The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provides people with a disability the choice, control and support to reach their goals and aspirations.
Under the scheme, NDIS goal setting is a vital and essential part of developing your plan with your provider, as the goals you set will build out the services and treatments you receive.
Here at Neurospace, we’re dedicated to helping you reach your goals, and as part of this, we provide physiotherapy and exercise physiology services to many NDIS participants.
However, to reach your goals, you first need to establish them, which is sometimes easier said than done!
No need to worry, though. We want to help you achieve your aspirations and plans, so we’ve set out our top 6 NDIS goal planning tips to help you along your way.
1. Understanding the importance of having goals
As adults, it’s very likely that we’ve all set goals in our life. We all have things we want to achieve or do, but why specifically is it essential to have NDIS goals as part of your plan?
Simply, NDIS goals are essential as they are what guides your NDIS plan, including the support you need and the funding you receive. Your goals, in turn, help you achieve the things you want in your life and your future.
No matter the size of your goals – big or small – they should be recorded to make sure you get the funding and support to make it happen.
2. Determine the parts of your life you’d like to improve
When you’re setting your NDIS goals, it can be helpful to complete some NDIS preplanning, giving yourself more time to think about what you want to achieve before your official appointment.
To do that, ask yourself this:
- Where do you want to be in one year?
- What do you want to be doing more of or what do you want your life to look like?
Maybe your aspiration is that you want to improve your education. You may want to become more independent in your daily living. Perhaps you want to take part in more social and recreational activities, or maybe your goal is about where you want to live.
Doing a preplanning exercise before you meet with your provider can be very useful to help you get the most out of your NDIS program.
3. Think both short-term and long-term
Once you know what is really important to you, you can then start breaking this down into specific short-term and long-term goals to help you achieve your big end goal.
For example, if your aspiration is to become more independent in your daily living, there may be smaller steps to take to get there. One NDIS goal example may be receiving help from a Physiotherapist to improve your mobility so you can catch public transport to see friends or family. Or alternatively, another NDIS goal example could be to take driving lessons and gain your driver’s licence, so you don’t need to rely on a carer to get around.
Your long-term goals and short-term goals are what will be considered for funding under the NDIS.
4. Your goals can be big or small, as long as they work for you and are deemed ‘reasonable and necessary’
The goals you set and the sub-goals that you create to work towards these can be as big or as small as you want. They can be for work, for education, or just for fun and social interaction.
An important part, however, is that to receiving funding, they must be what the NDIS call ‘reasonable and necessary’.
Your planner will help you set ‘reasonable and necessary goals’, which means they are:
- related to your disability,
- do not include day-to-day living costs (like groceries),
- represent value for money,
- are likely to work for you, and
- take into account other support available to you.
5. Talk about your goals to your family, friends, carers, and providers
By talking to the people around you about your goals and desires, they will be able to understand what you want to achieve and support you to get there.
It can also be handy to speak to those around you when you are doing your preplanning, as they can help you work out what you want most out of life to focus on in your NDIS plan.
Having a group of people around to support you can ensure you get the most out of your efforts and life, so share, share, share!
6. Preparation is key to getting the most out of the NDIS program and this handy tool can help
When you meet with your NDIS planner, you will have conversations about your life, your support needs, and you will record information about your goals, needs and aspirations in your plan.
This meeting is conducted with a person who does not know you or your circumstances, so it’s important to go fully prepared.
To do this, and to make sure you have covered everything you will need for the conversation, you can use the official NDIS Planning Workbook, found here: NDIS PLANNING WORKBOOK.
This workbook also has lots of additional information that may help you with other questions you may have.
NEUROSPACE AND THE NDIS
If you’re eligible for the NDIS, Neurospace can help you get the most out of your funding, develop clear goals and deliver high-quality therapy to help you maintain your skills and function.
If you’d like to learn more about how we could help you or someone you love, or have any questions, please get in touch.