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Feb 21

Support Workers

Finding and Choosing Support Workers with your NDIS Funds (Part I)

A Support Worker is someone you pay to help you because of your disability related needs, a Carer is someone who is not paid – usually family or a close friend. It can be difficult to find good support workers that “click” with you and your needs, so here are some ideas or where to find potential workers, and interviewing tips, too.

How might you use your “Core” funds for a Support Worker?

• Helping with your personal care (toileting, feeding, showering, teeth cleaning, shaving)

• Moving around at home – transfers from bed or chair to wheelchair or toilet or shower etc

• Building your skills (cooking/making snacks, kicking a football, cleaning/tidying, getting dressed, washing dishes, using a computer, gardening)

• Helping you try new things or continue existing activities (hobbies, recreation, leisure, employment, sports, volunteering, making friends, learning new things)

• Helping you make friends and get out into your neighbourhood and into your local town or city

• Cleaning, yard-work, watering, filing, laundry, changing beds

• Cooking, light household duties, laundry etc

• Transportation – driving you around or going with you on public transport

• Indirectly providing families and carers time away from their caring role

Where might you find a support worker to hire yourself?

• Contact a university or TAFE student association, or a relevant faculty

• Ask your extended family and neighbours if they know anyone

• OSHC (out of School Hours Care) workers or SSO’s from a local school

• People from your faith community, or a club you’re already involved with

• Put a shareable post on Facebook, or other social media (be careful not to share too much information publicly!)

• Restaurant, fast food or supermarket workers

• Ask your therapists if they know anyone who might be interested

www.HireUp.com.au and www.bettercaring.com.au are great places to look for potential workers

• Advertise on Gumtree, in your local paper, or through employment websites like www.seek.com.au

• Go to a Support Worker Provider – they may be an NFP or a for-profit company

Tips

• Make sure potential support workers have current State and National Police Clearances, First Aid Certificate and definitely check their references

• Be careful when advertising and interviewing strangers to make sure you don’t publicly share information which makes you or your family vulnerable – never include your home address or full name in an ad – you can meet interviewees for the first time at a library, coffee shop or other public place to keep safe.

Interview Question Ideas

• What is your experience with people with disability and/or children?

• What gave you an interest in working with people with disability?

• Do you have a disability or care for anyone in your family with disability?

• Do you have any studies/qualifications (related or otherwise, current or past)?

• Do you have your own reliable insured transport, licence and clean driving record?

• Are you OK with my pet cat/dog/bird in the house?

• What are your interests outside of work/study? Could you introduce any of these to me or my child?

• Have you had experience of (my child’s extra medical or behavioural support needs)?

• I/My child can sometimes get anxious/distressed. What would you do if he broke a window and was having a meltdown?

• Are you willing and able to provide personal care support (toileting etc), and can you do overnight help?

• Do you have any physical limitations that might make this job hard that I should know about?

• I/My child is very active – would you be fit enough to keep up?

• My child is not good about personal boundaries – would you comfortable with…?

• How would you communicate to us about your time with our child? (email/phone/text)

• What would you do if…?

• What is your availability and what notice do you require?

• How many hours of work are you looking for and are you willing to travel?

• Our cultural/belief background is… Do you share/are you comfortable supporting our beliefs?

General Tips on Choosing Support Workers to Meet Your Needs

• It is very very rare that any one support worker will have all of your desired qualities. Consider taking on two or three workers, even if you don’t have a lot of hours of work to offer – people do get sick, move on and go on holidays – don’t get caught short with just one worker.

• Younger student workers often have energy and enthusiasm, but may have limited availability, especially at exam or holiday time. They may also have upcoming student “placement” obligations for their study – ask about these!

• It is unlikely that your workers will work only for you – keep this in mind and try to book workers for regular shifts, and do this in as far advance as possible.

• Professional (full-time) support workers may have set ideas about the work you need and ways to do things, and may not be as flexible, but they may also have very valuable experience.

• Are you looking for community access – someone willing and able to get out and about with you or your child, or are you really looking for in-home support? These activities are not necessarily incompatible, but a young student may not have the domestic and life experience to just “notice” what needs doing and show that initiative (remember *your* first share house?).

