Autistic Hobart man warns of devastating impact for neurodiverse kids if NDIS changed
Twenty-five-year-old Kade Beechey says the NDIS has been “life-changing” for him and he’s worried a review of the scheme could mean people like him are disadvantaged in the future.
Tasmania
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For Kade Beechey, the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme was “life-changing” and enabled him to live independently – but with an overhaul of the service looming, he is concerned that young autistic people like him won’t be afforded the same opportunities.
Mr Beechey, 25, of Hobart, who was diagnosed with autism at age 6, became an NDIS participant in 2016.
He said that since he began receiving support, he had improved his social skills, entered the workforce, obtained his driver’s licence and enjoyed an overall greater quality of life.
Without the NDIS, Mr Beechey said his parents would have been required to pay “a lot more” to support him.
“I’d be far less independent than I am now. I take care of myself,” he said.
“I drive myself to work. I do everything myself now, I suppose.
“And I feel like, [without the] NDIS, I wouldn’t be anywhere near that sort of level of competence and independence.”
Ten years after the scheme was established, the federal and state and territory governments are considering an independent review of the $40 billion NDIS, examining its design, operations and sustainability.
NDIS costs have skyrocketed and are projected to hit more than $100 billion a year by 2032. The scheme is anticipated to have more than a million participants by then.
There are 232,000 autistic people on the NDIS and 74,000 people with developmental delays, accounting for a total of 47 per cent of the more than 630,000 participants nationwide.
Minister for the NDIS Bill Shorten has indicated that a “conversation” needs to be had about helping children with “milder forms” of developmental delay receive early intervention.
The autism community has expressed concern that the review could recommend NDIS eligibility criteria for autistic people be tightened, therefore leading to a greater number of people going without support.
Mr Beechey’s mother, Carol Bergman-Wells, who manages his NDIS plan herself, said the scheme had been “life-changing” for her son.
“If [people] have that package early and they get all those supports, then they can eventually come off the plan and function in life,” she said.
The NDIS review is due to be published following the next national cabinet meeting next month.
Autism Tasmania CEO Donna Blanchard said while the review of the NDIS was needed, autism was being used as a “political football” between the states and territories and the federal government, which was having an impact on “vulnerable families”.
Mr Shorten said changes to the NDIS were about making the scheme a “more human, less bureaucratic experience”.
“Any reforms would focus on future participants,” he said. “By better managing the NDIS and improving its operation within a broader inclusive society, people with disability will experience improved outcomes and costs will moderate over time.”
State Disability Services Minister Jo Palmer said she had been consulting with her state and territory counterparts since the review was announced last year and that the Tasmanian government was “committed to continuing these discussions in a productive way”.
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