Working Together to Plan Your Child’s Disability Services

In order to truly help your child to thrive and reach their potential, it is best to have flexibility over your child’s NDIS plan. For this reason, self-management is often the best option. If you self-manage, there is more opportunity to work with your child and the rest of your family to find solutions that are best for you all.

Families of children with disabilities face many decisions about care, supports and treatment plans. Where possible, shared decision-making helps ensure disability services and programs reflect the needs of your child.

Take a look at how to manage your child’s NDIS plan, discover what services are available and find out why it makes sense to involve your child in the process.

Accessing disability services through the NDIS

If your child has a disability and long term needs, it is likely that they will be eligible for an NDIS plan. This plan will take a ‘big picture’ approach, aligning your child’s disability services and other supports with their goals or the goals you have for your child.

Once you have proved your child’s eligibility, you will be contacted to schedule a meeting. During this session, you’ll discuss the goals your child wants to achieve as part of their NDIS plan. Goals may be short, medium or long-term, and broken down into the smaller steps needed to achieve them.

Your child will also be supplied with individualised funding to pay for their care. The NDIS will give you some choice in how you plan and coordinate disability services and how you spend the allocated funds but you will have to stick within a budget.

What disability services are available to children?

Disability services include a range of specialist supports and resources for children with a disability and their families. With the right services, your child can participate actively in the community and reach their full potential. As the parent of a child with a disability, you can be given referrals from your GP or you can seek providers on your own.

The services you can access on your child’s behalf include:

• Early childhood intervention services: These help develop your child’s motor, social, communication and behaviour skills, to reduce the impact of the disability and the need for ongoing support.
• Life skills development: Your child will learn everyday skills and develop self-esteem.
• Multidisciplinary service: This includes speech and language pathology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, behaviour intervention and support, social work and psychology.
• Daily living support: Basic support will help your child undertake daily living activities and take the pressure off you as a round-the-clock carer.
• Community access support: Helping to develop social independence and self-esteem.
• Case management: For in-depth personal assistance.
• Respite services: Allowing you to take a break.

Encouraging participation in NDIS planning

Using the NDIS means you will get an individualised plan for your child. This plan will represent the unique needs of your child.

As much as possible, allow your child to contribute to the decisions that will affect them. Involving your child in the process makes it easier for them to understand the issues affecting your family. It can also help them to develop the skills they will need to function as an adult in the future.

Here are some ways to help children and young people participate in planning their life and future:

• Make sure your child is involved and knows that their opinions and ideas matter. Help them understand, though, that there are some decisions that they may not be ready to make.
• Be open about obstacles and limits. It is good for them to understand why some ideas will not work.
• Keep things relevant to young people. Use age-appropriate language and questions and keep things informal and fun.
• Help your child to feel in control by making them the centre of discussions. Ask them where and when they would like to talk and let them choose any snacks or such that make them more comfortable.
• Consider alternative ways to communicate such as brainstorming or online sessions. Use technology like videos or websites to help explain complex information.
• Give your child plenty of time to participate. Take things slowly so he or she can process everything they need to.

Why self-manage your child’s NDIS carer program?

Self-managing your child’s NDIS support can feel like another chore on top of everything else you have to do. However, doing so can save you money, meaning more funds go towards carers rather than being eaten of by the cost of administration. This can give your family far greater freedom and flexibility.

Self-managing also allows your family greater choice of carers. You can work more closely with the people who your child gets along with and loves to see.

To overcome the stress of self-managing, make the most of an online tool like Real Support Choices. Designed with the help of NDIS participants, RSC will help you create a roster, pay carers, meet compliance obligations as an employer and find more time in your day. For a small monthly cost, you’ll have better flexibility and your funding will go much further.

READ MORE: HOW REAL SUPPORT CHOICES HELPED JACK SAVE THOUSANDS ON NDIS SELF-MANAGEMENT

Real Support Choices: Self-managed NDIS made easy

If you have decided to self-manage your NDIS care, Real Support Choices can save you time and money. This helpful app makes it easy to:

• Book carers
• Create rosters
• Manage payments
• Track your budget
• Update timesheets
• Report on your expenditure
• Store all financial records
• Manage the secure transfer of funds to your carers
• Manage all employee obligations

Click. Click. Done.

Real Support Choices will save you THOUSANDS.

Visit Click Here to start your FREE 30 Day trial (valued at $99)

Over to you…

Have you had success involving your child or young person in NDIS planning?

Do you have any tips for opening up communication?

We’d love to know in the comments below.