• And one more thing – the NDIS will not fund parents or family members of participants to provide personal care supports except in the most exceptional circumstances (and even then, only for a short time), and there are many good reasons for this policy decision – it’s hard to fire Grandma or your sister!

Where to go for more information

Here’s a guide to recruiting and interviewing potential support workers from HireUp: https://hireup.com.au/wp-content/uploads/RecruitmentManualforUsers_July16.pdf

Here is some great Easy English information about how to choose staff from MyChoiceMatters: http://www.mychoicematters.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=9&Itemid=113

July 11, 2017

Briefing and Hiring Support Workers (part II)

Introduction

A Support Worker is someone you pay to help you because of your disability related needs, a Carer is someone who is not paid – usually family or a close friend.

Service Agreements with Support Workers

Once you have interviewed and chosen a support worker, it’s a good idea to have a written agreement with them. You will also need to decide how to pay them.

What might you include in your information to, and WRITTEN agreement with a support worker?

• Expectations of work – what does the work actually involve?

• Trial Employment/probation – How long until you review/decide to keep a worker?

• Are there minimum shift requirements?

• Communication – how and when will you communicate with each other – phone, text, messenger, email, communication book? Must their phone always have credit? Can they use your wi-fi at home? Is it OK if they answer calls/texts while working?

• House – what are the expectations around housekeeping/cooking/cleaning etc. eg: Should the worker wash feeding supplies/dishes after each meal?

• Use of equipment/food etc – can the worker help themselves to what’s in your fridge?

• Medical stuff – all about you/your child’s needs and action plans

• Professional boundaries/privacy etc – how much does your family value privacy? – what do you expect from a support worker around privacy issues – would you accept a “friend” request online?

• How will the worker debrief after a tough shift – do they have a support network/mentor of their own for difficult times?

• What to do when things go wrong – contact lists, emergency information etc.

• Attire – how do you expect your worker to dress?

• Ongoing learning/training – what ongoing training do you expect from your worker, and who will pay for it (the time to train, and the costs of training)?

• Notice of cancellation – What happens when a shift is cancelled?

• Beliefs and Values – if you have certain beliefs or a cultural background that is important to you, make sure you know what that means for you and your support worker (eg: no pork in the house, or always fish on Fridays, or no animal products)

Setting Yourself Up as Employer

• There are lots of things to think about when you employ your own workers. Have you factored in the cost of training for your workers? Do you expect them to pay for their own training costs? What happens if there is a WorkCover claim?

• Do you have a back-up person who can do payroll if you’re not able? You may wish to hire an agency or broker to manage payroll for you to look after tax, super and insurance obligations – that way if you’re ever sick or away, your workers are still taken care of. These management fees can be paid from Core supports in your NDIS plan if your plan is self-managed.

• Hiring Workers for the first time? It important to know your tax obligations – here’s some info from the Australian Tax Office (ATO) https://www.ato.gov.au/business/your-workers/hiring-workers-for-the-first-time—checklist/

When Things Go Wrong

• If a worker isn’t doing as a job a job as you’d like, the first thing to do is to speak to the worker. You might want a friend or family member to be with you. Let the worker know clearly what your expectations are and what you need from them. Review your written agreement together.

• If your support workers are not keeping your affairs private, you might want to let them know that privacy is important to you.

• If a worker is abusive or dangerous to you or your child, it’s important to immediately stop their shifts, and report them to police, even if it just to stop them abusing others. If you need other support workers urgently and don’t know anyone, it might be a good idea to call a large support worker agency to help fill the gaps until you find others to employ.

• If NDIS does not pay your bills on time, you will need to contact your local LAC or Support Co-ordinator or send an email to feedback@ndis.gov.au and ask for immediate support. If you are self-managing your NDIS plan, you can, with permission, make claims a week in advance, so it might be best to always be a week ahead with your claims to cover times when your internet isn’t working, or the NDIS portal isn’t working like it should.

Where to go for more information

• There are a bunch of guides on the internet about the practicalities of employing your own workers. The NDIS has more information at https://www.ndis.gov.au/participant/self-managing-budgets/engaging-your-own-staff .

