topic NDIS teething problems in Community Spirit

NDIS teething problems

davidc4430 — Wed, 18 Oct 2017 05:16:50 GMT

'It's soul destroying': NDIS teething problems make many feel they're not worth the help

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-18/ndis-teeting-problems-make-many-patients-feel-not-worth-help/9059528

is there anything this govt touches thats not a screw-up?

Re: NDIS teething problems

not_for_sale — Wed, 18 Oct 2017 05:22:02 GMT

It's still being rolled out and of course there will be teething problems. But they'll get it right.

Re: NDIS teething problems

johcaschro — Wed, 18 Oct 2017 14:06:48 GMT

Unless we decide to allocate an unlimited amount of money to funding the NDIS, then money which goes to support people like Freddie and Max takes away from the money which can go towards supporting people like Ellie.

It seems to me that Freddie and Max don't enjoy their lives very much and it's almost certain that they and their behavours don't bring much joy to the lives of the other people around them or in their community.

Is it likely that they will ever grow out of their condition and be able to function as valuable members of their community? Is it ever likely that they will gain much enjoyment or sense of self-fulfillment from their lives?

We have a limited amount of money to allocate to the NDIS. What do we do with it? Do we allocate parts of it to those who have no probability of lasting benefit, at the expense of those who obviously do have some probability of aquiring lasting benefit to both themselves and their community?

Oh, for an unlimited pool of money in which to (metaphorically) drown little **bleep**s like Freddie and Max.

In the absence of such a bottomless pool of money, then surely we should prioritise its expenditure upon those who would benefit the most?

I know and understand that behavioural problems can constitute a severe disablitiy but I cannot overcome the feeling that behaviours are a choice we make whereas to get up and walk on legs which do not function, is not.

Re: NDIS teething problems

this-one-time-at-bandcamp — Wed, 18 Oct 2017 16:33:16 GMT

And you claim to be a medical professional..........how many hopeless vets have been euthanized under your care? God help those afflicted with a bipolar disorder......their actions are a choice?

Re: NDIS teething problems

johcaschro — Thu, 19 Oct 2017 13:18:08 GMT

Neither you nor David who kudo'd your post seem to have understood my message.

I am arguing for more funding for the NDIS for everyone in need, but at the same time I recognise that sometimes that money will seem to be spent for no lasting and purposeful benefit.

All behaviours result from choices we make, and often people with psychiatric conditions like bipolar disorder have some degree of insight into their illness and they know, again to a degree, that the behaviours they act out are destructive and inappropriate. So, in that they still choose to act out, their behaviours are a choice they make.

I have known people with bipolar disorder who, once on medication, and feeling well again, think they no longer need the drugs and stop taking them. That's a choice they make, and it's a dangerous and usually regretable one, both for themselves and for those who have to deal with the consequences.

(No vets were harmed before, during or after the making of this brief message)

Re: NDIS teething problems

this-one-time-at-bandcamp — Thu, 19 Oct 2017 16:36:58 GMT

You made a statement saying that funding for people with little hope of having a meaningful life should be dispensed with.........which included the two autistic children in the OP. How is their behavior a choice? In fact you referred to them as little bleeps......be interesting to find out what word was bleeped out.

Re: NDIS teething problems

daydream**believer — Fri, 20 Oct 2017 05:45:37 GMT

This is the third, and final year, my son has been on the NDIS.

It has been a fantastic help.

Re: NDIS teething problems

chameleon54 — Fri, 20 Oct 2017 21:18:32 GMT

@johcaschro wrote:
Unless we decide to allocate an unlimited amount of money to funding the NDIS, then money which goes to support people like Freddie and Max takes away from the money which can go towards supporting people like Ellie.

It seems to me that Freddie and Max don't enjoy their lives very much and it's almost certain that they and their behavours don't bring much joy to the lives of the other people around them or in their community.

Is it likely that they will ever grow out of their condition and be able to function as valuable members of their community? Is it ever likely that they will gain much enjoyment or sense of self-fulfillment from their lives?

