I do think that the people in Inverell need to be aware that it’s not as frightening as I first thought,” she said.

The NDIS is a reform that will remove government funds from disability services and give them directly to people with disabilities and their families. Ros said after worrying about getting a knock on the door for more than two years, she finally had a planning meeting on Wednesday, July 27.

Having collected as much information as possible on the breakdown of costs for Rebecca’s equipment and care, she was surprised by the nature of the meeting.

“I had no idea that I was actually going there to do our plan. I thought I was going there for them to look at all the stuff that I’d gathered, and say to me, ‘Well, oh no Ros, you need to go and get this,’ or ‘that’s great what you’ve got, but you might need this or you might need that’”.

Instead of going through the paperwork, Ros spent four and a half hours answering questions on Rebecca’s goals and needs. Two women from the St Vincent De Paul Society helped Ros put her requests into the appropriate language. Able to choose who took her through the process, and bring advocates from disability services to help her fight for Rebecca’s rights, Ros said she felt comfortable throughout.

Source: The Inverell Times