NDIA Accountability Project

Challenges accessing therapy services for children with disabilities

Spam: Submission to the Inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012

From: To: Community Affairs, Committee (SEN); Subject: Spam: Submission to the Inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012 Date: Friday, 18 January 2013 4:07:05 PM

Please consider this email a formal submission by me to the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs Inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012.

The current disability system has many problems that need to be addressed.

The current disability system is a struggle/nightmare. Support and services information is scattered across many sources, most often ‘you’ have to do the searching and know what questions to ask, which can be very difficult because you have never heard of these therapies and/or services before. Travel to a support service is sometimes in excess of an hour to receive one hour of intervention therapy for example - you lose 3 hours of a day which in turn means you cannot possibly work full time. Intervention or speech or vision or hearing therapies at one hour per week or one hour per fortnight, is just not enough. The therapy sessions also mean you are considerably out of pocket at a time when you can no longer work full time. Then when your child reaches teen years, all of suddenly therapists no longer want to hear from you, they only want to work with young children because that is where the funding is….We are reduced to pity therapy, no therapy, it’s like people think a te enager can no longer be taught.

The main features of the NDIS that will make a difference to the community are:

  • Ensure support and equipment is available when needed,
  • Removal of age barriers to services for children,
  • People with disability/family will influence the types of support and services offered

The most important services for the NDIS to provide are:

  • Therapy and allied health services,
  • Education support (technology/services/equipment),
  • Support for families and carers

I support the introduction of the NDIS.

Something like the NDIS is long overdue. A central repository of information and assistance for people with a disability. People with a disability need and deserve a fairer go, life shouldn’t be so difficult.

I agree for my submission to be made public

Regards, Mrs Nora Drazin