We have a limited amount of money to allocate to the NDIS. What do we do with it? Do we allocate parts of it to those who have no probability of lasting benefit, at the expense of those who obviously do have some probability of aquiring lasting benefit to both themselves and their community?

Oh, for an unlimited pool of money in which to (metaphorically) drown little **bleep**s like Freddie and Max.

In the absence of such a bottomless pool of money, then surely we should prioritise its expenditure upon those who would benefit the most?

I know and understand that behavioural problems can constitute a severe disablitiy but I cannot overcome the feeling that behaviours are a choice we make whereas to get up and walk on legs which do not function, is not.

WOW......... Autism is not a behavioural problem. You cant just give these kids a smack on the bum or teach the parents how to be " good parents " and everything will be fine.

Autism is a medical issue related to brain chemistry and possible wiring problems which means the brain does not function as it should. This causes an imense build up of internal stress on these kids which has to be released either through what you view as a tanty, or through self harm or violent outbursts.

Our understanding of how the brain functions is still in its infancy and the condition of autism is still not very well understood by medical proffesionals, let alone by the public.

On the question of the national disability scheme, one of the biggest problems is like most things governments do, the NDIS has become the latest public service, gravy train, junket. The scheme has been swamped by incompetant PS. administrators and private companies set up to siphon the money from the scheme in the same way as TAFE has been trashed and financially drained by private companies, specifically set up to skim money from the public purse.

There was recently an open day for the NDIS in our regional city. It was held at the expensive golf country club. It consisted of a short 2 hour conference for service providers, followed the next day by a trade display, open day for service providers. Despite only being one hour drive from the centre of the city, the providers all booked accomodation the day before the conference and spent a minimum of two nights accommodation at the exclusive country club resort. According to someone we know who works at the resort, many stayed an extra night after the open day as well.

The event was poorly attended by people with disabilities and halfway through the event, one display participant noted that my wife was the first person to speak to her about the services her organisation offered.

Basically a huge percentage of the money in the scheme is being siphoned off and wasted on fluff, rather than running a lean, mean, efficient scheme with a genuine focus on providing maximum funds for people with disabilities. The whole focus has been on service providers rather than the people who actually require the services.

Re: NDIS teething problems

davidc4430 — Fri, 20 Oct 2017 22:48:45 GMT

here is a big problem with 'disability'

if you have a phisical disability, missing leg, arm, blind, deaf and the list goes on. most people say 'well yes of course your disabled'

but when you have something that cant be seen, like austism, a lot of people see you as 'faking' it.

and there are lots of things you can see but still make a person disabled.

we should never judge unless we have real evedence a person is 'faking it'

old saying 'walk a mile in my shoes' comes to mind.

Re: NDIS teething problems

davidc4430 — Sat, 21 Oct 2017 05:07:14 GMT

New Adelaide play Impersonal Space tries to shine light on living with autism

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-21/new-play-tries-to-shine-light-on-living-with-autism/9073062

Re: NDIS teething problems

johcaschro — Sat, 21 Oct 2017 13:19:56 GMT

@this-one-time-at-bandcamp wrote:
You made a statement saying that funding for people with little hope of having a meaningful life should be dispensed with.........which included the two autistic children in the OP. How is their behavior a choice? In fact you referred to them as little bleeps......be interesting to find out what word was bleeped out.

No I didn't, go back and read my post again (and David and Chamo, do the same, please)

I just recognised the fact that our limitied amount of money allocated to the NDIS is sometimes spent for no or little apparent benefit to those upon whom it is spent and in light of this fact, I suggested that we either (vastly) increase the amount of money allocated to the NDIS or that we take stock and prioritise the funding towards those who stand to benefit the most from it.

It's not my fault that those with autism seem less likely to benefit from the well-intentioned efforts to ameliorate the sufferings of their ungrateful little lives.

Re: NDIS teething problems

johcaschro — Sat, 21 Oct 2017 13:28:45 GMT

In fact you referred to them as little bleeps......be interesting to find out what word was bleeped out.

Interesting? but of little or no apparent benefit to anyone.