• There’s some great information here about self-employment for disabled people from MyPlace: http://www.myplace.org.au/downloads/MyPlace_EngagingBooklet_Web.pdf

September 7, 2017

A BRIEF for your Support Workers

Do you provide a brief for your support workers?

And I don’t just mean the medication routine and emergency contacts.

Here’s a sample brief The Growing Space developed with the Mum of a participant.

There were little things about their previous support worker that had been annoying – like leaving the heater on with all the doors open, and not locking the front door for safety, so we wrote something like this together.

This kind of brief can not, and never will be, a “final” or “complete” document, but it can help set the expectations for a new worker, or form the basis of initial discussions with a potential support worker. I see too many support workers sitting around while dishes pile up in the sink, or the rain starts on the dry washing on the line.

Make sure you and your support workers have a good understanding of what is and isn’t expected.

Here’s a sample brief for a child – I hope it can be a useful start and example, and keep in mind it is not thorough and you will need to rewrite/tailor it for you/your child.

Support worker brief

About George

George is 12 years old in Grade 6 at Pretty Place Primary School. He is in a mainstream class but has difficulties with social and emotional regulation, friendships and academic skills.

He has autism and takes what you say very literally. Be aware of your language and how you use it. Never make a promise you can’t keep as this will upset him a great deal.

When George is getting upset, you will notice he will have a short temper, talks with a stern voice and clenches his fists. When you see this behaviour, some tricks to help him calm, you can say (verbal scripts to be added by psychologist).

When his behaviour ramps up further, please give him warnings and tell him it’s a red card if he gets too upset. When he gets a red card, he does a “calm down activity” which are listed on a chart under the kitchen bench.

George really likes listening to music like the “Fast & Furious” soundtracks. He would probably like to listen to more kinds of music on the CD player (you could bring some music to share).

George enjoys a breakdance class every week, and should practise this regularly.

He’s a cheeky, fun and bubbly kid who love jokes and joke books. He’s an energizer bunny, and it’s important that the last hour before bedtime and at the end of each shift is very very calming for him – no crazy outside bouncy activity.

George does not like being touched although high fives are a winner with him. If he hugs you, you are in the very good books!

He is very routine driven, and gets upset at changes, so if you do need to change something in his routine, it’s important to warn and prep him as early and as much as possible.

Do not flood George with choices of activities – it’s better to just offer him the choice of two to three each time.

General expectations

If there is a chance to do dishes or sweep the floor, please do this, and please include *all* the dishes – water bottles etc.

Please have the boys do the dishes with your help as much as possible. Your job is not to babysit George, but rather to help him learn stuff. So anytime you can stretch him “What do you need with you to go for a walk?” rather than “Go grab your hat”, that would be awesome.

Being on time is very important to our family. If you are going to be even five minutes late, please text and let us know so I can prep George and try to reduce his stress.

Jobs he can/should do on with your support:

• Put away dishes

• Take out rubbish, recycling

• Take bins to street on Tuesday nights, and bring back in on Wednesday.

• Shop for and cook a meal and do all clean up afterwards

• Walk Fido

Activities to do with George:

• Please, no TV or electronics during shift (unless he’s sick etc)

• Walk without dog down street, bring footy

• Drumming

• Board Games

• Shooting hoops

• Lego

• Car racetrack

• Listen to music together – hip hop

• Bike ride

• Remote control cars

• Read books together – he loves Harry Potter General house rules

• Front door to be locked at all times

• When weather is cold, please close external doors and pop gas heater on.

• Always leave room/house no messier than you found it – clean up after yourself!

• Always pack up toys after use (with George)

I have read and understand the requirements of this role. I will do my best to adhere to them and to communicate if/when they don’t work. I will regularly (fortnightly) review this with George’s Mum.

Mum:

Date:

Worker:

Date:

Feb 21

Ways to use NDIS Funding

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February 13, 2015

FREE TO READ: Workshops and Parent Training

Do you go to workshops, conferences or seminars around your child’s disability? Are there particular ones that would help you help your child achieve their goals? You might consider asking NDIS for support for the fees to attend. If approved, you could ask for that line item to be self-managed, and that way the conference folk don’t need to be NDIS registered and you can pay them directly. Or, if you are self managed and your attendance at the workshop is a reasonable and necessary expense to help your child meet their goals, you could claim the fees from your Capacity Building or Core funding.

