Early Intervention for Autism: How the NDIS Can Help Your Child Get Support Sooner

By Support Network

Currently as of March 2022, there were over 80,000 children below the age of seven accessing help under the NDIS, with another 10,000 connected to early connections. These numbers show just how important early intervention is and how many families in Australia have already been receiving assistance.

When you are the parent or the carer of a very young child who is encountered with development delay signs or a child/teenager who lives with disability, discovering and pursuing early intervention may be some of the best decisions you may make. Early intervention is beneficial not only because it promotes better results but can also prevent the necessity to resort to more explicit assistance in the future. These are the means through which you can begin NDIS.

Why Early Intervention Matters

The NDIS has reported that over half a million Australians are communally getting disability support. Among the families, those featuring young children understand well how crucial early intervention is. This is the reason why the NDIS offers its early childhood approach, which in the past was called the Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) program.

It has been designed to enable families to gain support at the earliest possible stage even prior to a formal diagnosis. It targets children at the ages of 0-6 years (soon to under 9s), ensuring that they, and you, do not wait until there is trouble before getting assistance.

How the NDIS Supports Early Childhood Needs

According to the Raising Children Network, the early childhood approach in the NDIS network promotes fast provision of services and support to those families with children aged between 0 and 8 years and based on their needs. These services are pegged according to the development of your child and goals of your family.

The program is currently offered to children below seven years. However, from 1 July 2023 the area covered will be expanded to cover those under the age of nine.

This is what the assistance may be like:

• Useful tips and emotional support to parents and carers to explore the needs of their children
• Referrals to such services as community health clinic, local playgroups, peer support networks
• Short-term or medium term targeted support sessions with the early childhood intervention providers

Your child can be provided with the NDIS plan where you as parents will be offered long-term assistance in case it appears vital. It should also be understood that your child does not have to be officially diagnosed to receive these supports, the assistance may be initiated by the recognition of gross developmental delays alone.

How to Access Early Intervention Services Through the NDIS

NDIS has procedures that it has developed with five steps in which families should take when they require early childhood supports. We have simplified it to you in the following way:

Step 1: Connect With an Early Childhood Partner

Locate an Early Childhood Partner in your neighborhood. These are local organisations, which are funded by NDIS to operate directly with families. They will assist in finding out the type of support your child requires and then give you the next step to be taken.

Step 2: Discuss Your Child’s Needs

Your Early Childhood Partner will discuss the development of your child and the daily challenges he/she has with you. They will closely be involved with you to get to know what form of support might be helpful and what are offered around your area.

Step 3: Get Linked With Local Supports

Then they will refer you to services in the local community, this may be play group, health care etc or early learning centre. In case appropriate, temporary intermediate intervention services can also be provided at this level.

Step 4: Access Services Based on Need

In case of the need of further support, they will assist in providing you with a more structured set of services. This may comprise:

• Support available at the local levels in your locality
• Short-term early interventional sessions that are customized
• Information on how to apply to the NDIS in case of long-term assistance is required

Step 5: Monitor and Adjust the Support Plan

Most importantly, your Early Childhood Partner will stay in contact to monitor the progress of your child. Since the support plan would be based on the needs of your child which would evolve as your child grows up, alterations can be done to the plan to make sure it still aligns to the goals of your family.

The Early Childhood Approach: Where It Stands Now

The modern approach to early childhood was incorporated in June 2021, with NDIS publishing a specific guideline for the children that was the first one published. It is developed based on feedback from families, providers and community organisations, so that it addresses the individual requirements of young children and their carers.

The increase in age bracket (under 7 to under 9) shows the intentions of NDIS to give the families more time to enable them to reach the correct assistance without the waste of time and unnecessary documents.

Want to Get Started?

To find out more about how you can access early childhood support:

• VisitNDIS.gov.au
• Call 1800 800 110
• For speech or hearing support, phone TTY 1800 555 727
• If English isn’t your first language, the Translating and Interpreting Service is available at 131 450

And remember, Support Network is always here to guide you through this journey. From helping you understand your child’s development to navigating NDIS steps, we’re with you every step of the way.