Re: NDIS teething problems

this-one-time-at-bandcamp — Sat, 21 Oct 2017 19:03:55 GMT

Amazing how you attempt to backtrack............you inferred that the behavior of autistic children was a choice....

Re: NDIS teething problems

davidc4430 — Wed, 03 Jul 2019 09:48:21 GMT

NDIS loses legal challenge, agrees to pay $15,000 annual food bill for severely disabled NSW man

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-03/man-wins-legal-battle-to-have-ndis-pay-for-costly-food/11274484

Re: NDIS teething problems

chameleon54 — Wed, 03 Jul 2019 11:46:10 GMT

WOW So that thread is 18 months old. Seems like only yesterday. Fortunately in that time the wife has settled into her support services and is making the system work successfully for her. Unfortunately many others have not been so lucky.

I re-read one of davids posts about people with mental health disabilities being overlooked by the system. I don't think much has changed on this front with access to the NDIS for people with permanent mental health disabilities still very difficult to achieve. It shouldn't be that hard. If a person has a formal diagnosis of a permanent disabling condition from a registered psychiatrist, maybe backed by a second opinion if you want to get pedantic, that should be enough.

As it is now, people with mental health disabilities are required to work through the jobsearch scheme, regardless of whether they are capable of working or not for a minimum of two years. Then in order to be assessed for the NDIS, they must have had treatment and be stabilised. How can someone with schizophrenia, Bi-polar and similar conditions ever be stabilised ? It just aint gonna happen. Even with the best in support and medical care, sufferers are going to have relapses where they become highly unstable, often on a regular basis.

The criteria for support for those with life long conditions needs to be reassessed. Unfortunately I suspect the government is afraid of opening another Pandora's box and simply hasn't got the money to allow these people the support they need.

Re: NDIS teething problems

not_for_sale — Wed, 03 Jul 2019 13:38:05 GMT

Having a serious mental illness may not be enough to qualify for the NDIS unless the person has disabilities covered by the scheme. The types of disabilities are listed on their site and on the application form. The main service for people with a mental illness is the Mental Health Service. However, people with a physical or intellectual disability and a mental illness would be more likely to qualify for the NDIS because their types of disabilities are more likely to be those covered by the NDIS. The NDIS was not introduced to rescue or replace the mental health services in each State. It is the mental health services that need to improve and in particular stop discriminating against people with disabilities.

Re: NDIS teething problems

chameleon54 — Wed, 03 Jul 2019 13:57:43 GMT

I suspect part of the problem is that we are still a long way from understanding many mental health conditions. Often they are not clear cut and can have multiple layers of presentation. Anxiety and depression often co-partner many conditions as do compulsions such as eating disorders, OCD, self harm or other various forms of compulsive behaviour. Some of these conditions may be treatable or manageable with medication, while other facets of the presentation can be permanently debilitating. It is this complexity that does not easily fit into the clearly defined and inflexible structures of the NDIS.

Re: NDIS teething problems

not_for_sale — Wed, 03 Jul 2019 14:37:14 GMT

People with Schizophrenia, for example, may have what is referred to as positive and/or negative symptoms. The positive symptoms are usually hallucinations, delusions and thought disorder. The negative symptoms can include amotivation, lack of volition and problems with affect. The negative symptoms are more chronic and are very difficult to treat. They can be debilitating.

A key NDIS criterion is the impact of psychosocial disability on the individual. Not all people with Schizophrenia would have psychosocial disabilities and arguing that they do could prove very hard. You are right IMO, we need to learn more about the serious mental illnesses. But in the interim, the greater challenge is to merge our knowledge of disability and mental health to reach agreement on things such as; whether mentally ill people experiencing negative symptoms are psychosocially disabled. Until that occurs people with a mental illness will be assessed on NDIS criteria, whereas the mental health services will be guided by their criteria. And unfortunately, the criteria are different in many respects.

Re: NDIS teething problems

davidc4430 — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 23:34:33 GMT

Catastrophically injured Australians still waiting for national insurance scheme meant to roll out with NDIS

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-20/national-injury-insurance-scheme-injured-australians-waiting/11796928

3 years on and still the ndis is failing to live up to the polliticians promises