Back
1 Jun

The NDIS journey – What to expect

In Australia, the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plays a key role in helping some people impacted by disability access support, resources, and services. This article explores what you can expect at different stages of accessing and using you NDIS plan.

Accessing your plan

To access the NDIS, you must the meet certain eligibility criteria including having a permanent and significant disability that impacts you in everyday life. Living with a brain injury has a lasting impact on you physically, cognitively and emotionally which may make you eligible for the NDIS. To understand if you’re eligible go the NDIS website and complete the eligibility checklist.

Gathering the medical evidence of your brain injury and its impact on your day-to-day life can be a pain point for many looking for NDIS funding. This may be because your injury occurred some time ago or you just don’t have the diagnostic information, assessments, reports and medical records to support your NDIS application. If you want information or advice on this as well as a referral to an Advocates or Local Area Coordinator contact our team.

Creating your plan

Once the NDIS has confirmed you are eligible you will meet with a NDIS representative to assess your needs, goals, and desired outcomes of your plan. This is your opportunity to communicate your unique challenges, functional limitations as well as specific requirements for support and services. It’s essential to provide comprehensive information about the impact your brain injury has on your daily living activities, social participation and overall wellbeing.

Goals aren’t related to your funding. NDIS funding is designed to provide you more choice and control in life through tailored support that helps you achieve your goals in life. Your goals might include:

  • Building your skills and doing more things yourself.
  • Working or studying now or in the future.
  • Doing social and recreation activities now or in the future.
  • Building friendships or connecting with your family.

Managing your plan

Support plans provided by the NDIS are not fixed, they can be reviewed and adjusted over time to ensure they continue to meet your changing needs. Support Coordinators can assist you in finding appropriate and local service providers as well as coordinate your plans to meet your desired outcomes. They can also help implement and monitor your approved support plan, providing guidance and assistance along the way to ensure you get the most out of your plan. Synapse has Support Coordinators that deeply understand brain injury’s impact and work with individual’s living with brain injuries every day. We can help you understand the other benefits of support coordination.