On the topic of the NDIS and other disability related support.

[Obvious]

Hello, this is my first post to this site so forgive me if I have posted this in the wrong section or such.

I will attempt to keep it short, as this is a mere inquiry for feedback from anyone who may be knowledgeable on the topic.  I moved from the United Kingdom in 2013, to Western Australia. The move was stressful and I never really felt like it was home. That is, until around 2020/2021. Towards the end of 2021 we moved back from WA to the UK, due to cost of living, stress, missing family etc, the usual.
However I really found myself enjoying Perth towards the last two years and felt it became my real home. It also shaped me into who I am today as I grew up there during the most crucial years of character building, if that makes sense. So I plan on moving back for 2023, on my own (Which is new to me since I have always been a home bird, not to mention living away from parents on the other side of the planet). To make things worse, or better, I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorders in 2019. To put a long story short,  this diagnosis followed by seeing many therapists led to me being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), the more common term is Aspergers but I believe they are trying to move away from calling it that. Which I believe falls under the NDIS list of benefits eligibility. 

Now that you have some backstory, I wish to ask if anyone is well versed on the NDIS and its features, or who it benefits and what to expect. I can read their site all day but I feel as if asking people with experience may help. What do they offer? What can I expect them to fund for me? Would housing be apart of the package? As in, would they pay for my rent or something similar? I don't want it to seem as if I am just trying to leech off them with benefits, more that I want support and a foundation since I am quite terrible socially.  I also want to know how NDIS works for employment, or rather lack thereof since I am scared to go into employment with my lack of social skills. 

I hope I have made sense, and I apologise in advance if I did something wrong like post in the wrong section or such. 

Any feedback appreciated.

[Parley]

If you are capable of working and looking after yourself at home then i would be very surprised if you are eligible for any funding.

[Obvious]

5 minutes ago, Parley said:

If you are capable of working and looking after yourself at home then i would be very surprised if you are eligible for any funding.

I'm capable of looking after myself, working? Not so much. I thought I made it clear my social skills debilitate my chances of employment. 

[Ken]

37 minutes ago, Obvious said:

Hello, this is my first post to this site so forgive me if I have posted this in the wrong section or such.

I will attempt to keep it short, as this is a mere inquiry for feedback from anyone who may be knowledgeable on the topic.  I moved from the United Kingdom in 2013, to Western Australia. The move was stressful and I never really felt like it was home. That is, until around 2020/2021. Towards the end of 2021 we moved back from WA to the UK, due to cost of living, stress, missing family etc, the usual.
However I really found myself enjoying Perth towards the last two years and felt it became my real home. It also shaped me into who I am today as I grew up there during the most crucial years of character building, if that makes sense. So I plan on moving back for 2023, on my own (Which is new to me since I have always been a home bird, not to mention living away from parents on the other side of the planet). To make things worse, or better, I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorders in 2019. To put a long story short,  this diagnosis followed by seeing many therapists led to me being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), the more common term is Aspergers but I believe they are trying to move away from calling it that. Which I believe falls under the NDIS list of benefits eligibility. 

Now that you have some backstory, I wish to ask if anyone is well versed on the NDIS and its features, or who it benefits and what to expect. I can read their site all day but I feel as if asking people with experience may help. What do they offer? What can I expect them to fund for me? Would housing be apart of the package? As in, would they pay for my rent or something similar? I don't want it to seem as if I am just trying to leech off them with benefits, more that I want support and a foundation since I am quite terrible socially.  I also want to know how NDIS works for employment, or rather lack thereof since I am scared to go into employment with my lack of social skills. 

I hope I have made sense, and I apologise in advance if I did something wrong like post in the wrong section or such. 

Any feedback appreciated.

I don't know much about the support available for adults with autism, but I can say that the financial support the NDIS provides for children with Autism is excellent. Finding services that you can actually spend that money on is the harder problem.

Normal living expenses are not covered by the NDIS but if your disability is such that you are unable to live in normal housing, then yes they do cover the cost of supported housing.

If you are unable to work you would need a Disability Pension. The NDIS exists to provide the supports to fill the gap between normal living expenses and a disabled persons living expenses - but it only reimburses expenses it doesn't provide an income.

