NDIS Gold Coast
Since July 1, 2018, Gold Coast started giving its residents the opportunity to receive individualised support through the implementation of the National Disability Scheme (NDIS). NDIS is a scheme that enables persons with disabilities, their families and carers to receive the support that is customised to their unique set of needs.
The NDIS allows persons with disability to have access to community care and support that they specifically choose to help with their individual needs. This makes it possible for individuals with disabilities and the people around them to have more control and flexibility on their aspirations, goals, and how they approach life, with the help of professionals provided and approved by the NDIS.
What exactly is the NDIS?
The NDIS is a national program administered by the National Disability Insurance Agency that provides support and services for Australians that have permanent and/or significant disabilities. These disabilities can include intellectual, physical, sensory, cognitive and psychosocial disabilities.
With an emphasis on early intervention, NDIS provides support as early as possible to persons with disability to mitigate further developmental delay in children and reduce the negative impacts of the disability in adults.
NDIS is not a welfare system, but is rather a scheme that provides Australians with disabilities, their families and carers with assistance, resources and services that will help alleviate hardships and provide them with peace of mind that their individual needs are being met.
How can you be eligible for NDIS?
If you are in the Gold Coast, you can apply for NDIS if you are:
Between the ages of 7 and 65; and
Living in Australia (Applicable to Citizens, Permanent Visa holders and/or Protected Special Category Visa holders); and
Have a permanent or significant disability that requires another person’s support; or
Using special equipment because of a permanent or significant disability; or
In need of support to reduce future needs.
You are eligible to apply for NDIS if the first two and one of the last three requirements apply to you. NDIS is readily available in Gold Coast for those eligible and once approved, NDIS will provide funding for ‘reasonable' and ‘necessary' support that is required to address the certain disability. To determine what is reasonable and necessary, an assessment will be conducted to determine the person’s goals and needs in their daily life.
Once the individual’s needs are determined, NDIS can provide resources and refer professionals to help with the pursuit of their goals and aspirations, develop their capacity to become active in the community and increase workplace and community participation. In Gold Coast, NDIS will provide participants information and services available in their communities such as doctors, support groups, specialists, sports club, amongst others.
Positive Moods
Positive Moods is an accredited NDIS provider that offers counselling for persons with disability. Based in Brisbane, Queensland, Positive Moods bring their counselling services directly to the doors of NDIS participants in cities across the nation.
With NDIS-registered staff and highly competent psychologists and counsellors, Positive Moods aims to make their client’s mental health needs easier to monitor and address while facing minimal barriers. In order to achieve this, Positive Moods provides in-home NDIS approved health services where the providers go directly to the participant’s homes or NDIS approved housing facilities to administer mental health services. This eliminates the participant’s need for transportation and ensuring a comfortable and familiar space for them to receive a holistic mental health service. This strategy also ensures timely communication between the participants, the Positive Moods psychologist and other professionals like support-coordinators and support worker.
Positive Moods have a dedicated group of professionals that focus on improving the mental health of persons with impaired capacities, mental illnesses, intellectual disabilities, aged persons, acquired brain injuries and medical challenges. Through the NDIS, Positive Moods can deliver therapeutic support and behavioural support to these individuals in accordance with their unique needs and goals.
Therapeutic Support
Based on the client’s individual needs, Positive Moods provide therapeutic support in order to enhance the participant’s daily life and assist in mental health challenges in daily Gold Coast living. Our psychologists with the help of the participant’s carers and support coordinators aim to support the client in achieving goals they set up. Specific therapeutic support includes:
Individual Counselling – where the NDIS participant will receive one-on-one time with a Positive Moods psychologist to work on their personal goals and develop their self-knowledge, emotional acceptance, growth, communication skills and be able to develop their personal resources.
Group Counselling – a group of up to three NDIS participants will be subjected to a peer discussion session facilitated by a Positive Moods psychologist with the goal to help them build friendships through teamwork and improve social and communication skills.
Group Therapy – this allows the participant to have the support of multiple NDIS accredited professionals in a collaborative setting in an effort to reach their agreed goals
Community Engagement Assistant – participants can be part of group sessions run by Positive Moods to improve social and community participation and empower participants to improve their social networks and interactions
Behavioural Support
Our psychologists also provide behavioural support to both children and adults, who have challenging behavioural issues. In this situation, Positive Moods psychologists use an evidence-based approach called Positive Behaviour Support to administer to NDIS participants and their carers on the Gold Coast. Specific behavioural support techniques include:
Specialist Behaviour Intervention Support – this is where an NDIS participant who is exhibiting significantly harmful or persistent behaviour will be provided a specialised intensive support intervention by a Positive Moods psychologist
Behaviours Management Plan – with the collaboration of a participant’s carer and other relevant stakeholders, Positive Moods will develop a customised support plan to minimise the participant’s use of unwanted practices
Training Behaviour Management – Positive Moods will run behavioural management strategies outlined in the management plan for other stakeholders to address the participant’s disability