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Feb 21

NDIS Reviews and Changes

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November 9, 2017

FREE TO READ: NDIS NUTS & BOLTS TIPS: Annual Reviews – All about therapist reports

So, the end date of your plan is coming!

(this is a bit of a long read, sorry)

First, I suggest that you set a reminder, or write in your calendar, a full THREE MONTHS before your plan expires. This should give you enough time to get the reports you need.

Reports are NOT needed for most core supports most of the time – so don’t worry about asking your support workers or taxi drivers to write a review of how you’ve progressed towards your goals. I wish I was joking when I write this, but I have experienced a planner requesting a written report from a support worker who worked two hours a week for a participant. Just so you know, if they do ask, then I suggest you ask them for a specific, relevant and reasonable reason to provide reports from your support workers, and if they can’t, then I would not be providing those reports until I’d spoken to someone higher up the food chain.

So, reports, generally speaking, need to be organised by you, or your Nominee, or, if you’re lucky, your Support Coordinator, for each of the therapists you have funded with your NDIS plan over that plan year – this means your psychologist, occupational therapist, physiotherapist, speech therapist, behaviour support specialist etc. – any allied health professional you saw on a somewhat regular basis, who has worked to help you toward your NDIS goals.Some therapists will write their annual reports at no extra cost, but most will charge you, at least one hour (and some much more!), so be aware that this will eat into your therapy budget and you should be aware and plan for that when figuring out your services and budget. (And, if you’re smart, ask about their report writing charges and have it included before your sign their service agreement).

I’ve seen hundreds of NDIS therapist reports from dozens of therapists in the past four years, and not all are equal! I’ve seen parents cry when an NDIS planner has read a report in a planning meeting and said “This really doesn’t help me at all”.You don’t want to be that crying person.

So, here are four things that I’m pretty sure the NDIS want to know at review time for most participants…

1. FREQUENCY OF THERAPY – How many sessions were actually provided during the plan year.

2. PROGRESS MADE – This means baseline and ACTUAL PROGRESS/IMPROVEMENTS – this DOES NOT mean “We worked on core strength and fine motor control” – but it DOES mean “Jonny is now able to feed himself soft foods using an adapted spoon without support for around half of his mealtimes” or “Sarah has increased her spoken vocabulary from 20 to 100 intelligible words over the plan year” or “Louise can now successfully and safely catch a public bus home from her dance lessons every Saturday”. Some therapists do excellent reviews with pretty graphs tracking progress etc. This is easier with some kinds of therapy than others.

3. NEW GOALS – While you probably have a good handle on your broad goals, your therapists often have good ideas about smaller, bite size goals to work on – like “Jonny will be able to eat clear soup with a spoon with only minor spillage” or “Sarah’s intelligible spoken vocab will increase from 100 to 300 words over the coming year” or “Louise will learn how to order a taxi using her smart phone and to pay for it using her debit card and taxi voucher without getting ripped off by the driver”

4. EQUIPMENT NEEDED – This one is important, because if the type of equipment is requested in your planning meeting and approved in your plan (actual formal NDIS prescriptions and quotes are not required at this stage, but can expedite the process if you already know exactly what specific item is needed), then you won’t have to suffer through a full plan review when equipment is requested in between plans. And trust me on this one, you DON’T want a review mid plan unless you really have to (and you could have many more grey hairs before you actually get that review).

5. FUTURE THERAPY RECOMMENDATIONS – with justifications of why you need it. This means evidence as above showing the progress the therapy is already achieving, as well as evidence of why they think future therapy will help you meet your goals.If your therapist provides you a review report that does not cover these basics then it pretty much falls on you to let your therapist know you need a report that tells the NDIS what they need to know to justify funding further therapy.Of course, none of this guarantees that your NDIS planner or LAC will actually read or consider the reports, but they certainly should, and if you don’t get the therapy you need funded in your new plan, if you request a review, at least those reports will be in your file and should then be reviewed by the next planner who does your unscheduled review.Good luck!

