direct support professional

residential manager

instructor

registered nurse

housekeeper

Developmental Disabilities Institute

I have worked here for four years. I loved it as a DSP -- CommHab. I worked for an individual on a 1:1 and assisted with ADL's, mentoring, etc. The pro's are: FLEXIBILITY, HIGH DEMAND FOR STAFFING, PURPOSEFUL, FUN! Flexible scheduling for the most part, great for college students, meaningful, purposeful, and sometimes you get to go on fun outings. I give it four stars for my OVERALL experience, however I left feeling very disillusioned.

CONS: BURN OUT, JOB INSECURITY, NO PROTECTION. Due to the interpersonal dynamic of Commhab and the family being a boss figure/management, they have the right to remove you and virtually leave you without income for whatever reason. The family can also be demanding hours that burn you out, and it can feel like you have to put your client and family before yourself. The agency does not have any obligation to the staff, but they do for the family and client. The four years I worked I did not even know if I could reach out for any support and handled things internally -- and the family will be very frustrated if you do go to DDI instead of them for help. 

I was removed from my client after dealing with a parent of my client being extremely rude, accusatory, and out of place towards me. I defended myself, and I also needed to remove myself from the situation. I was THREATENED my job for leaving my shift 2 hours before the other staff got there. This was incredibly upsetting on top of an already extremely uncomfortable situation. All I was offered in return was a list of other families needing support. It was extremely upsetting and I realized that DSPs have no protection, support, or help. The family can do whatever they want with you. If I were rating on my leave alone, it would be maybe 2 stars. 

I STILL value the time and effort I put in this job. I URGE any DSP or DSP curious people to give yourself boundaries and self care to reduce possibility of burn out. In the end you can sacrifice so much and you will get spit out by the family you cared for for years. Never put your job above your needs. 

Worked with the mentally disabled in residential home, required to; dress them, help them use the bathroom, help them eat, and various activities.

Typical day; get them ready for morning program, drive them there, pick them up in a couple hours when it finished.  Then various activites would prepared for them to do in the house.  At night they were showered and put to bed.

I learned to be grateful for the simple things in life such as the fact that i don't need anyone to help me get ready in the morning or to help me shower.  I also developed a little more patience and self control as some times the patients seem to act out on purpose or do things to intentionally annoy you, but must remember they have a disability.

The managment and co-workers were very friendly and helpful.  Also very understanding if you had to be late or miss a day.

Hardest part was just having self-control as some times the patients get violent and spit on you. You were only to restrain them if necessary, however very tempting to not all the time.

The experience itself was very enjoyable.  The environment was great and from working with the patients everyday you connect with them and possess genuine happiness when you know they're doing better from your services.

The goal of DDI: help those with autism and other developmental disabilities. 
Achieving the goal? Difficult. 

The students are a joy, each with their own unique personalities. The problem comes in with management, and favoritism. 

During covid, lunch breaks were stopped and post poned until students left for the day at 2:30. For those who can hold off from being there at 8 am, that’s fine. Not everyone can, and it is highly inappropriate they took away lunch breaks from staff. 

Staffing is also consistently at a low because of the poor pay, and the way management handles issues of the facility. TA’s who have proper college education in education are not paid accordingly to their credits, nor to their degree. Pay is also bad for teachers, OT, PT, and speech therapists and people tend to leave based on that alone.  

Favoritism runs rampant. The “favorites” of the job are always given the “better” rooms in the building, and always put with their friends on the job. Everyone else doesn’t get this treatment. 

For a foot in the door first job, come work here for 6 months to a year, then find a better facility. If you prefer disorganization and poor pay consider this the place to be for your long term career. 

Nice enough people, however their fear of change and growth ultimately harm the programs they oversee.  Petty, retaliatory nonsense engaged in to protect and justify their positions is clearly evident.  The Union of Teachers and Teacher ASSISTANts is growing.  DDI will not allow related service personnel to join the union.  Fear of organized labor should tell you that this organization needs a good shake up FrOM TOP TO MIDDLE.

THE CEO CLAIMS DDI IS BLEEDING MONEY, HOWEVER THE MIDDLE AND TOP MANAGEMEnT IS EXTRODINARily  LARGE.

YET THE REASON DDI IS A SCHOOL IS BECAUSE OF THE TEACHERS AND TEACHER ASSISTANTS.  THEY CANNOT SECURE A LIVING WAGE, BUT MIDDLE AND UPPER MANAGEMENT CAN ?

Poor money management.  I have creative solutions.  I cannot get a meeting withCEO.