Edited September 29, 2022 by Ken

[Parley]

25 minutes ago, Obvious said:

I'm capable of looking after myself, working? Not so much. I thought I made it clear my social skills debilitate my chances of employment. 

Lots of jobs don't involve much working with other people.

[Quoll]

40 minutes ago, Obvious said:

I'm capable of looking after myself, working? Not so much. I thought I made it clear my social skills debilitate my chances of employment. 

You may be able to niche pick.  Mathematics, IT and engineering departments are full of people with ASD so it may be a matter of choosing something that fits your skills and there are job finding services which can help you with that. I assume you are a citizen because if you are not, then you could have difficulty returning.  I wouldn't be banking too much on the NDIS - it isn't so much a matter of having a diagnosis as how much that diagnosis impairs your functioning within society.  Disability funding isn't a bottomless pit by any means and when there is a limited budget it is shared on a needs basis. The other thing, of course, with the NDIS is, especially in early intervention, the funding may be there but the services to spend it on arent.

[Melbpom]

3 hours ago, Obvious said:

Hello, this is my first post to this site so forgive me if I have posted this in the wrong section or such.

I will attempt to keep it short, as this is a mere inquiry for feedback from anyone who may be knowledgeable on the topic.  I moved from the United Kingdom in 2013, to Western Australia. The move was stressful and I never really felt like it was home. That is, until around 2020/2021. Towards the end of 2021 we moved back from WA to the UK, due to cost of living, stress, missing family etc, the usual.
However I really found myself enjoying Perth towards the last two years and felt it became my real home. It also shaped me into who I am today as I grew up there during the most crucial years of character building, if that makes sense. So I plan on moving back for 2023, on my own (Which is new to me since I have always been a home bird, not to mention living away from parents on the other side of the planet). To make things worse, or better, I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorders in 2019. To put a long story short,  this diagnosis followed by seeing many therapists led to me being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), the more common term is Aspergers but I believe they are trying to move away from calling it that. Which I believe falls under the NDIS list of benefits eligibility. 

Now that you have some backstory, I wish to ask if anyone is well versed on the NDIS and its features, or who it benefits and what to expect. I can read their site all day but I feel as if asking people with experience may help. What do they offer? What can I expect them to fund for me? Would housing be apart of the package? As in, would they pay for my rent or something similar? I don't want it to seem as if I am just trying to leech off them with benefits, more that I want support and a foundation since I am quite terrible socially.  I also want to know how NDIS works for employment, or rather lack thereof since I am scared to go into employment with my lack of social skills. 

I hope I have made sense, and I apologise in advance if I did something wrong like post in the wrong section or such. 

Any feedback appreciated.

NDIS broadly covers therapy (such as Speech, OT, Physio, BSP), support workers and aids & equipment.

There are very few participants that qualify for housing known as SDA (Specialist disability accommodation). To be eligible you would need to have multiple profound disabilities. It's a long process requiring heaps of reports from therapists. I've been through the process with my son and he was deemed eligible.

Living expenses for someone with a disability who's unable to work would be covered by Centrelink payments e.g. DSP (Disability Support Payment) and rent assistance.

I would bring all the reports you have with you when you return from the UK and if you are interested then make an application to the NDIA to participate in the NDIS. 

[Eera]

My brother is on the NDIS with ASD: how it works with him is that he's assigned a budget for support services and he elects to have a support worker come round twice a week to take him shopping or go to the cinema etc.  For a person with his level of disability it doesn't provide assistance with housing and rent etc - that comes from Centrelink.  It took a looooong time to actually get him assessed and considered eligible - nearly two years from memory, as ASD isn't an "obvious" disability if you know what I mean - however that was at the start of NDIS and maybe they've streamlined the process by now. 

Check the Centrelink disability support pages carefully as there are some stringent non-medical criteria for eligibility for the disability support pension.

[Obvious]

Thank you all above for your insight and first hand accounts. It is greatly helpful. 

[JetBlast]

On 29/09/2022 at 15:01, Obvious said:

I'm capable of looking after myself, working? Not so much. I thought I made it clear my social skills debilitate my chances of employment. 

I worked for a company that specially employed people disabilities including what you stated above.