There are currently around 4.3 million Australians living with a disability; more than 500,000 of which have a significant or permanent disability.
Surprisingly, a significant number of these people don’t even know their condition can be classified as a ‘disability’.
In response to this enormous need for support and awareness, the Australian Government has implemented the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
Who is eligible?
To be eligible for NDIS funding, participants may have an intellectual (e.g. Down syndrome), physical (e.g. loss of a limb), cognitive (e.g. brain injury), sensory (e.g. deafness) or psychosocial (e.g. schizophrenia) disability, or any combination.
Disabilities can be congenital (from birth) or acquired (e.g. through injury or illness).
Some disabilities are invisible and you might not even realise the person sitting next to you has one.
In some cases, the person themselves may also not even realise they are ‘disabled’.
Why? They may have ‘learned to live with’ their condition or assumed that, because it is invisible, it doesn’t ‘count’ as a disability.
As a result, many people have never sought the support they truly need or the funding they are entitled to.
Example 1: A child with an auditory processing issue that has not yet been diagnosed because they are doing OK at school and have ‘flown under the radar’.
Example 2: A rock climber who had a fall five years ago and has experienced slow yet progressive memory loss and seizures, with driving becoming difficult.
Example 3: An office worker with Borderline Personality Disorder who has been consistently labelled ‘difficult’ by co-workers and struggles to maintain employment.
In each of these examples, the person would likely be experiencing ‘difficulties’ in their day to day lives, yet they may not realise that so much help is available or that they meet the criteria for funding.
Or they may be reluctant to be labelled with a ‘disability’. (This label can be particularly hard to accept for a person with a newly acquired disability or for disabilities that carry a perceived stigma.)
Maintaining Dignity
Accessing NDIS assistance doesn’t mean foregoing your independence or your dignity. In fact, the opposite is true. When you receive the support that you really need to manage your condition more easily, daily life, work and relationships can improve dramatically!
Example 1: The same child with an auditory processing issue could receive speech pathology sessions under NDIS funding and see a dramatic improvement in both their symptoms and their schoolwork.
Example 2: The rock climber could receive assistance with transport, in order to have access visits to their children regularly.
Example 3: The office worker could receive assistance in finding an equal opportunity employer who provides an emotionally safe work environment.
Holistic Treatments
As you can see, the NDIS program is not designed to solely provide traditional medical treatment to participants.
It is a holistic program, providing tailored support, where individuals have a fair amount of autonomy in choosing the services and supports that are right for THEM.
You might be surprised to learn that there are a wide variety of alternative therapies available under the NDIS program including Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), Hypnosis, Time Line Therapy®, Access Bars® and Life Coaching.
Each of these services is designed to help participants enjoy their daily activities, sustain meaningful employment, build stronger relationships and maintain their emotional – not just physical – wellbeing.
These supports can make a massive difference to a person’s life, giving them both dignity and independence.
Accessing Support
I am highly experienced in working with people with a disability, trauma history and/or mental health concerns and would love to help you live your best life.
I offer a range of modalities including Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), Hypnosis, Time Line Therapy®, Access Bars® and Life Coaching and can work together with your support team to maintain continuity of support.
Depending on where you live, I may be able to travel to you.
Many of the modalities I offer (except Access Bars®) can also be performed virtually, via Skype, in a COVID-safe manner. Therefore, most of my services are available to clients who live throughout Australia or who are unable to travel for appointments due to logistic/mobility/other issues.
For more information, please visit www.purposefullife.com.au. To make an appointment, please phone on 0481 877 860 or email at hello@purposefullife.com.au.