School Leavers and the ndis

Finding Pathways

Chances are if you or a family member are finishing school this year and live in the Ipswich region, you have already connected with your ndis Local Area Coordinator.  If you haven't or you are not part of the ndis scheme and have a disability then you can call the Ipswich Area Office.  In previous years students needs were assessed and they were referred to a disability support provider based on that assessment.  However assessments don't tell the whole story.

This is your life and you should be able to choose the activities you want to do and the friends you want to hang out with.  You need to think about using your ndis plan to place yourself or your child in the best position to achieve your ndis goals.  Through the ndis you can now choose the support service, therapy and equipment providers you will access. 

In selecting providers you will want to select a service that best suits your goals and your family needs.  There is no point going to a provider that only offers life skills and art and crafts if you want to enjoy the great outdoors and go on camping trips. 

If your plan is to look for work when you leave school, then you may not need a disability support provider, you might want to sign up with a supported employment service.  Or like some of your friends you might be off to do a training course, apprenticeship or uni.  People with disabilities are no longer locked into traditional post school pathways. 

If you want you can create your own pathway, self manage, or practically self manage your plan and engage your own support staff.  As a professional artist I have found this works for me.  Research tells us the more thought you put into your plan, the better satisfied you are with the outcomes. 

So how do you know what's available or what support services are out there?  Well, most young people these days use Google.  However Google can not give you the live experience or a human perspective.  Service providers are great at making their services look cool.  They might be really cool but not offer the activities you really, really want to do.  Ndis should mean like everyone else you get to do the things you really want to do.  

The key to being able to enjoy life and doing the things you love are being able to tell your LAC what you want and then having a 'wish list' when you talk to support providers. 

So what if you could talk to providers all on the same day and ask them the same questions. Well if you live in Ipswich then you can do just that at the Ipswich Fresh Futures Market on Wednesday 5th September 9 am to 1 pm.  

So take the future into your own hands and start finding what is out there.