Disability support services in Australia are currently undergoing their biggest shake-up in decades, and occupational therapy will be affected by the NDIS. The new funding model will provide both more money and more freedom for people with disabilities to choose supports.
Occupational therapy with the NDIS is essentially a way of helping people (generally children) gain the skills that they will need to work successfully later in life. This can range from working with muscle control deficits through to finding ways to cope with neural deficiencies.
It can also be useful for victims of assault or accidents who lose muscle function. Even if the loss is only temporary, occupational therapy through the NDIS helps people to recover more quickly. The rehabilitation exercises with the therapist will both help the victim to relearn movements and control and encourage muscle regrowth.
The therapy for children typically involves a certain amount of play and (if the child is at school) schoolwork. Kids that can benefit from this kind of help range from those who simply have bad handwriting due to low muscle tone right through to sufferers of autism or cerebral palsy.
If a person has a condition that requires occupational therapy, the NDIS will provide funding for it. This will help disabled people – particularly young people – to gain and maintain the skills that they need to care for themselves and live as independent a life as possible. The people who need this support will also be able to choose their own provider.
Occupational therapy will become more available under the NDIS to those who need it. The therapists will be able to help more young people to develop goals to work towards regarding movement and muscle control. These young people will also get more opportunities to control their movements to the point that they are able to live as normal a life as possible.
Funding for occupational therapy through the NDIS will also allow therapists to work more closely with those in need in their own environments. Rather than having to get people who need help to come to them, therapists will be able to go on home, school and hospital visits. This will make life far easier on those who already have it hard enough.
Therapists help people to manage a huge range of different issues, with both developmental and environmental causes. ADD/ADHD, autism, cerebral palsy, fine and gross motor skill deficits and speech or other communicative issues are the most common, but this is by no means an exhaustive list. Occupational therapy will be provided by the NDIS to those who suffer these kinds of disorders.
Therapists will also help the families and carers of disabled young people by educating them about the disorder, and telling them what they can do to help. They will also help the disabled young people to communicate better with their families, as well as teaching families and carers how to work out what the child is trying to tell them.
Occupational therapy NDIS will also help people who have suffered an accident. Often severe injuries can impair movement and lead to muscle decay. Working with a therapist will help the victims of severe falls or violent assault to recover more quickly and resume their normal life sooner.
The benefits of obtaining occupational therapy through the NDIS are huge for those who need help with their muscle control. It teaches them the skills they will need to work, as well as encouraging fine muscle control and helping people to recover from injuries
These people will be able to live far more normal lives than they would without NDIS provided occupational therapy.