All of these ordinary things are made possible by the NDIS…
Tuesday 12 May
As part of our Reasonable. Necessary. Ordinary campaign we asked our followers "What does the NDIS make possible in your everyday life?"
We're sharing these stories to show the ordinary things that the NDIS funds and what is at stake with these cuts.
This participant has chosen to remain anonymous.
I fall through gaps in systems.
I do not fit text books.
I don't match tick boxes.
I live on the edge of the bell curve where what's 'normal' for me doesn't always fit the 'norms' of a world that is designed for people not like me.
I have multiple autoimmune disorders which affect my body's ability to manage energy.
A wheeled walker and manual wheelchair help me access my home and community. I also suffer from post traumatic stress disorder which has relapsed since the announcement of cuts to the NDIS. I fell through the gaps in the health system, the state government support system and in accessing the NDIS even though I was told by the NDIS that it was "designed for people like me."
The NDIS gave me a life again after being housebound, isolated and frequently bedridden.
The NDIS helps me manage my disability with access to allied health supports like physiotherapy and psychology. I can choose services where I feel safe, both physically and psychologically. I can choose the right amount and types of support to maintain and increase my function.
I no longer need to make the financial choice between maintaining my health and function or maintaining my tenancy and family stability. The NDIS is preventing me from falling further into the poverty of life on a Disability Support Pension (DSP)
The NDIS enables me to get the right equipment to increase my independence both in my home and in my community.
The NDIS lets me choose my own Support Workers to fit in with my timetable and family routines. It has improved my relationship with my children and enabled them to pursue work and study successfully because they no longer have to worry so much about my support needs.
After growing up in a single parent household with my DSP, the independence the NDIS gives me, also gives my children the chance to break out of the poverty cycle.
Without the NDIS
I wouldn't be able to afford support services or even get to them independently. When I cannot access my supports, my wellbeing declines, and I end up needing more medical interventions and end up in hospital.
Before the NDIS, my only motivation in life was to 'stay out of hospital'.
My young children were not fazed by the arrival of an ambulance to our home, it happened so often.
The limited supports and services available to me were inadequate and inappropriate for my needs and circumstances.
Now, because of the NDIS I can do many things that other people take for granted:
- I can get out of bed most mornings and make my breakfast.
- I can have nutritious meals that meet my prescribed dietary requirements because I have cooking help from Support Workers. (Before I wasted food that I had planned to cook but on the day, was physically unable to do it.)
- I can maintain an organised household with help from Support Workers.
- I can get out of my home independently or with help from Support Workers for longer distances. I can go to the supermarket and read product labels for food safety.
- I can access physiotherapy and hydrotherapy because Support Workers are available to help me get home and shower afterwards and maintain my skin integrity. These maintenance therapies keep me well and functioning.
- With a power assist unit on my wheelchair I can access the train station and get to my appointments on time with public transport and bike tracks. (Taxis are unreliable and won't show up for short local trips.)
- I can undertake errands and travel independently due to luggage and accessories that are specifically designed for wheelchair compatibility.
- I can stop in the park and watch the birds for 10 minutes on my way home to improve my mental health, knowing I don't have to rush home to fit in with someone else's imposed roster. It also is an opportunity to meet neighbours and feel safe by becoming known in my community.
- I now get the chance to volunteer with my local council when I can.
- I can be my whole self – a mother to my children without the dynamic tainted by carer burnout.
All of these ordinary things are made possible by the NDIS.
Without the NDIS I wouldn't have a life, or be able to be me.