As per usual, this post is based on our experience as Support Coordinators serving loads of people with NDIS plans. It is NOT direct personal advice and may not be right for your personal situation, so always check with the NDIS in case there’s been changes and stuff.

Feb 21

NDIS Q&A: Sam Translates

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FREE TO READ: Posted on 17 November 2017

QUESTION: What is a participant’s statement of goals and aspirations?

NDIS: A participant’s statement of goals and aspirations should identify the personal goals, objectives and aspirations a participant would like to achieve in the future, with the help of the NDIS. The NDIA will adopt a strengths based approach in supporting a participant to identify their goals, objectives and aspirations. Strengths based approaches focus on untapped gifts, positive attributes and underdeveloped capabilities which can direct a participant’s future potential.

SAM TRANSLATES: In your NDIS Plan is a section called “My Goals” and these goals are the things you want to achieve in the short term over the life of your NDIS plan, as well as some longer term goals. The NDIS aims to help you reach your potential with their help, so think about what goals you need help with to make your life better.

QUESTION: Is there a way to confirm that forms and applications that have been sent in have been received and are being processed?

NDIS: We are implementing an auto-reply response for all information received by the National Access Team through the nat@ndis.gov.au email address. We anticipate that this will be available in the near future.

SAM TRANSLATES: No But all our fingers and toes are crossed that one day, hopefully soon, there will be an auto-responder to your email that confirms we got your stuff so that at least you have proof you submitted it when we lose it after that.

QUESTION: Our family has been waiting over 50 days to hear back from the NDIS over our application for assistance for our two children. Is this normal?

NDIS: The national roll out means we are receiving a high number of access requests from people wanting to become NDIS participants. We are working hard to respond to access requests in a timely manner and continuously improve our processes. After you have submitted a valid access request form, the NDIA’s Operational Guidelines state we must respond within 21 days. A valid access request form means you have provided all relevant information and evidence in your access request form and live in an area where the NDIS is available. Importantly for families of children 0-6 years, Early Childhood Partners, will provide initial supports for children and their families/carers and assist to access appropriate supports and services for the child.

SAM TRANSLATES: Yes. We’re so darn busy it’s ridiculous. We are working our guts out but we don’t have enough funding or staff to help you as quickly as we’d like. We’re supposed to give you an answer in 21 days. If we don’t manage this, it’s not always our fault. Sometimes it’s your fault. We only have to stick to that 21 day thing if you provide extraordinary details and reports and assessments if there could even be a skerrick of doubt that you’re not eligible. (Sam adds: Like the person who was recently denied access because it’s a bit iffy whether being born without any eyeballs is permanent. That was probably some admin error though, and like we said, we’re really busy, so mistakes will happen sometimes)

QUESTION: What kind of things can be purchased with the Assistive Technologies budget?

NDIS: Assistive Technology (AT) is a term that covers a wide range of things from large print labels to shower seats, wheelchairs and car modifications. The NDIS uses the definition of AT provided by the World Health Organisation: Assistive Technology is “any device or system that allows individuals to perform tasks they would otherwise be unable to do or increases the ease and safety with which tasks can be performed.” For example, a car is not considered Assistive Technology, but modifications to the car to enable a person with disability to drive it might be considered Assistive Technology. There is some detailed information about Assistive Technology on this page of our website.

SAM TRANSLATES: Assistive Technology is all the “stuff” that lets you do the things you want and need to do but have trouble with, because of your disability. Like wheelchairs, and eye-gaze systems, and flashing doorbells and car mods. There’s more info at https://www.ndis.gov.au/prov…/assistive-technology-faqs.html (The NDIS answer on this one is actually quite decent)

QUESTION: Who else has had an LAC review their PWD’s NDIS package? Should I be asking for a planner from NDIS to do the review? My son was not given supported co-ordination with his package and suddenly he has an LAC?

