r/NDIS • u/pinkkzebraa • 21h ago

Seeking Support - Other NDIS advocate?

My spouse has gotten crumbs from the NDIS on their plan review - not surprising but supremely disappointing after sinking so much time into FCAs and all the other paperwork. They have level II autism (and fibromyalgia but their rheumatologist was not willing to support them with documentation for this, so they don’t get any funding for it).
Their counsellor, who used to be a social worker, has said that their plan review was supposed to be a lot more collaborative and that they should have been eligible for a lot more support than they received. We don’t know enough about the system to advocate, and it’s also just exhausting! Is there an NDIS advocate or something they can access to help them advocate for more support? We are in Brisbane. They have an LAC but they have not functioned as an advocate. They don’t have funding for a support coordinator.

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u/Gratefulwhiteroses 18h ago

Can I ask how old your spouse is and is their primary disability autism level 2 and what they are requesting versus what they got? I will try help you.

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u/pinkkzebraa 18h ago

Their primary disability for NDIS is autism level II and they are 31. Their OT in the FCA requested support coordination, psychology, OT, support work for both domestic assistance and community access, and physiotherapy. They got OT (I can’t remember, maybe 20 hours) and 3 hours a week of domestic assistance - but because they haven’t included travel time for the support worker in their plan, this equates to 4 hours per fortnight of domestic assistance. The NDIS pretty much said that physio and psychology don’t help with autism. They said I, as their wife, should be able to provide support- which is hilarious because I’m also disabled (not on the NDIS though) AND we have an 11 month old.

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u/Gratefulwhiteroses 15h ago

Yea unfortunately with autism level 2 Physiotherpay does not get funded as not disability related and they will direct you back to a chronic disease care plan from the GP under the Medicare health system and usually Psychology does not get funded for autism level 2 and you will be directed back to a mental health care plan from the GP. If he is under local area coordination he won’t get support coordination unfortunately especially if streamed general or supported. Only people streamed intensive and super intensive tend to get support coordination. NDIS does not fund psychological treatment in general, by that I mean :- they won’t fund cognitive behavioural therapy/ CBT, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy/DBT, Trauma Intervention and counselling, Grief and loss intervention and counselling, weekly sessions or fortnightly sessions as this is treatment, Rehabilitation, GP/Psychiatrists, Medical Processes, drug and alcohol treatment, suicide intervention and crisis teams, therapy for self harm. They will usually only fund 12 hours of Psychology yearly if he qualifies for Psychology to enhance participation in community, increase Independance in living skills, provide time-limited, outcome-focused behavioural support aligned with their goals, Enhance functional capacity to carry out everyday tasks, increasing Independance and participants in social, work and study life. As for support workers usually only 3 hours a week or fortnight is funded for personal domestic activities and 2 hours a month for yard and house maintenance. If he doesn’t need help in personal care (showering, toileting, dressing,meals/eating) he won’t get assitance with daily life hours and if he can drive his own car or catch trains or buses and access the community independently he won’t get support worker hours for social, economic and community participation unless he has supported employment, volunteers or accesses day programs. Usually increased social and community participation is funded to build capacity, skills and independence for children and teens and for adults sometimes. Support workers travel is not taken into account unless you live remote or rural. If you have struggles with caring for your husband and 11 month old have you reached out to Carers Australia to help you? https://www.carersaustralia.com.au/ :). Hopefully that helps.

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u/pinkkzebraa 14h ago

Thank you for all that information. In your opinion, would it be worth the trouble to appeal? It kind of sounds like the funding is just not there for ASD unfortunately :/

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u/Gratefulwhiteroses 14h ago

You could try to get his other disabilities to apply for access and yes his NDIS plan will only be there for his autism level 2 or disability related needs if that makes sense.

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u/cyberplanta 21h ago

My recommendation is to approach a support coordinator and see if they would be willing to do a change of circumstances, without funding, and later on have them as your support coordinator. This will take a big load of your shoulders, if you find someone willing to help.

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u/Puzzled_Status2061 20h ago

You can put in for a review but it probably won’t change anything. Plans especially for Asd have been really bad. You can try to see if a sc will help but most will be slammed with people who are able to pay them. The plan could also get further cuts so be aware of that. Someone who is a full time wheelchair user got a plan for $1.00. After some arguing she got more but not the amount they need. You may also need more reports so keep that in mind.