The Big Picture
A developmental disability is a permanent disability that a person is born with or that begins before age 18.
Developmental disabilities can affect the person and the whole family. Families may face stress, heavy caregiving demands, financial pressures, changing routines, and concerns about the future.
As a CCA, your support must respect each client as an individual. Follow the care plan, support the client’s choices and independence, protect privacy and safety, and work with family caregivers when appropriate.
Look for Nova Scotia CCA Notes throughout this page for current provincial guidance.
Quick tip: Tap, click, or press Enter on any term with a dotted underline and an ⓘ icon to see its plain-English definition.
Start Here If You’re Overwhelmed
Focus on these core ideas:
- Every client and family situation is different. Do not make assumptions about their needs or routines.
- Support dignity by treating the person with respect and considering the person before the disability.
- Support independence by following the care plan, encouraging self-help devices when possible, and not rushing the client.
- Ask before helping. Clients must consent before procedures, and you must stop if the client tells you to stop.
- Protect privacy and confidentiality.
- Follow the care plan and your supervisor’s directions for safety. Report suspected abuse as required.
Jump to:
Course Notes: Key Ideas You Need to Know
What Is a Developmental Disability?
A developmental disability is a permanent disability that is present from birth or begins before the person is 18 years old.
Two other terms that may appear in this topic are:
- Autism spectrum disorder (ASD): a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects communication and interaction with others. It can also involve restricted, repetitive behaviours, interests, and activities.
- Intellectual disability: an impaired ability to learn. It is also called cognitive disability.
These conditions do not tell you everything about a person. Each client has individual abilities, needs, preferences, and circumstances.
Families May Face Major Changes and Stress
Families of children with developmental disorders or disabilities can face many different challenges.
A family adjusting to a recent diagnosis may still be working out new roles and routines. This can create significant stress. Other families may already have established roles and routines.
Key fact: Every family situation is different.
Most children with disabilities live at home with their families. Many attend regular schools with support from teachers’ aides.
Caring for a child with a disability may require large amounts of time, energy, and work. Caregivers may also need to manage:
- full-time employment
- care of other children
- household responsibilities
- their relationship with a partner
- other family responsibilities
Parents may avoid leaving their child with relatives or friends because they do not want to impose on them. This can reduce the time the parents have together.
Caregiving demands may also reduce the time parents can spend with their other children.
Stigma, Discrimination, and Burnout
Parents may worry that other people see their child as different. Families may experience stigma , discrimination, and other barriers.
Long-term caregiving can also contribute to burnout. Burnout occurs when a caregiver becomes physically and emotionally exhausted.
Families may also face financial pressures. Special equipment and adaptive or assistive devices can be expensive. These costs may not always be covered by a family health plan or a provincial or territorial plan.
Access to Community Support Can Vary
Home care and community agencies may provide support and services to families.
The services available depend on the region. Families in large cities are more likely to have easier access to agencies and support groups than families living in small towns or rural communities.
Some families may depend on the Internet for information and group support.
How the Support Worker May Help the Family
When providing care in a family home, work closely with family caregivers.
Your role may include different types of support, depending on the client and the care plan.
You might:
- perform some household tasks so parents have more time with their children
- provide respite care, giving parents a break from caregiving
- assist the child directly according to the care plan
- help with rehabilitation activities under the supervision of a physiotherapist or occupational therapist
- accompany a child to and from school
- work with children with disabilities in school settings
Role limit: When helping with rehabilitation activities, follow the supervision provided by the physiotherapist or occupational therapist.
Children with severe disabilities may require long-term care in special facilities.
Nova Scotia CCA Note
Sorrentino’s Canadian Textbook for the Support Worker, 5th Edition gives examples of support workers assisting with rehabilitation activities under professional supervision. In Nova Scotia, a CCA must also make sure the care they are being asked to provide is within their scope of practice and has been approved by their employer.
Nova Scotia’s CCA framework also distinguishes independent care from client-specific assignments and delegation. When care is outside the CCA’s educational preparation, additional conditions such as employer approval, direction or supervision by a regulated health professional, and the appropriate assignment or delegation process may apply.
Why this matters in Nova Scotia: Being supervised does not automatically make every task part of a CCA’s role. The CCA must stay within provincial scope requirements, their employer-approved duties, and the care arrangement for that client.
Official source: CCA Scope of Practice & Competency Framework https://novascotia.ca/dhw/ccs/documents/Scope_of_Practice_CCA.pdf (novascotia.ca)
Last checked: October 6, 2026
Needs Can Change as the Child and Parents Age
Caregiving can become more physically difficult as a child grows into adolescence and adulthood.
Parents may reach a point where they cannot lift or move their adolescent or adult child. Caregiving parents may also become ill, injured, disabled, or die.
Through these changes, the person with the developmental disorder or disability continues to need care.
Where Adolescents and Adults May Live
Adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities may live in several settings, including:
- community or residential settings
- their own homes
- group homes
- specially licensed long-term care facilities
Support workers in special long-term care facilities require special training to meet the needs of clients with developmental disabilities.
Families Can Remain Important Partners in Care
Family involvement often continues even when the client is an adult or lives outside the family home.
Family members may have cared for the person for most of the client’s life. They can understand the client’s condition and needs well.
Include family members in care and services when appropriate.
Protect the Client’s Dignity
Dignity means treating the client with respect and considering the person before the disability.
The words you choose matter.
Use respectful person-centred wording such as:
- a client with a disability
- a person who lives with autism spectrum disorder
- a person who lives with an intellectual disability
Do not identify the person only by the disability. Avoid disrespectful labels such as “handicapped,” “disabled,” “crippled,” or “retarded.”
Empathy Is Different From Pity
Show empathy, not pity.
Empathy means understanding another person’s experiences and feelings.