NDIS: Local Area Coordinators (LACs) are organisations who have partnered with the NDIA to deliver the NDIS. LACs have three key roles: • They will link you to the NDIS. For a majority of participants, LACs will work with you to develop your plan, help you implement and monitor how your plan is going, and review your progress regularly. • Link you to information and support in the community and mainstream services such as health and education, and • Work with their local community to make sure it is more welcoming and inclusive for people with disability. If you are in an area that was a Trial Site, a majority of participants will transition to work directly with LACs to review their plan. LACs will provide a single point of contact for NDIS participants and help you to develop, implement and get the most out of your plan. Planners are employed directly by the NDIA and have delegation to approve participant plans. They often work with people with increased complexities to develop their plan and they make informed decisions about supports with regards to NDIA legislation. Once a plan has been approved, a planner will refer back to an LAC or to a Support Coordinator (if this support is included in the plan) to help people start their plan. Find out more about LACs in your area on the NDIS website. Don’t worry if you can’t find a LAC near you yet. As the NDIS continues to roll out, more LACs will become available in communities across Australia.

SAM TRANSLATES: The government cut our funding and decided to outsource most of our planning and follow-up work to contractors, called “Local Area Co-ordinators” or LAC’s for short. They are supposed to help develop your plan, and send it off to an NDIS “Planner” who actually works for the government and makes the decisions on whether or not to approve all the bits of funding. The “Planner” is also called a “Delegate” which is another name for “Gets to decide your funding fate”. Then the LAC is supposed to help you understand and use your plan, but they often know less than you do which can make this quite difficult. If you’re *really* lucky, you’ll get funding for a Support Coordinator to help you with this stuff, but if you do, good luck finding one without a waitlist. Not everyone has their plan prepared by the LAC – some participants with very “intensive” needs may have their plan prepared and approved direct by an NDIS planner. Each area has their own contracted LAC “partner”, unless they don’t yet. But they will. Chill out dude.

QUESTION: Do Centrelink and NDIS use two different systems of diagnosis?

NDIS: NDIS funded plans are separate to any other support that people may receive from other government services such as the Disability Support Pension, Carers Allowance or Health Care Card. The only funded support that will change as a NDIS participant is the mobility allowance. NDIS plans are goal orientated, and will provide support to access and connect with other services that can help you to achieve better outcomes in life. In terms of providing evidence (medical or otherwise) to support an application for eligibility in the NDIS or a Centrelink program or service, whilst there is likely to be similarities, they operate differently and have separate criteria and separate application forms. For further information on eligibility criteria for the NDIS, go to the Accessing the NDIS page of the website (external link). For further information on eligibility criteria for supports and services provided by Centrelink, go to the Centrelink page of the Department of Human Services website (external link).

SAM TRANSLATES: Yes. Being on the Disability Support Pension does NOT mean you are eligible for the NDIS, and being on the NDIS does NOT mean you are eligible for the DSP. Their eligibility criteria is different, and less than half of people on the DSP will be eligible for the NDIS, so you will need to fill out different forms and meet different criteria for both if you need both. Luckily the NDIS forms are NOWHERE near as horrible as the Centrelink DSP monster forms which make little sense to most people and make nearly everyone cry. If you are on a Centrelink Payment or Allowance, two things will change – your Mobility Allowance from Centrelink will stop (but may well be replaced in your NDIS plan) and if you get the Continence Aids Payment Scheme (CAPS), it will also stop but your continence related needs and supplies should be appropriately funded in your NDIS plan. Here are some links to find out more about the different eligibility processes for DSP and NDIS. https://www.ndis.gov.au/people-dis…/access-requirements.html https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/centrelink

Feb 21

NDIS Admin Tips

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FREE TO READ: INFO: NDIS Plan Spending

October 29, 2017

According to the last NDIS Quarterly Reports Only 52% of NDIS Plan Budgets are actually spent in South Australia, and the number isn’t much higher interstate!

I have a few theories about why, including lack of support coordination, peer groups and LAC assistance, and a huge lack of participant training, support and advice on using the funds. That’s one of my “missions” if you like – to use this page to help people with disability and their nominees make the most of their funding to live good lives.

