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What does a direct support specialist do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
What does a direct support specialist do

A direct support specialist provides care and assistance to individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities. They may work at nursing facilities, government institutions, or at the patients' homes. Their responsibilities usually revolve around helping patients with daily tasks such as bathing, dressing, going to the toilet, and attending appointments. They may also assist patients in taking medications, handle the laundry and dishes, cook and prepare meals according to nutrition plans, and run errands as necessary. Moreover, they are also responsible for coordinating with physicians, maintaining daily records, and processing documents.

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Direct support specialist responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real direct support specialist resumes:

  • Oversee and assist group home residents with ADL skills and day-to-day group activities.
  • Provide assistance with (ADL) activities of daily living management and supervision.
  • Assist each person (s) with daily ISP program plans; enhancing cognitive skills and developing positive behavior.
  • Document daily individuals support logs, ISP checklist, safety supports, and any other specialize documentation prior to leaving the shifts
  • Promote continuity of care by accurately and completely communicating to other caregivers the status of patients for which care is provided.
  • Document progress and communicate to MHMR case manager.

Direct support specialist skills and personality traits

We calculated that 15% of Direct Support Specialists are proficient in Direct Support, Mental Health, and CPR. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Integrity, and Physical stamina.

We break down the percentage of Direct Support Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Direct Support, 15%

    Provided direct support to eight adult with developmental disabilities.

  • Mental Health, 9%

    Provided mental health treatment including medication therapy management and teaching illness education and successful recovery techniques.

  • CPR, 7%

    Possess current CPR, First Aid, Data Privacy, Medication Administration, Physical Intervention Alternatives certifications.

  • Mental Illness, 7%

    Work with patient care team to assist patients in recovery from mental illness, traumatic injuries, and other disabilities.

  • Developmental Disabilities, 6%

    Supported individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities

  • Direct Care, 5%

    Provided behavioral, direct care, crisis intervention, adoption-related and bereavement counseling.

Most direct support specialists use their skills in "direct support," "mental health," and "cpr" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential direct support specialist responsibilities here:

Detail oriented. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a direct support specialist to have is detail oriented. Their role and responsibilities require that "home health aides and personal care aides must adhere to specific rules and protocols and carefully follow instructions to help take care of clients." Direct support specialists often use detail oriented in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "maintain detailed notes on resident progression and digression as it reflects their individual isp's. "

Integrity. Another essential skill to perform direct support specialist duties is integrity. Direct support specialists responsibilities require that "home health aides and personal care aides should make clients feel comfortable when they tend to personal activities, such as helping a client bathe." Direct support specialists also use integrity in their role according to a real resume snippet: "used sound communication skills with other dsps and residents -maintained a high degree of integrity, patience and compassion. "

Physical stamina. direct support specialists are also known for physical stamina, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to direct support specialist responsibilities, because "home health aides and personal care aides should be comfortable performing physical tasks." A direct support specialist resume example shows how physical stamina is used in the workplace: "teach individuals, some with multi-physical challenges, vocational skills, cognitive skills, and independent living skills. "

Interpersonal skills. direct support specialist responsibilities often require "interpersonal skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "home health aides and personal care aides must work closely with clients." This resume example shows what direct support specialists do with interpersonal skills on a typical day: "help residents acquire key life skills such as money management skills, interpersonal skills, and behavior modification techniques. "

See the full list of direct support specialist skills

Choose from 10+ customizable direct support specialist resume templates

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Direct Support Specialist Resume
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Compare different direct support specialists

Direct support specialist vs. Direct care provider

A Direct Care Worker specializes in providing care and assistance to patients, typically to the elderly. Their responsibilities include preparing and feeding meals, administering medication and other treatments, and monitoring their conditions, updating the physician or the patients' families regularly. They must also assist patients in various hygienic tasks such as bathing, dressing, brushing teeth, or going to the toilet. There are instances when Direct Care Workers must perform various household tasks such as laundry, washing the dishes, shopping for groceries, and running errands as needed.

The annual salary of direct care providers is $8,301 lower than the average salary of direct support specialists.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both direct support specialist and direct care provider positions are skilled in mental health, cpr, and mental illness.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between direct support specialists and direct care provider. For instance, direct support specialist responsibilities require skills such as "direct support," "basic math," "money management," and "medication administration." Whereas a direct care provider is skilled in "home health," "administer medications," "client behavior," and "group homes." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Direct care providers tend to make the most money working in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $29,461. In contrast, direct support specialists make the biggest average salary, $36,378, in the real estate industry.The education levels that direct care providers earn slightly differ from direct support specialists. In particular, direct care providers are 1.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a direct support specialist. Additionally, they're 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Direct support specialist vs. Direct service provider

A direct care counselor provides direct counseling and assistance to the elderly or individuals with disabilities and mental issues. They usually work at rehabilitation centers or care facilities and work together with nurses or caregivers to administer different treatment plans, monitor and support the patients' progress, and help the patients carry out daily activities such as performing hygienic or routine living tasks. Moreover, a direct care counselor may also develop and implement various healthcare programs and recreational activities while adhering to the facility's policies and regulations.

Direct service provider positions earn lower pay than direct support specialist roles. They earn a $9,275 lower salary than direct support specialists per year.A few skills overlap for direct support specialists and direct service providers. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "cpr," "mental illness," and "developmental disabilities. "

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that direct support specialist responsibilities requires skills like "direct support," "mental health," "basic math," and "money management." But a direct service provider might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "direct services," "administer medications," "meal prep," and "aba."

Direct service providers earn a lower average salary than direct support specialists. But direct service providers earn the highest pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $28,984. Additionally, direct support specialists earn the highest salaries in the real estate with average pay of $36,378 annually.In general, direct service providers achieve similar levels of education than direct support specialists. They're 2.1% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Direct support specialist vs. Direct care counselor

A support employee is responsible for assisting the business operations and responding to customers' inquiries and concerns regarding its goods and services. Support logs all customers' interaction and escalates potential complaints to the appropriate department. They also help with implementing strategic procedures to improve operations and reach maximum productivity. A support employee must have excellent communication and customer service skills, ensuring clients' satisfaction with the services and maintain good feedback to boost the company's brand, attract more clients, and increase revenues.

On average, direct care counselors earn lower salaries than direct support specialists, with a $4,349 difference per year.direct support specialists and direct care counselors both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "mental health," "cpr," and "mental illness," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from direct support specialist resumes include skills like "direct support," "basic math," "money management," and "medication administration," whereas a direct care counselor is more likely to list skills in "scip," "amap," "provide emotional support," and "direct supervision. "

Direct care counselors typically earn similar educational levels compared to direct support specialists. Specifically, they're 4.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Direct support specialist vs. Support

Supports average a lower salary than the annual salary of direct support specialists. The difference is about $1,544 per year.According to resumes from direct support specialists and supports, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "developmental disabilities," "basic math," and "cleanliness. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between direct support specialists and supports, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a direct support specialist might have more use for skills like "direct support," "mental health," "cpr," and "mental illness." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of supports require skills like "customer service," "cash management," "customer satisfaction," and "hr. "

The professional industry tends to pay the highest salaries for supports, with average annual pay of $50,563. Comparatively, the highest direct support specialist annual salary comes from the real estate industry.In general, supports hold similar degree levels compared to direct support specialists. Supports are 1.9% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of direct support specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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