NDIS report to see if Gold Coast girl Meadow Manning needs a wheelchair costs as much as the wheelchair itself

A desperate Gold Coast mother has been forced to fork out nearly $6000 on a report so government officials can decide if her severely disabled daughter qualifies for a $6,900 wheelchair.

A DESPERATE Gold Coast mother has been forced to fork out nearly $6000 on a report so government officials can decide if her severely disabled daughter qualifies for a $6,900 wheelchair.

While Shannon Manning waits, her non-verbal, autistic and epileptic seven-year-old daughter Meadow continues to abuse her and run off.

Meadow was hit by a car last weekend as she bolted away from her mother outside a doctor’s surgery. The child was taken to hospital with leg injuries.

Ms Manning, who was previously denied National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funding for a lighter wheelchair for her daughter because she was “not disabled enough”, said she was now expected to fork out thousands from Meadow’s disability fund for paper work.

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Gold Coast mother Shannon Manning reads a letter from the NDIS with her disabled children Madden 6, (left) and Meadow 7 at their Maudsland home. Picture Glenn Hampson

The sole carer of her two disabled children, Ms Manning has been pleading for the Government to replace her daughter’s heavy wheelchair, which has taken a toll on the mother’s back.

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Ms Manning has had metal rods inserted into her spine and been told by doctors that she is facing life in a wheelchair herself if the heavy workload continues.

“It doesn’t seem right we can spend close to six thousand on a report without an approval from the NDIA. However, we need approval to spend six thousand on a wheelchair we need,” she said.

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The latest letter from NDIS. Picture Glenn Hampson

Shannon is still looking for assistance to get a wheelchair for her severely disabled daughter. Picture Glenn Hampson

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Authorities only offered to review their decision on the wheelchair funding after Ms Manning went to the press about the situation last month.

The NDIA asked her to submit a new report through an occupational therapist (OT) it recommended.

“I said you had plenty of OT reports, but they wanted a report through one they had recommended,’’ she said.

“I can’t say no to that because if you bite back you could be letting your child down.

“We had fittings and other sessions for the report. The NDIS would have known how much it was going to cost because it was their recommended provider.”

The total fee for the report came to $5890, about $1000 less than the cost of the wheelchair Ms Manning needs.

Ms Manning said the money, which comes from Meadow’s NDIS account, could have instead been spent on treatment, therapies or even the wheelchair itself.

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The NDIA has granted $13,496.77 in capacity building therapy funds for Meadow.

She also receives six hours of care a day.

The $5800 for the report will have to come from the same funding pool, which is intended to be used on treatments like occupational therapists, speech therapists and physio.

The family will now wait on the NDIS to review the report and make a decision.

“It is a disheartening thing to feel like you are wasting your time, wasting your funded money that could have been used to help, not tick another box,’’ she said.

“They might just turn around and say no all over again.

“When do you give up?”

A spokesman for Stuart Robert, the Minister for the NDIS, said: “Mr Robert understands that this is a highly complex and sensitive case, and has full assurance that the NDIA are working with Ms Manning in relation to the reasonable and necessary disability supports required for her children.”

The NDIS released a one-line statement that said: “It would be irresponsible to provide equipment without conducting proper assessments to ensure the participant’s safety and wellbeing.’’

Meadow was struck by a van at the weekend while her mother and a carer were struggling to remove her heavy wheelchair from the car when they took her to a Burleigh medical centre for an appointment.

Ms Manning said Meadow needed her wheelchair because of epileptic seizures and also to confine her when the family were near busy roads. She said Meadow could only walk short distances because of her condition and an ankle problem, but was still capable of taking off quickly when her mother was distracted.

“I was there with the carer and we were unable to lift the current wheelchair — over 50kg — out safely because of my (back) injuries,’’ Ms Manning said.

“Then I saw her go. I was literally just behind her with not enough force to pull her away from the van. I was screaming ‘no, no, no’.”

An ambulance was called and Meadow was taken to hospital with injuries to a leg.

“Meadow was knocked down by a vehicle because NDIS couldn’t pull their finger out,” Ms Manning said.

Do you know anyone else who has been affected by the NDIS on the Gold Coast? Contact [e-mail]

Originally published as NDIS report to see if Gold Coast girl Meadow Manning needs a wheelchair costs as much as the wheelchair itself