Last month, more than 120,000 people across Australia saw posts on The Growing Space. Thanks to you all for spreading the word and sharing the joy. 🙂

New NDIS Quarterly Reports will come out in just a few days. The info in these reports is fascinating and well worth a look, with much of the data presented in graphs, so you don’t have to be a whizz at numbers to understand.

Here’s the blurb from the NDIS website:

“Quarterly reports Each quarter the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) prepares a report on its operations for the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Disability Reform Council in accordance with section 174 of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013. These reports are known as quarterly reports.

The quarterly reports provide the COAG Disability Reform Council with information (including statistics) about participants in each jurisdiction and the funding or provision of supports by the NDIA in each jurisdiction. The NDIA provides these reports to COAG at the of the month following the end of each quarter by 31 January, 30 April, 31 July and 31 October”

https://www.ndis.gov.au/…/information-pub…/quarterly-reports

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Feb 21

Finding and Choosing Supports

FREE TO READ: Choosing a Therapist for your Child: Ten things to think about, talk about and ask!

October 22, 2016

1. What is your therapist’s experience and specialty interest? Ask your potential therapists how long ago they graduated, check that they are registered with the appropriate body (more info at https://www.ahpra.gov.au/) and what they’re really good at. A speechie may have graduated twenty years ago, but if they’ve only worked in aged care until this year, they may or may not be a good fit for your child. And a recently graduated OT may not have the skills to support your child’s behaviour needs, but maybe they have a senior therapist supporting them well? Ask questions!

2. Where does your therapist work? Therapists can work from a clinic base, in your home, at the playground, or in school. Purely clinic based work may not give your therapist a good idea of the challenges you have at home, and often children’s behaviour and needs are quite different in different places. If you have other kids, it might be really valuable for your therapists to see that interaction at home, and it might save you some stress getting the kids off to appointments. Some schools in SA are no longer allowing therapists in to work with children, so check with your school. And if your therapist can work with your child at school, do they pull them out of the classroom, or work with the teacher to make sure their work carries on for the rest of the week!

3. How does the therapist communicate with you? Does your therapist give you written “homework” after each visit, and is this useful for you or does it just sit on the fridge? What is the best way to share information with *you* and is the therapist willing to do that? There’s not a lot of point in a speechie visiting your child at school for a session every fortnight if you don’t know how to reinforce and carry on the work for the rest of time!

4. What does your therapist charge? Ask you therapist what their charges are – do they work with your child for a full hour, or 30 or 45 minutes? Do they charge travel time? Do they charge mileage costs? What are their charges for reports and assessments and is that included in the regular visit fee or is it extra? Also ask if they require up-front payment if you are Plan or Self managed. Here’s some information on provider travel for Agency managed NDIS plans: https://www.ndis.gov.au/provider-travel-information

5. How long is their waiting list? Many therapists have waiting lists – ask how long it’s likely to be for your therapist of choice. The waiting list may be short if they’ve just hired a new therapist to add to the team, but make sure you check out if their new therapist has the skills (or are well supported by seniors) and personality that you feel will work well with your child – don’t just go by the “brand” of the company or organisation.

6. What extra qualifications do they have? Some therapists have extra qualifications and actively engage in ongoing professional development, and are members of professional associations – I know a few OT’s who are also qualified in Circle of Security, and a Counsellor who is also an art therapist, and some psychologists qualified in equine therapy. You might even find a physio with training in Feldenkrais, so do ask! You might want to ask whether they have regular supervision or peer support.

7. What intensity and frequency of service is best for your child? Sometimes a short burst of frequent intensive therapy and practising time can do more to help reach a child’s goals than a regular fortnightly slog, but sometimes children need that regular consistency and slow relationship building. Ask your therapist how they work, and whether they (with you!) have any capacity for an intensive burst – these can be especially helpful during school holidays etc, so if you are working parents, you might have an opportunity to be more involved in your child’s work.

8. What is your therapist’s “exit strategy”? The ultimate goal of therapy (and parenting!) is to do themselves out of job! Talk to your therapists about how they measure progress, and at what point they think they may no longer be needed, or maybe only needed on an occasional consultative basis. I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t think I’d like to have therapy three times a week for the rest of my life!

