Autism Connections is a team of professionals located in NSW, Victoria and Western Australia who are dedicated to providing exceptional service for children and their families. As all our members have trained as Relationship Development Intervention® (RDI) Consultants, we have strong expertise to provide a relationship-based focus with diligent parent support and guidance. As well as our RDI training, our members’ professions include special education, speech pathology, psychology and occupational therapy.
Autism Connections professionals are committed to providing an individualised intervention plan for each child. We work closely with families to outline a best practice treatment plan that considers the whole family, not just the child. Autism Connections is an approved service provider for the Department of Social Services’ (previously FaHCSIA) Helping Children with Autism package and are waiting for our RDI services to be similarly recognised by NDIA.
We welcome the opportunity NDIS brings to provide effective, evidence-based and relationship-focused supports of their choice to all who need significant help to live productive and fulfilling lives. We also would like to trust that NDIA will meet their own principles and guidelines. Please consider our submission points and the suggestions we have to improve the reality of NDIS’s approach to ECEI which we find is in contradiction with it stated intentions.
Discrepancies Corrections
1. No choice for children 0-6 accessing NDIS as 1. Ensure all families have knowledge of all the
they are channelled into an Early Childhood services available to them and can choose to use Partner organisation’s services and influence private services - now, not in a year or more.
2. Early Childhood Partner organisations are 2. Ensure those assisting families to access services
currently also providing services. This is a are independent of service providers and conflict of interest and impacts families and constantly monitor this. private providers.
3. Inadequate funding to provide effective 3. Quickly allocate funds to remedy this. It’s not
support for children when they are first found economically sound to cut funding to Early to be experiencing difficulties. Intervention, nor is it investing in the child and family’s future.
4. Families work hard preparing their goals, 4. Listen to families goals first rather than imposing
plans and costing only to have a generic planning and funding formulas. Consider carefully when family’s requests aren’t typical or standard. Being non standard does not preclude them from
1
template of questions frame their goals and being necessary, reasonable and best for this their requests ignored. family.
5. While there’s not enough funding for ECEI and 5. Every family who is capable of managing their
they are being given token services, if any, in own funds is encouraged and supported to do so. the ”transition” phase, thousands of $$ are being wasted on “financial intermediary services, set up costs and monthly processing fees” with each plan that could used in services for early intervention.
6. Many services, including Early Childhood 6. Partner with independent researchers and
Partners, are using intensive, outdated universities to ensure change in course content. behavioural modes of treatment that are not Challenge current providers to do substantial best practice. training to enable them to use relationship based, developmental methods where the family is the key worker. RDI (Relationship Development Intervention) is a good example of this. It is cost effective for NDIS, as it recognises that the parents are the best guides for their child. When guided themselves and given the support of their RDI consultant, they have hope, a sense of control and purpose and develop resilience.
7. Criteria for eligibility locks out too many 7. Strict formulas, screeners and checklists need to
young children who need substantial support. be supplanted with more flexibility and Children with “High Functioning” autism is an understanding of the full impact of their disability example where they may appear to be on each child. managing, but without help to develop relationships and flexibility and reduce anxiety, their potential will not be realised and the whole family’s quality of life will be impacted over their lifetime.
8. Access to information to ensure provider 8. Set up effective systems, staffing and
choice, efficient and timely access to NDIS communication. staff, prompt plan development and implementation, NDIS staff knowledge and disclosure -are all lacking.
9. While there’s encouragement to provide 9. Allow for more equitable funding to providers
support in the child’s natural settings, this who offer support to children in their homes, takes more time for the provider and is not child care centres and community so this is funded adequately, especially when under 10 acknowledged as valuable and can be accessed km. by families.
2