Checking Your Child’s NDIS Plan (And What to Do If It’s Not Right)

First things first. Do you understand your child’s NDIS plan? Plans are written to an NDIS formula with line items under different goals and budget areas – it can feel a bit ‘user unfriendly’. So, if you’re confused about any aspect of your child’s plan, get help from your NDIS Planner or your Coordinator of Supports to understand it. It’s useful to know that an NDIS specialist provider with a history in individualised support can also help you to understand your child’s plan (and even help you to put it into action).

It’s essential to make sure you understand what the different plan elements mean for you and your son or daughter. Make a list of any elements of your child’s plan you don’t understand and get help from your NDIS Planner or your Coordinator of Supports.

Decide how many providers you want to be involved with – do you need one provider or more?

While you may need to have more than one provider to cover any gaps in a particular provider’s services, you need to make a decision about whether you want to keep as many of your child’s supports together with the one provider as possible, or whether you want to go with multiple organisations to take care of different aspects of the plan. This comes down to how many providers you want to be involved with – a fundamental decision that often gets overlooked.

Questions to ask yourself about how many providers you want to be involved with:

• Do you want to keep your supports together with the one provider or do you want to have multiple organisations to take care of different aspects of your plan?
• Can you manage several relationships and coordinate visiting days and times with different providers?
• Will having multiple people calling fit with your lifestyle and family structure? Will it add to your comfort or intrude on your privacy?
• Will you be able to manage multiple annual Service Agreements for multiple providers (one for each provider)?

Summary

You have choice and control over your child’s supports, including when and how often they’re delivered. The best way to help you make the choice about which NDIS provider is right for you and your teen or young adult is to have detailed conversations with your prospective providers and ask lots of questions.

However in a first step, it’s essential you understand your child’s plan and what the different elements mean for you and your son or daughter. Get help from your NDIS Planner or your Coordinator of Supports about any aspects of the plan you’re confused about.