Submission 2036

Submission on the NDIS Amendment Bill

I am a:

• Disabled person
• Family member / supporter
• Clinician – Speech Pathologist
• Other: ___________________

1. My connection to this issue

I am a paediatric speech pathologist supporting children with a range of disabilities and across various ages including those in early intervention. I have seen firsthand how frequent (weekly) therapy support has allowed children with severe speech and language deficits to make significant gains in their communication, through consistent language exposure, explicit teaching of skills, and weekly parent education for generalisation of skills across different environments.

I have had clients who came to me minimally speaking, or non-speaking, and were able to make gains in their communication either verbally and/or with use of augmentative and alternative communication strategies, allowing them to participate in the community, attend mainstream schooling, and reduce frustration and meltdowns.

2. My overall view of this Bill

I want the government to withdraw this Bill.

I am deeply concerned about the potential of reduced therapy hours under the Thriving Kids Program leading to greater deficits, significant decline in meeting development milestones, and a significant decline in the ability to access schooling curriculum; therefore leading to an even greater therapy load as an adult as the window of opportunity has been missed for early intervention and development in childhood.

3. My main concerns

Choose what applies to you:

• Communication and accessibility
• Administrative burden
• Loss or reduction of supports
• Community participation
• Crisis situations / “not contactable” rules
• Children / families / early intervention
• Eligibility or assessment changes
• Other: ___________________

Submission 2036

Communication and Accessibility:

My concern is that children with disabilities and complex communication needs who do not have access to frequent, evidence-based, and individualised therapies, will show significant decline in

• Achieving age-appropriate communication milestones – the rules of neuroplasticity state that if a child does not acquire age-appropriate language by 7 years of age, they will present with significant deficits in literacy, learning, and social development
• Classroom participation and access to the curriculum
• Social participation, belonging, and identity
• Study and career opportunities as young adults

It is important children have access to these resources to:

• Reduce social isolation
• Decrease the risk of abuse
• Enable autonomy
• Support emotional regulation
• Decrease the burden placed on families

Loss or reduction of supports

My concern is that decreasing or eliminating supports will lead to;

• Regression in development of age-appropriate milestones
• Greater strain on teachers and educators who do not have the resources in place to support these children with significant communication deficits
• Greater strain on families who are unable to provide equal opportunities for all children
• Reduced access to augmentative and alternative communication systems for non-speaking, iminimally-speaking, or Deaf children

If the foundational supports were only set up to have a few therapists for a certain area, children may not have access to a therapist who specialists in the child’s deficits and who can offer the correct support they need, e.g., for Deaf children, children with oral motor speech disorders, children with anatomical conditions such as clef lip/cleft palate. This can lead to;

• A child needing more therapy or needing to see multiple specialists
• Regression in skills or delays in therapy gains
• Disruption to routines and ability to build rapport with specialists

Community participation

My concern is that the reduction of funding for social and community participation will cause children and adults with significant speech and language deficits to regress, due to decreased opportunities to practice therapy skills in the community.

The decrease in these supports can lead to;

• Social conflict
• Social isolation

Submission 2036

• Reduced sense of belonging, self-worth, and identity
• Increased frustration, challenging behaviours, and emotional dysregulation
• Reduced independence and autonomy
• Increase in opportunities for abuse – those who have communication deficits are unable to advocate for themselves appropriately and are more susceptible to abuse

4. Children / families / early intervention

My concern is for the children who do not receive early intervention supports will experience:

• Reduced ability to connect with others leading to social isolation and reduced community participation
• Inability to express wants, needs, and opinions leading to frustration, increase in emotional meltdowns, and potentially violence
• Increased stress and burden on families, especially low socioeconomic families, who can not afford to access resources to support their children
• Increased emotional strain on families with 1 or more disabled children, and being unable to access the specific supports needed to help those children make communication gains

4. What this looks like in real life

• Disruptions in the classroom, meltdowns, not going to school, not participating in activities
• due to reduced access to the curriculum, understanding, and ability to offer ideas
• No employment and less job opportunities – forces people to rely on government funds such as Job Seeker or DSP which do not provide enough income to live
• Higher crime rates – due to feelings of not belonging, not being smart enough, not having a sense of self-worth or identity, not having the skills to thrive in a workplace
• Increased self-harm, including head-banging, biting, punching, and other violent behaviours
• due to dysregulation and inability to communicate needs or wants
• Lack of independence – reduces a person’s ability to live in SIL or independently
• Severe mental health implications – due to reduced access for community participation, e.g., if a non-speaking child does not have access to AAC, they are unable to make friends, join in sports, join in group activities, and will experience increased loneliness

5. What I want the committee to understand

• Every person has a right to access the supports they need
• Disabled children and adults are not a burden. They do not have a choice
• Reduced funding for early intervention will lead to a greater demand for therapy supports in adulthood
• Denying access to therapy at a young age will lead to significant deficits that will require more intensive support to improve, and will likely never be age-appropriate

Submission 2036

My position on this Bill

I want the government to withdraw this Bill.

Reducing access to supports for disabled children and adults will result in detrimental consequences. It will lead to;

• Increased demand from government funding in future
• Decreased ability to be a productive and functioning member of the community
• Reduced study and career opportunities
• Lifelong deficits in speech, language, and communication skills if not addressed appropriately at a young age