NDIS ignores science on early intervention for children with autism

By bobb |

The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) is ignoring expert advice and existing government policy on early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Instead, the NDIA adopted a generic and often inappropriate approach that does not address the distinct needs of children with ASD.

The Department of Health advised families* in 2006 that children with ASD need “best practice” intensive ASD-specific early intervention. Later, the Department of Social Security (formerly FaHCSIA) effectively asked ASD experts “are you sure … and what about just 'good' practice?”. The experts responded pretty much “Yep, we are sure … and 'good practice' isn't much different from 'best practice'” (links* to the report are here MS Word & PDF and the Guidelines for Good practice 2012 MS Word & PDF ... webpage here).

Children with autism miss out in NDIS

By bobb |

Shortfall: For Monika Dobek and her daughter Olivia, the national disability scheme funds less than half the care needed. Photo: Ben Searcy

Families of children with autism say they have been short changed under the National Disability Insurance Scheme, with early intervention therapy provisions falling far below international best practice.

Participants in launch sites have been told they will received funding for less than six hours of therapy a week, less than a third of the recommended 20 hours.

Monika Dobek has been spending about $35,000 a year on 20 hours a week of evidence-based applied behaviour analysis therapy for her six-year-old daughter, Olivia, who was diagnosed with autism two years ago.

She was delighted when she was told Olivia would be eligible for funding under the NDIS in April but stunned to discover the money would only cover six hours of therapy a week.

Disabled ‘need say’ in NDIS

By bobb |

Rick Morton, Social Affairs Reporter, The Australian, June 20, 2014

AUSTRALIA’S only politician who uses a wheelchair has written to the chairman of the national disability insurance scheme urging the board to listen more carefully to people who have a “lived experience” of disability.

South Australian Legislative Council member Kelly Vincent, who heads the Dignity for Disability Party, wrote to Bruce Bonyhady last week, highlighting the lack of people with disability involved in national forums relating to the landmark NDIS.

letter: need to act on NDIA's mad transport/travel policy

By bobb |

Dear The Honourable K Andrews MP

subject: Urgent: notify the community about the NDIA's transport policy review

Recently, someone reported on Facebook that their child's transition to the NDIS resulted in limiting or denying their child with a disability access to their school. Basically, the NDIS planner would not fund transport to and from school for a child with a disability.

I reviewed the NDIA's policy and on 14th June I posted the following to the Facebook discussion group …

letter: mad bureaucracy in the NDIA

By bobb |

Dear Minister Andrews MP

I am writing to you about the mad bureaucracy in the NDIA, particularly in relation to the funding of transport associated with disability services.

In many instances, a disability service is either provided in a person's home or requires transport in order that a person can access the service. If the cost of transport is not included, then the service is simply not financially viable.

Workforce issues relating to autism spectrum disorder, early intervention and the NDIS

By bobb |

Introduction

The latest NDIS Quarterly Report (up to 31/3/2014) [MS Word or PDF] shows that more NDIS participants (24%) have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) than any other distinct disability type. There was a sudden increase from the previous two quarterly reports that showed no NDIS participants with “autism” at all (previously, we assume the NDIS hid participants with ASD in other categories, such as “intellectual disability” or “neurological disorder”).

Australian Governments largely ignore the simple fact that generic disability services, often called specialist disability services, do not meet the disability service and support needs of people with ASD. The ABS reported the dire outcomes for people with ASD experience in Australia: see http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4428.0. The consequences of neglecting their specific needs is that people with ASD experience abysmal outcomes in education, labour force participation and service access; people with ASD have appalling outcomes that are far worse than those reported for people with a disability generally.

contact NDIS about functional assessment for ASD

By bobb |

Sent via the NDIS contact form (see http://www.ndis.gov.au/form/contact-form) on 30/5/2014

I see from various documents on the NDIS website that a person with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as needing evidence of a formal diagnosis, also needs a "severity level" ... or the NDIS will make its own functional assessment to determine his severity level. As my son's diagnosis was done before there were severity levels associated with ASD diagnoses, I expect he will need an NDIS functional assessment to determine his severity level.

Please can you provide details of:

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