My top 8 tips to prepare for your planning meeting

I have been lucky enough to have been involved in a number of planning meetings and reviews over the last few months and I have learned a few tips I would like to share so I have put together “My top 8 tips to prepare for your planning meeting”!

When you are contacted by the NDIS for you planning meeting it is important that you get ready for it. I recommend you think about the following:

• Do you need support at the meeting? If you have the option of taking someone who is involved in your current care program contact them and ask them to attend. They will have an insight into your current needs and may be able to prompt you if you forget anything.
• Prepare! Make contact with a support coordinator. Many, including CoAbility, offer pre-planning support. They can help you review your current supports, identify how many of them are NDIS ready, help you think about how you might like to manage your plan and help you think outside the box.
• Do your research! Make sure you are things that NDIS will fund. Understand ‘Reasonable and Necessary‘ and how to relate your goals back to the Outcome Domains.
• Prepare a draft of exactly what you would like to receive in your plan.
• Supporting documents! If you have any assessments that strengthen your case make sure you bring copies. If you don’t have any, seriously consider asking your medical professionals and your therapists for an assessment report.
• Ask questions! If you don’t understand what they are saying make sure you ask! At times the planner may speak using NDIS jargon which can make it very hard to follow. Ask them to use plain English or to explain what they mean in greater detail. If English is your second language make sure you request an interpreter for all of your meetings.
• Don’t make assumptions! Just because you were able to access certain things under your previous funding body does not mean that is still the case. NDIS has lots of rules and regulations which may rule out things you were previously funded for. Don’t worry though, there may be a way around it, by re-wording your goals; or there may be a suitable alternative that is funded.
• Don’t forget Support Coordination! NDIS is new and unfamiliar. Getting your head around it can take time and may be frustrating. Ask for some assistance with Support Coordination for your first plan so that you don’t have to struggle through it alone.

I hope these tips have given you something to think about and help you prepare for your planning meeting. Remember there are people out there who will support you if you need it. Just ask!