I recently had the privilege of attending a family’s NDIS Planning Meeting which I found to be a valuable learning opportunity.
In the first part of the meeting specific questions were asked about the child’s abilities across different functional areas and answers input into a computer. The questions asked vary according to the child’s age. Be aware it’s a standardized American questionnaire, so it’s not always culturally or geographically appropriate. For example, “Can your child put gloves on?” ... I’m struggling just to get a jumper on my child, let alone gloves!
The questions were broadly about:
Self-care (e.g. dressing, grooming, toileting)
Mobility (e.g. standing, walking up and down stairs)
Community Skills (e.g. following signs such as “exit”, managing money, road safety)
Social Skills (e.g. negotiating with friends and teaching peers a new game)
Home Duties (e.g. putting things away or planning a play date)
Attention (e.g. impulsivity and getting organized for the day)
It was good to see the NDIS planner go “old school” for the second part of the meeting and use a note-pad and pencil. This helped it feel like more of a casual conversation. It gave the family the chance to talk openly about what their home life looks like, day to day with their child and their required supports.
Towards the end, the planner asked the family to set 2 - 3 goals for the next 12 months. It was lovely to see the planner use the family’s words – they didn’t need to be technical or fancy! For example, “I want my child to make friends” or “I want my child to feel good about going to school”.
The planner also asked if they wanted a “self-managed” or "agency managed" plan, so it’s a good idea to think about this before you go:
https://www.ndis.gov.au/participant/self-managing-budgets.html
After the planning meeting a referral was made to the "Implementation Team" who help families connect with service providers (if need be) and teach families how to use the NDIS online portal.
The family was told they should have their funding within 2 - 3 weeks after the planning meeting (fantastic news!).
With all the negative stories about the NDIS, It was great to have such a positive experience!
The team at Whole Hearted Kids are happy to help with your NDIS Planning meeting. Please talk to us if you’d like some more support.
Jenni