#Lame #selfserving #thevulnerable #Teachersshouldbepai as professionals.


#Dangerous classrooms
#workerscomp
#staffnotsupported
#shameful

Developmental Disabilities Institute was a school for children who were mentally impaired. All of the children possessed different and unique skills. The first part of the day would consist of bus duty. My job would be to direct the children from the school bus into the classroom every morning. After all the children were safely escorted to the classroom, they would have a small snack if they had not eaten breakfast, or get started on their school assignment for that day. Depending on what day it was, I would have to escort the children to gym. After gym, they would be escorted back to the classroom to have lunch. Some of the children needed help properly and safely eating. After lunch we would work on some more school assignments and at approximately 3 pm, they would be dismissed in which I had to escort them back to the school bus. The hardest part of the job was communicating with the children because some of them lacked verbal skills. The most enjoyable part was watching the excitement on their faces when they completed a school assignment or a specific goal that they had been working on the whole school year.

I’ve worked for DDI for 16 and a half years as a TA. Yes there are challenges and yes the amount we get paid for the work that we do could be much higher.  But in my experience and most recently the management has tried very hard to support the staff by lobbying to the senetars and assembly workers to help fight for more fund increases which would lead to more pay raises for staff. DDI cares deeply about the individuals that they serve and for their employees. They try to come up with creative ways to boost staff moral through out the school year. It would be nice if a certain amount of staff could have the option to have the summers off while still being paid (like districts do-removing a certain amount of money out of the staffs paycheck each week until summer then receiveing their end of theyear check). However, DDI is always coming up with new and improved ways to make things better. DDI in my experience is one of the best places to work if you love children, love people with special needs and love to help others!!!

I learned alot working with ddi. It can become very stressful and overwhelming at times. It taught me more patients then what I had when it comes to behaviors, how to handle situations with the individuals, and they do become like family to you. You teach them everyday living, speech, dressing themselves, toileting, eating at a pace and how to express what they want even when they can not speak. I loved working with the children at ddi. Hours and pay suck but if you applied yourself there always room for moving up with company, some staff was not about team work or helping others but when there is great staff on the shifts went smooth. Some people made it horrible to work because they complain about doing there job or when ask to do something they refused or complain. Some staff was very disrespectful to management. Training and support from office and staff could be better.

Main duties are to make sure individuals don't run out of meds and make sure they follow up with doctors as ordered. Nurses don't provide hands on care, dsps provide the hands-on care. Nurses make sure Dsps (staff) are following orders and in-service as needed and when things change. 
My nursing supervisor was awesome. She really makes you feel appreciated. 
A lot of meetings with this job. Monthly nurses meeting. Monthly team meeting. Quarterly meetings for all individuals and meetings as needed. And I'm not a meetings person. And a lot of rescheduling missed appts staff either forget about or don't feel like doing.
Best part job, aside from the individuals, is the flexibility you get. If you have the time, you can take off literally whenever. And you can start your day whenever you want. Benefits aren't bad either. I left because I just needed a change. 

I was at ddi for less then a year and left unfortunately due to terrible management and the demands of the job getting to me. Yes you do get a great sense of satisfaction working with these individuals but the split shifts and do I mention the dreaded 12 hour shift on a weekend day plus getting beat up by individuals got too me and I just simply had to leave. What was even worse was the inability to call out when I had too without being hassled by my house manager and aswell as my assistant manager telling me I had to come in and that being sick was simply not a good enough excuse to not come in for a 3 hour morning shift?  Terrible expensive health benefits with a 1000$ deductible for dental? I can see why there struggling to get people in and keep them aswell

The most important thing I learned from DDI is patience. I always thought working in the hospitality field and dealing with numerous customers on a daily basis gave me the ability to be patience with others. It wasn't until I started at DDI that I realized how to truly slow down and take each moment as it comes. Not only did DDI give me one of the greatest life lessons I have had the pleasure to work with amazing people from my individuals to my coworkers. 

Everyday we do something new and exciting. As a mentor in my field i have taught new employees the perks of taking our guys out into the community, to live and teach a healthy life style, and to just enjoy the simple things. 

The hardest part of my job was learning how to teach each individual. Trying to find that perfect way to explain something is very challenging.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Direct support professional 228 salaries reported	$21.83 per hour
Residential manager 51 salaries reported	$25.59 per hour
Instructor 2 salaries reported	$17.48 per hour
Registered nurse 4 salaries reported	$40.00 per hour
Housekeeper 34 salaries reported	$19.32 per hour

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