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Habilitation specialist skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Dawn DeWitt-Brinks,

Dawn DeWitt-Brinks

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical habilitation specialist skills. We ranked the top skills for habilitation specialists based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 17.7% of habilitation specialist resumes contained developmental disabilities as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a habilitation specialist needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 habilitation specialist skills for your resume and career

1. Developmental Disabilities

Here's how habilitation specialists use developmental disabilities:

Provide clinical day treatment for individuals with developmental disabilities who have multiple diagnoses with behavioral problems and who are forensically involved.
Train and assist consumers with developmental disabilities and mild mental retardation with specific rules and regulations on traveling on public transportation.

2. CPR

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is a medical procedure that involves chest compression to help a patient breathe. This artificial ventilation helps in keeping the brain function in place and regulates blood throughout the body. CPR is a lifesaving procedure that is used in emergencies.

Here's how habilitation specialists use cpr:

Maintain all required certifications such as medication administration, First Aid & CPR and SCIP-R.
Certified First-Aid, CPR, and Mandatory Reporting for Child and Dependent Adult Abuse.

3. Behavioral Issues

Behavioral issues are the tendencies of individuals displaying unpleasant behavior as a result of sickness or addiction.

Here's how habilitation specialists use behavioral issues:

Help psychologist and psychiatric identify and find treatment for individuals with behavioral issues.
Assisted students with hygiene, toileting, feeding, dressing, behavioral issues, activities, field trips, schoolwork.

4. Intellectual Disabilities

Here's how habilitation specialists use intellectual disabilities:

Assist individuals with brain injuries, intellectual disabilities and other neurological disabilities in achieving a stimulating and dignified life.
Assisted clients with intellectual disabilities by assisting with all daily living activities while encouraging independence and confidence.

5. Community Integration

Community integration pertains to the different procedures that help patients integrate and become well-functioning members of a community.

Here's how habilitation specialists use community integration:

Collaborated in a team setting to plan and organize social groups and events providing opportunities for community integration.
Transported and accompanied individuals in an assigned company agency vehicle to medical visits, Community Integration Outings.

6. OPWDD

Here's how habilitation specialists use opwdd:

Provided behavioral interventions when necessary following the least restrictive OPWDD approved techniques required by the situation.
Gained a thorough understanding of all required documentation and procedures at a COMPASS certified OPWDD agency.

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7. Habilitation Services

Here's how habilitation specialists use habilitation services:

Planned, supervised and documented home visits and habilitation services for individuals with mental, developmental and physical disabilities.
Provided habilitation services to adults diagnosed with mental retardation and other developmental disorders in a classroom setting.

8. Money Management

Here's how habilitation specialists use money management:

Facilitated individual and group counseling sessions in anger management, sexual relapse prevention/ intervention, money management, and vocational training.
Assisted in overall aspects of client care including-housekeeping, money management, and improvement of social/behavioral skills to increase independence.

9. Direct Support

Direct support is a one-on-one service that helps with daily life skills and tasks that strengthen one's independence. A direct support professional is responsible for a variety of tasks related to the general care of people with physical, cognitive, or developmental disabilities. The goal is to assist people to reach their full potential and to integrate and get engaged in their community.

Here's how habilitation specialists use direct support:

Provide direct supervision to assigned direct support professionals.
Received College of Direct Support Certificate

10. Community Resources

Community resources are a set of resources that are used in the day to day life of people which improves their lifestyle in some way. People, sites or houses, and population assistance can come under the services offered by community resources.

Here's how habilitation specialists use community resources:

Provided consultation/education to veterans and families on community resources.
Maintain communication with therapists, families and community resources.

11. Independent Living

Here's how habilitation specialists use independent living:

Recruited to assist developmentally disabled individuals to learn independent living skills in a group home setting.
Increase independent living skills, productivity and self-esteem of learning disabled individuals.

12. Data Collection

Data collection means to analyze and collect all the necessary information. It helps in carrying out research and in storing important and necessary information. The most important goal of data collection is to gather the information that is rich and accurate for statistical analysis.

Here's how habilitation specialists use data collection:

Maintain comprehensive documentation including data collection, individual profiles, daily notes, implementation strategies and behavioral graphs.
Managed daily data collection of consumers on caseload.

