My Career: Swapping the classroom for disability support work
Miranda Moriarty transitioned from education to disability support worker so she could help care for a family member
Miranda Moriarty had been working in a classroom supporting children with disability when a close family member became very ill and needed chemotherapy.
Suddenly going to work felt too risky as she was being regularly exposed to the germs and viruses making the rounds in the playground.
“In a primary school environment there were too many communicable diseases and I had to pull back from that,” Miranda said.
“I transitioned into Supported Independent Living (SIL) and one-on-one community access.”
Miranda, who has a degree in fine arts and was part-way through a psychology degree at the time, had been working as an education support officer at a developmental school.
“I really enjoyed it and did lots of behaviour support training which I found amazing in practice and also in theory,” she said.
But the flexibility Miranda had as a support worker when it came to her hours made a big difference when it came to juggling family and work responsibilities.
“Being able to be in the SIL environment gave me a little bit more time with that person (who was unwell),” Miranda said.
“It gave me some day-times to support that family member as everyone else was locked into nine-to-five hours.”
Miranda said disability support work had been incredibly rewarding because of the progress clients made over time.
“If you just keep giving choices and making opportunities eventually something will stick and you get to see a real difference,” she said.
Miranda is now studying a Diploma in Community Services and has found working in the sector has also opened her eyes to new career opportunities.
“I’m thinking about going back to study (psychology) and about exactly how to apply it,” she said.
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