A Love Letter to the NDIS
In the spirit of this Valentine’s Day just gone past, I wanted to write a love letter to the NDIS. It’s no secret, at RippleAbility we are regularly critical of the NDIS and much of its decision making in the face of all people living with unique abilities. Some of this comes from my personal experiences with the NDIS and the hurdles they put me through to get my daughter funding (I probably could have broken an Olympic record!). But much of this critical eye comes from a good place. A loving place.
NDIS is totally unique - it is the only scheme of its kind in the world! It is not a perfect scheme, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it is incredibly useful and important none the less. And I am so grateful to be living in a country where such a scheme exists to give extra support to my children and I.
Recently the NDIS posted out their Quarterly Report which identifies just how many people nation-wide are benefiting from this extra support. More than 500,000 Australians are currently receiving funds to improve their choice and control. What really shocked me, was that 280,000 of these people are getting help for the very first time! In total, this equates to a monumental amount of money being offered in support to families all around Australia: a whopping $6.7 billion in payments were made just in this last quarter!
One of the heart-warming aspects of this report is that an increasing number of children are entering the scheme and getting access to much needed early intervention assistance!
The report tells us that:
“38% (of plans) were children and there are now 77,287 NDIS participants aged under 7 in the scheme”
I just about cried when I read this.
The whole team at RippleAbility cannot express how happy we were to hear this! One core principle we have always held high, is that early intervention is key. It is the key to creating a significant positive impact on a child that builds a ripple towards greater supports. It is the key to fostering positive life choices and, ultimately, individual control over how, when, who and what supports are wrapped around a child into adulthood. I am so grateful to the NDIS. Through all its sharp edges, imperfections, and flaws, I am just so grateful that it is here to give our kids what they deserve.
I’m critical of the NDIS because I understand that speaking up is the best way to make sure the scheme understands what we, as parents and carers, need for our loved ones. And, as I said in my last blog post, they do hear us. They do listen.
One key takeaway I wanted to share from this post is: if your child is under 7 years old and in need of some additional support/guidance/assistance you do not need to have a diagnosis to access the NDIS Early Childhood Early Intervention Scheme.
There is plenty of funding to go around and right now we are in a golden age of support. Don’t wait for the school referral to the local child development service. Don’t wait ‘until you’re not as busy’. Don’t wait for others to give you permission to jump in. Take control of the support your child needs with the flexibility the NDIS (or the ECEI) affords. It isn’t hard with the right help
If you want to discuss your options more, we are always just a call away!
For the full quarterly report see https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/publications/quarterly-reports
