A workshop on navigating the National Disability Insurance Scheme will be hosted at the Lithgow Workmen’s Club on Wednesday, April 5,10am-2pm.
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The workshop is open to people with all disabilities, friends, and carers and will involve a series activities centered on how to get the most out of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
My Choice Matters, an organisation belonging to the NSW Council for Intellectual Disability, is hosting the free event.
“My role is building the capacity of people with disabilities and their supporters to have choice, voice and control in their lives – also in the NDIS,” said Adele Tashkin, the workshop facilitator.
“The workshops are to get people prepared for their NDIS meeting and ensure that people end up with a good NDIS plan,” Ms Tashkin said.
A meeting with an NDIS representative is the first step for people to receive funding for their services.
“If people are not prepared for their meeting, they may not get the kind of plan they require,” Ms Tashkin said.
The meeting will also prepare attendees for the paradigm shift the NDIS entails, which is to treat those receiving NDIS funding as ‘customers’ rather than clients. The NDIS will allow recipients to shop around for different services.
“The workshop is really to plant the seed of thinking about what your good life looks like.
“Of course a lot of people will come to the workshops wondering what they need to do and panicking for information. We will go through all of that and also look into consumer rights.”
Ms Tashkin said one positive change the NDIS brings for people living in rural communities is that it recognises the possibility of participating in community life, not just activities organised for people with disabilities.
“At a lot of the workshops we have done in rural or regional New South Wales, people say there aren’t enough services to access in their community to really have a choice,” Ms Tashkin said.
“To counter that one of the big pushes in the NDIS scheme is getting people out there in the community. So if you want to attend a community art class, they will pay for a supporter to go with you, or to go to the local club or pub. Disability services won’t be the only option.”
The event is free but participants must register online at www.mychoicematters.org.au or call 1800 144 653. All supports will be provided.
