What NDIS support is available for autism?
Once you have an NDIS plan in place, the way you can use your funding first depends on what support categories your funds are allocated to. There are 3 types of support budgets:
Core Supports
Core supports are the most flexible budget category. You can use your core supports budget for things like:
- Consumables such as personal care and safety products and food preparation products
- Daily activities such as preparing food, cleaning and garden maintenance
- Assistance with social and community participation
- Transport such as public transport assistance
Capacity Building
Funding allocated to capacity building are divided into eight subcategories which are matched with the goals in your plan. These subcategories are:
- Choice and control - this is how you choose to arrange your care and support and can include things like plan management training to give you more control.
- Daily activity - this can include certain types of assessment, training or therapy that help you to increase your skills for daily living activities.
- Employment - this can include assessments and counselling to help you gain and maintain employment.
- Health and wellbeing - this can include any means to help you maintain your health such as guidance on exercise and diet.
- Home living - this is any type of support that can help you find appropriate accommodation.
- Lifelong learning - this can be used for assistance to help you access further education.
- Relationships - this can include behavioural support strategies to help you to enhance relationships with others.
- Social and community participation - this can include life skills development and training such as public transport training and developing skills to help you participate in social activities.
Support coordination can also be included in the capacity building budget to help you to coordinate and implement your supports.
Capital Support
Usually the capital support budget relies on quotes from suppliers to be approved. Each budget will be allocated specifically to what it is meant for and cannot be spent any other way. Funding allocated to capital support can be used for supports such as:
- Assistive technology including equipment for mobility, personal care, communication and recreational inclusion or;
- Home modifications including bathroom rails, lowered cabinets, widened doorways, and stair lifts.
People living with autism generally receive NDIS budgets allocated to the core supports and capacity building categories which can be used for support worker assistance and any training or therapies that are needed.