13. Medication Administration

Here's how habilitation specialists use medication administration:

Complete all skill development and support, individual work records, medication administration records and other work-related documents.
Provide support with medication administration, take vitals and provide support during medical appointments.

14. ADL

ADL is a clinical shorthand for "activities of daily living." It includes tasks such as feeding, dressing, bathing, and caring for one's self and personal hygiene.

Here's how habilitation specialists use adl:

Assist individuals with mental/physical disabilities with ADL * Accompany individuals on community outings * Kept daily record of individuals activities
Participated in classroom activities such as counseling, teaching ADL & life skills -- Attended meetings and gave progress report.

15. Incident Reports

An Incident Report, in a medical facility such as hospitals and nursing homes, is a type of paperwork filled out immediately after and in the case of an incident of some sort, with the goal of describing the incident and its consequences, as well as the measurements taken after or during the incident, as well as any other information relevant to said incident. Such an incident might be a patient acting out or a patient being injured.

Here's how habilitation specialists use incident reports:

Respond to consumer filed incident reports alleging abuse.
Reported and completed incident reports.

5 Habilitation Specialist resume examples

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What skills help Habilitation Specialists find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on habilitation specialist resumes?

Dawn DeWitt-Brinks

Assistant Professor of Communication, Hope College

When I look at a resume, I am not just looking for a list of skills. I am looking for the application of skills. I am looking for internship experiences or past job experiences that demonstrate hard and soft skill development and application. I believe that the best predictor of future performance is past performance. If you want to be a Communication Skills Instructor, I would recommend starting as an intern - which will help build your skillset under the guidance of someone already working in the profession.

What soft skills should all habilitation specialists possess?

Dawn DeWitt-Brinks

Assistant Professor of Communication, Hope College

The most important soft skill that a Communication Skills Instructor can possess is the skill of coaching. A Communication Skills Instructor is basically a skills coach. You need to walk alongside your students/clients to help them grow their communication skill set. You need to be able to assess where their skills are currently, set a plan in place, and put that plan into action - while encouraging your student/client every step of the way.

What habilitation specialist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Dr. Julie Alonzo Ph.D.

Research Associate Professor; Director D.Ed. Program, University of Oregon

Cultural competency, knowledge of social emotional learning, and familiarity with the tenets of Response to Intervention (RTI) are all skills that will help enhance educators' competitiveness. If a graduate needs to take a gap year, there are many ways to ensure that they continue to develop these skills. They might serve as a mentor to an at-risk student (many schools have active mentor programs), teach in an after-school tutoring program (these can be set up for remote or in-person instruction), or work on improving their knowledge of the different languages spoken by families in the community where they are hoping to work. Enhancing one's knowledge of anti-racism teaching practices will help make a graduate more effective as an educator as well as more competitive in the job market.

What type of skills will young habilitation specialists need?

Dr. Thomas Dearden Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Sociology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Indeed, the way we work is changing. The skills that young graduates will need are diverse. Transferable skills and soft skills will certainly be marketable. These include traditional crafts such as communication, but I also think the world expects more empathy from its employees. Young graduates with an understanding of racism, sexism, and environmental responsibility will become increasingly important.

Do you want to know more?

List of habilitation specialist skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a habilitation specialist resume and required skills for a habilitation specialist to have include:

Developmental Disabilities
CPR
Behavioral Issues
Intellectual Disabilities
Community Integration
OPWDD
Habilitation Services
Money Management
Direct Support
Community Resources
Independent Living
Data Collection
Medication Administration
ADL
Incident Reports

Community Outings
Community Inclusion
Physical Disabilities
Travel Training
Skill Development
Crisis Intervention Strategies
Groceries
Mental Illness
Medical Appointments
Patient Care
Coordinators
AMAP
Vital Signs
Meal Preparation
Social Interaction

Mental Retardation
Community Involvement
Supported Living
Mental Disabilities
Emotional Support
Early Intervention
Adaptive Behavior
Mrdd
IEP
Mr
Dd
Doctor Appointments
Scip-R

Updated January 8, 2025

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.

Updated January 8, 2025

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