The NDIS what is it and where to from here a continuing series

So what is the NDIS?

The NDIS is the National disability insurance scheme, it is a program that is designed to help people with a disability to live an “ordinary life,” so to get them out of unsuitable situations such as hospitals, aged care facilities, or away from aging parents into disability housing and housing that is appropriate to their needs.

However this is a sticking point as there are gaps in the services that are major and this can become an issue due to the wording what is the difference between a medical issue and a disability as so often the two cross over and make life complex for the person involved, but for the NDIS the disability is lifelong stable and diagnosed, and able to be managed.

However so this begs a question of what is a medical issue as some medical issues can cause disability, so this is where things start to get tricky, in that a medical issue can be something that can be treated or cured, however, I know quite recently that we are seeing some long term chronic health conditions being covered, as it is around the persons functional capacity to carry out tasks of daily living and these tasks are things like, taking care of a house or unit, going to work or study, getting around. 

These are all things that are tricky to do for a person who has an impaired functional capacity. Also, not everyone who is on the NDIS is on the DSP, ( disability support pension,) this is because some people can work and the NDIS is having a massive push towards people being able to work.   As some people with the right level of support can work around the limits of their disability.  Some people aren’t able to do something like this so volunteer or attend a day center. 

However there is a massive gap in services that can help people with a disability at times and this is frustrating, as the lacks are mostly in regional and remote areas.

This is where a plan comes in.

As the plan is exactly what it sounds like it is a written document that is around your goals with set amounts of money towards your goals, that are related to your disability,  that would help you to live a normal life, so this might mean things like what they call assistive technology, This is things like for someone who has balance issues it might mean, a shower chair, or a new wheelchair, or for someone who can’t be left unattended, it could be full-time support staff.   

What is a plan in the NDIS?  

How do you qualify for the scheme?  This deserves its own post and I will do a video on this as well just with my story. As many people don’t qualify for the program but would benefit from it. So working with professionals help.

 

What happens if you don’t? ( I will do a blog post on this one as well as it deserves its own post) 

What services are there outside the NDIS for people to access?

There are but are increasingly being rolled into the NDIS so working to get approved is the best thing that you can do for yourself and being able to advocate for yourself is a skill that we need to have as well. So this would be knowing what your needs are and how they affect your life and how to work with that so a really great example would be, say that you want a job but can’t drive so using a support worker to get two and from work or even supporting you at work, or even being able to set up a business, this means that you would need to choose a support worker that has these skills and we can work with them, essentially they are paid to be a very supportive friend and in a way, it is a therapeutic relationship in a way that we can see that good one are trained well. They either have lived experience as an unpaid caregiver or have at least a certificate III in disability support. Please check a person’s qualifications, just because they are young doesn’t mean that they don’t have the skills needed.  To be a support worker, I know that we can have a diverse range of people as support workers and this is a good thing. Without a good support, worker would not be where I am and I don’t want to consider where I would be otherwise.