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

From: To: Community Affairs, Committee (SEN); Subject: Submission to the Inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012 Date: Sunday, 23 December 2012 10:22:54 AM

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.

For a start… we applied for help from government services when my son was diagnosed with autism at age 3. All the literature stressed that there is a ‘window of opportunity’ for early intervention, and that this gives a child the best possible chance to develop to his full potential - a booklet published by the government, ironically enough - Roberts & Prior (2006). The government service we applied for in 2007 finally came through … about 6 months ago (5 years later!) We were given a handful of speech therapy appointments by a young girl straight out of university, with no experience in autism whatsoever. That’s it. We’re still waiting for the occupational therapy services. Luckily for my son, we have held off buying our own home so that we can provide him with the therapies that he needs. We have sought help from private therapists and have seen the great gains he has made. Just imagine… if we’d had to wait for the government services! And the awful thing is that so many parents do have to wait…

Its simply not good enough. This is not a third world country.

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

• Ensure support and equipment is available when needed,
• Better access to mainstream support and services,
• Increased ability to coordinate services to suit the “whole” person/family

The most important services for the NDIS to provide are:

• Therapy and allied health services,
• Support for families and carers,
• Case management, planning and coordination

I support the introduction of the NDIS.

I have a 9 year old son with autism, and as any parent of a child with a disability will tell you one of the biggest, ongoing stresses is the ambiguity about the future… not knowing what will happen, who will help. Carers get exhausted, there is not enough help…

I also have an older sister who is brain damaged from an accident 30 years ago, and I have seen the inadequacies of the disability system from that perspective also. It frightens me.

I agree for my submission to be made public

Regards, Mrs Lily Holland