Pity means feeling sorry for another person in a way that implies you are superior to them.
Show Respect Through Your Actions
Treat clients with developmental disabilities with the same courtesy and consideration you give other clients.
You can show respect by:
- being friendly
- talking with the client
- listening carefully
- showing interest in the client’s life
Children with disabilities still need attention, love, play, and fun.
Adults with disabilities need support and encouragement. Treat adults like adults.
When appropriate, shake hands or greet the person with a nod and smile. You can offer a handshake even when the person has an artificial limb, limited hand function, or needs to use the left hand.
Speak directly to the client in a normal tone of voice.
Address adult clients by their title and last name unless they tell you they prefer something different.
Support Independence
The goal is for clients with disabilities to live as independently as possible.
Do not assume you know what a client can or cannot do.
CCA action:
- Follow the care plan.
- Encourage the client to use self-help devices whenever possible.
- Be patient.
- Do not rush the client.
Supporting independence does not mean doing everything for the client.
Give Individualized Care
Individualized care recognizes that every client is different.
The effects of a disability vary from one person to another.
Your supervisor and the care plan guide you in meeting the client’s individual needs.
Client-centred care should fit the client’s:
- choices
- physical strengths and limitations
- cognitive strengths and limitations
- personality
- care plan
Do not assume every client wants help in the same way.
This applies to care such as:
- bathing
- transferring
- toileting
- eating
Adapt care to the individual client.
Respect Choices and Preferences
Clients have the right to make personal choices.
Give clients opportunities to make choices and decisions.
First: Ask whether the client wants help and how the client wants you to help.
All clients must give consent before a procedure begins.
If a client tells you not to continue:
- Stop.
- Contact your supervisor.
Also respect the family’s choices and preferences unless the care plan directs otherwise.
Protect Privacy and Confidentiality
The client’s medical and personal information is confidential.
Discuss the client only with health care team members who need the information.
Protect the client’s physical privacy during care.
Do not expose the client’s body. Use draping to maintain privacy during procedures.
Adults with disabilities have sexual needs. Many have partners or are married.
Allow privacy for sexual activity.
Follow Safety Directions
Most developmental disorders or disabilities create safety hazards for clients.
Safety: Check with your supervisor and the care plan to determine how to protect the client’s safety.
Be alert for signs of abuse.
Report: Report suspected abuse to your supervisor immediately.
You must also report child abuse directly to a public authority .
Nova Scotia CCA Note
Sorrentino says suspected abuse should be reported to the supervisor. In Nova Scotia, there is also a direct legal reporting requirement for staff and other service providers in facilities covered by the Protection for Persons in Care Act.
The Act applies to patients and residents age 16 and older in specified settings, including hospitals, residential care facilities, nursing homes, certain homes for special care, group homes, and residential centres. Staff and volunteers in covered facilities must promptly report allegations or instances of abuse.
Why this matters in Nova Scotia: Reporting abuse through the workplace does not remove the provincial reporting requirement when the Protection for Persons in Care Act applies.
Official source: Protection for Persons in Care Act https://novascotia.ca/dhw/ppcact/ (novascotia.ca)
Last checked: October 6, 2026
Nova Scotia CCA Note
Sorrentino says child abuse must be reported directly to a public authority. Nova Scotia makes that instruction more specific. Everyone has a duty to immediately report even a suspicion of abuse involving a child age 18 or younger to a child and family wellbeing agency.
The Government of Nova Scotia provides a provincial reporting number and directs people to the agency serving the area where the child lives.
Why this matters in Nova Scotia: A CCA should understand that suspected child abuse requires a direct provincial report. It is not enough to treat it only as an internal workplace concern.
Official source: Report child abuse or neglect https://www.novascotia.ca/report-child-abuse-or-neglect (novascotia.ca)
Last checked: October 6, 2026
Exam Clue Words
- Must: Clients must consent before you begin a procedure.
- First: Ask whether the client wants help and how the client wants you to help.
- Follow the care plan: Do not assume what the client can do or how the client wants care provided.
- Report: Suspected abuse must be reported to your supervisor immediately.
- Must: Child abuse must also be reported directly to a public authority.
Common Mix-Ups
| Wrong Idea | Better Idea |
|---|---|
| Feeling sorry for the client shows empathy. | Empathy means understanding the person’s experiences and feelings. |
| Give every client the same type of assistance. | Adapt care to the individual client and the care plan. |
| Do tasks quickly for the client. | Support independence, encourage self-help devices when possible, and do not rush. |
| Decide for yourself what the client can do. | Do not make assumptions. Follow the care plan. |
Fast Review
Focus on the facts and rules most likely to change how you understand or provide care.
- A developmental disability is permanent and is present from birth or begins before age 18.
- Families may experience stress, demanding caregiving responsibilities, stigma, discrimination, burnout, and financial pressure.
- Community supports vary by location, and families in rural areas may have less access to agencies and support groups.
- Support workers may provide household help or respite care, assist the child according to the care plan, help with rehabilitation activities under professional supervision, or provide school-related support.
- Family members may remain closely involved in care because they often know the client’s needs well.
- Protect dignity by using respectful language and treating the person before the disability.
- Support independence by following the care plan, encouraging self-help devices when possible, and not rushing the client.
- Individualize care instead of assuming that every client needs help in the same way.
- Ask before helping. Clients must consent before procedures.
- If the client tells you to stop a procedure, stop and contact your supervisor.
- Protect confidential information and the client’s physical privacy.
- Check the care plan and your supervisor’s directions for safety. Report suspected abuse immediately, and report child abuse directly to a public authority.
Final Pep Talk
This topic has a lot of details because it combines family support, respectful care, client choices, safety, and role limits. Review one group of ideas at a time, then come back to the bold terms and the Fast Review until the differences feel clearer.