Abusive Behaviour

It all happened three years ago at Tom’s work place. Tom was taking care of a particular client (a person with a disability). This client was very stubborn and had his own way how he saw things around him. In his mind he imagined many things and he lived in his imaginative world. During meal he liked to go out in front of the office or to stay alone on a table in the hall, where all other clients ate their meal under the supervision of their support workers or went in Tom’s unit (the “classroom” sort of) to eat there. Much of the time he did not want to eat his meal at the time he had to. When he did not want ta eat his meal, Tom had to go in the kitchen to tell the support worker, that she was always in charge of the kitchen, to put the plate in the warmer so that the client would ate it warmed later on.

On a particular day, the clients did not want to eat the meal and Tom went as always to the kitchen. Tom told Kate, the support worker in charge of the kitchen, to put the plate in the warmer. When he told her that, she looked at him and with anger and arrogance she told him, to do not let the client eat when he wanted, he had to eat it right away when it was ready. She continued saying that she did not want to put the plate in the warmer every time he did not want to eat. She continued by telling Tom to train him to eat immediately. Tom just told her, in a calm manner, ok and he closed the kitchen door. Tom smiled and thought that she had a bad day in the kitchen and released her stress on him and Tom thought too that he could not trained the client to eat when the meal was ready because he was too stubborn and in the past Tom tried and failed. He was like that and nothing could change the disability he had.

The day after, the client as usual did not want to eat the meal and Tom went to the kitchen and told Kate to put the plate in the warmer. She treated him exactly the same way she did the day before. This time too Tom remained calm, but something was going on. Unfortunately for three whole weeks the clients refused to eat his meal at the time he had to eat it and it was always the same story with Kate. Anger was building inside Tom. He went to the office and report the issue to the Head of Centre. Tom told him what had happened and how was treating him and the client. As support workers and as professionals, they could not push a client to do something he refused to do if we could not improve his or her ability more. That was unethical. The Head just told him, if the issue repeats Tom had to inform him immediately.