u/No-Stick-2752

i’ve been a dsp for the past year and a half and have finally reached my breaking point. i’ve been asked to do things way out of my job description for terrible pay. i took on 7 clients at once because the turnover rate has been so high that people constantly need fill ins

all i wanted to do was help people and it’s felt impossible recently. i’ve finally landed a job as an RBT. pretty solid pay increase (huge for someone living paycheck to paycheck) and the environment is collaborative and consistent. only three more shifts left as a dsp and im out. i couldn’t be more excited

thank you guys for your posts and comments. i came here during a lot of my low moments. i hope all of y’all’s companies are better than mine lmao

my client, middle aged man with FAS, IDD, and schizophrenia, is going into a job interview at a restaurant today. he typically has social anxiety as it takes him a very long time to process words and do critical thinking. there have been times where i can tell people get frustrated at him for not being able to “keep up”

i’ve been thinking about going to the restaurant beforehand to let the interviewer know of his situation and social issues. my goal in this is to ease any stress on my client’s part and hopefully facilitate communication. but would that be overstepping or infringing on his autonomy?

i’ve been a dsp for 3 years - for almost two years i’ve been working with a client who has down syndrome and SEVERE dementia. I’ve watched her disappear more and more throughout the years and it kills me. she is a hollow, lifeless shell of a person now. i get so frustrated - but it’s in my personal code of ethics to NEVER let a client see or feel my frustrations.

she makes me so mad - just everything she does. i hate how upset i get and how quickly i can feel my patience decrease. i’ve never felt empathy fatigue but god do i feel it with her. i suspect it’s because im angry im losing her. who she was two years ago was someone with substance, someone i knew i could help and make progress with. all of that is gone now. the only thing i can do is keep her at a baseline for as long as possible. even that is becoming impossible.

i know my anger is selfish and personal. do yall feel similarly to a client? if so, how do you manage those frustrations?