Whether you are new in the NDIS waiting for your upcoming Plan Meeting, or an old NDIS participant due for Plan Review, preparation is always the key. There has always been a strong emphasis on setting up with vivid NDIS goals- short to long term. Goals are important as they will be the foundation on how the NDIA allocates your funding. Clear goals would mean getting the right funding thus receiving the appropriate supports and services you need to achieve your goals.
How do you start?
You have to establish your 1.short term goals -these goals are those that you wish to achieve within the next 6-12 months and 2. long term goals- these are goals that you are eyeing to achieve for the next two years or so. It does not have to be too specific as it will be limiting yourself and putting you inside the box. For example, instead of saying: “My goal is to gain access to Art therapy sessions” you may want to rephrase it by saying “ I want to learn how to express myself in a creative manner as this for me helps in boosting my self-esteem and relationship with others. In this case, your funding will not only be limited to art therapy but it could also open up a lot of supports and services like Dance therapy sessions or speech pathology funding. It will be helpful if your goals will include the following :
· Learn a skill or upgrading a skill
· Access to education
· Increase in social and community participation
· Finding a job
· Getting ready for a job
· Keeping a job
· Improving your health and wellbeing
· Becoming more independent by improving your housing options
When you are done identifying your goals, the next you want to think about is the supports you will require to successfully achieve each aspect of the goals you identified. For example, you need access to specialized transportation services to get you to and from your school, therapy sessions, or your job then in this case you might need funding for an AT or vehicle modification. The next course of your preparation will be identifying what supports you are currently receiving aside from the NDIS, as these will no longer be categorized and reasonable and necessary for NDIS funding. You also need to identify your current informal supports from your family or friends. In this manner, you will be able to draw a clear picture of how many support workers you will be needing and when you will be needing their service. The last thing you want to consider is how you will be managing your funds. Since you will be or you are currently dealing with the NDIS funds, you are responsible for ensuring that you used your funding accordingly -which means not underspending nor overspending it, paying service providers on time. Participants will be given choice and control by giving them 3 options to choose from on how they can manage their funding: NDIA / Agency Managed, Self- Managed, or Plan Managed.
Always choose the option you think will suit you. If you choose to be Plan Managed it could mean that your focus will be on yourself and achieving your NDIS goals.
We can help.
Yogi Care Plan Management will take care of the management of your NDIS funds, while you focus on yourself.
