The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) makes funds available to support people with disabilities in accessing the supports and services they need to achieve their goals and live a better life.
NDIS funding can be used to improve functional communication skills for both adults and children, through speech pathology.
Wondering how to use your child’s NDIS funding for speech pathology? Read on, as we guide you through the various ways the NDIS plan can cover your child’s speech therapy.
- Support for Functional Communication
Functional communication is the ability to express thoughts, needs, and feelings in a way that is understood by others. It is an essential skill for every child, especially those who face challenges in communication. For example, difficulties in speech or language, fluency disorders such as stuttering, or difficulties in social communication.
NDIS funding can be used for Speech Pathology services, which mainly include the following:
- Development of Language: Assisting children who have language delays or difficulties to understand and use language correctly according to their age.
- Speech: Improving their pronunciation of sounds to be understood by others.
- Fluency: Assistance related to stuttering or other fluency difficulties, helping them achieve smooth and clear speech.
- Social Skills: Helping children who have differences with social communication to understand skills for interacting with others, like turn-taking, engaging in conversation, and viewing other’s perspectives so they can build meaningful relationships.
Speech Pathologists help make plans and provide intervention that encourage communication across different situations.
- One-on-One and Group Intervention
NDIS funding allows flexibility in the manner of delivery of therapy services – whether it is individual or group therapy.
- One-on-One Intervention: This entails personalised therapy, which is specifically suited to the individual’s needs. It focuses and intensively works on the challenges that an individual has with speech, language, or social communication. One-on-one sessions can specifically target goals such as clarity of speech, vocabulary improvement, or fluency.
- Group Intervention: Group therapy provides a good platform to enhance social communication skills within a group that is willing to support each other. Participants can use these newly acquired skills in actual social situations, for example, conversation, turn-taking, and understanding social cues.
Both types of interventions are eligible for funding under the NDIS, allowing your child to access the most appropriate therapy option for their needs.
- Reasonable and Necessary Support Services
Funding is provided by the NDIS for services that are deemed “reasonable and necessary.” Consequently, any therapy service, including Speech Pathology, must be directly related to the individual’s goals, and support them in achieving those goals.
NDIS funding will cover therapy services for Speech Pathology if it assists:
- Communication: Helping with creating or enhancing communication abilities.
- Involvement in everyday life: Allowing people to express themselves better in school, jobs, or public places, enabling them to take part completely in their society.
- Greater Independence: Giving your child the methods they need to share more on their own, lessening dependence on others for help.
The NDIS will fund services that directly relate to the support of these outcomes and are specific to the individual’s needs. This ensures that the funding is applied in the right way toward achieving meaningful progress.
- Services Not Funded by the NDIS
Though NDIS funding can be flexible, there are limits on what can be covered. If services come under other systems or are thought to be the parents’ or education system’s responsibility, they won’t be paid for by NDIS.
For example:
- Educational Support: NDIS money won’t pay for help already given by the school, like teaching in class or rule-based reading intervention. But if your child needs extra support or strategies to learn better in school, this might be paid for.
- Parent Responsibility: NDIS does not fund materials or services deemed parental responsibility for all children.
These are put in place to make sure that NDIS funding is focused on areas where it will make the most impact on the individual’s ability to achieve their goals and improve their overall life.
- Assistive Technology – Communication Devices
Sometimes, the NDIS money pays for assistive technology, such as communication devices. These tools assist individuals with complex needs who are unable to use speech as a means of effective communication.
A Speech Pathologist may assess an individual’s need for a communication device, which could be picture boards or more sophisticated electronic tools that can produce speech or text. These tools help children communicate and increase their independence, along with the ability to participate in daily activities and interact with others.
Final Thoughts
NDIS funding is critical in making sure children who have communication difficulties get the support they require. Whether it is funding Speech Pathology services to help improve functional communication, support social skills, or assistive technology, NDIS has many ways in which it can help an individual achieve their aims.
There are organisations willing to help individuals improve their communication skills and access the necessary services under the NDIS.
Experienced Speech Pathologists can help you navigate the process and make the most of your plan if you are not sure how to apply your NDIS funding for Speech Pathology services.