9. What is their approach to treatment and teamwork? I see too many children trot off to their individual therapy sessions each fortnight or week, with very little, if any, interaction between therapists. Yes, it *is* really important for your speechie and OT and counsellor and psychologist and physio etc to connect, and it might be up to you (or your support coordinator if you have one) to demand (and set up) those meetings, even if it is a bit like herding budgerigars! You might want to check if your therapist is OK with this. Have a think about group work too – children can learn an awful lot from being together, and so do parents – maybe a mix of group and 1:1 will help your child meet their goals much better than 1:1 only! If your therapist doesn’t do group work, can they point you in the direction of others who do? Also ask about their theoretical approach to treatment – this is especially important when seeking a psychologist’s support. There are many quality evidence based practises, and your psychologist should be able to explain some of these to you, and provide evidence of how well they work so you can make an informed choice.

10. Will the therapist help train your support workers? Chances are that for many children (and certainly adults), their support workers and parents will spend more time with the person with disability than the therapist. Is your therapist willing to work with your support workers to develop an individual program to build on therapy work outside of therapy visit hours? Can a physio give suggestions and support on how to encourage and practice skills at a playground, or in the back yard? I often suggest that the babysitter, grandma, or a support worker come to therapy sessions with parents and child to learn how to continue the good work.

Don’t forget, a therapist who works with your child one hour a fortnight is only with them .6% of their awake life. The other 99.4% of your child’s waking hours are with you!

And remember – with NDIS you *can* change your therapists!

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Feb 21

NDIS Planning

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October 9, 2017

FREE TO READ: Little NDIS Tip for your Planning Meeting

When you have your NDIS planning meeting, or your review meeting, write down on a piece of paper your chosen method of money management for your plan and hand it in writing to your planner – this will hopefully reduce the significant number of planner/LAC errors in setting up the money management for people with disability and their carers.

I request Self Management please.

or I request Plan Management please.

or I request Agency Management please.

Maybe even take a photo of this piece of paper in the LAC’s hands, or a selfie with you handing it over? Though that may sound a little cheeky/obnoxious, I’ve seen so many plans come back with money management not as requested and LAC/planner denying the request was made…

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August 14, 2017

FREE TO READ:Top Ten NDIS Pre-Planning Tips –Sam Paior Sunday Mail, 14 August, 2017 pg2-3 of NDIS liftout

1. Keep a log or journal of your disability related needs over a week – write down everything you do or spend that you would not do or spend if you were not disabled. Give a copy to your NDIS or LAC Planner at your planning meeting.

2. Bring a copy of any recent reports or assessments from allied health professionals to your planning meeting, but don’t worry if you don’t have any – there’s no need to go and pay for extra reports before your planning meeting.

3. You generally don’t need guardianship or administration orders if an NDIS participant chooses someone to be their nominee. The NDIS recognises natural relationships with rare exceptions.

4. Think about goals that expand your world – try a new sport, join a new group, think about getting a job or starting a business, or moving out of home. Have two goals for the next year, and one or two longer term goals to include in your plan.

5. Decide how you want to manage the money in your plan before your planning meeting – Agency Managed – less hassle but less choice, Self-Managed – more hassle but more choice, and Plan Managed – less hassle and more choice. Plan Management can’t be denied to any participant/nominee who asks for it and the funds for it are on top of your regular plan funds.

6. Have a think whether you need or want someone to help you manage your NDIS plan – a parent, sibling or unpaid carer you trust. Ask them before your meeting if they are happy to be your nominee.

7. Your planning meeting can be done by phone, at the NDIS/LAC offices, out in the community, or in your home. Let your planner know what works best for you.

8. Join a peer support group, or join a peer community online (there are a lot of great groups on Facebook) to find out more about the NDIS.

9. At the start of your planning meeting (or sometimes before, on the phone) you will be asked a bunch of questions designed to figure out your levels of disability related needs. Make sure you concentrate and answer thoughtfully. These questions are a big part of what decides your funding levels.

10. Write up two weekly calendars – one of your activities and how your life looks now, and one of how you would like it to look if you had the funding you need. Give a copy of each to your planner.

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