worrisome by Aruma. I was
involved in meetings with behavioural specialist and occupational therapist along with allied
healthcare professionals to prepare important documents and exchange important medical
information regarding my client's erratic behaviour such as its frequency and triggers. This
experience was daunting and I lacked self-confidence as spoke to the senior executives and
specialists quite nervously but I was also proud of being the first person involved in the creation
of a behavioural plan. A major part of my placement was spent on learning a new medical
software called Scout which allows the recording of sensitive and important medical information