Specialist Support Coordination is a special kind of help available under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). It’s for participants who need a bit more support because of complicated situations in their lives.
Like usual Support Coordination, it helps participants find the right services and support. But there are a few things that make it different:
Knowledge Level
Specialist Support Coordinators usually come from jobs like therapy, psychology, or social work. They know a lot about working with participants who have many needs or high levels of needs. They are good at working out problems because they understand a lot about these situations.
Solving Crisis Situations
Sometimes, participants need Specialist Support Coordination when they are facing a big problem or crisis. The coordinator helps solve the crisis, keeps the participant safe, and helps them become stronger so the same problem won’t happen again.
Understanding Complex Disabilities
Specialist Support Coordinators are trained to understand and handle complex disabilities. They know that each participant is unique and needs a personalized approach. They ensure that each participant’s plan considers their specific challenges and leverages their strengths.
Joining up Supports
Specialist Support Coordinators work with many groups, like health, education, justice, and others to make sure everyone is working together to help the participant reach their goals. This needs special skills to help the participant with all these different groups.
Managing NDIS Plans
Specialist Support Coordinators also help with the challenges that can come with an NDIS plan. This can include finding a place to live, managing relationships with service providers, or dealing with challenges in using the plan.
Building Skills
Like usual Support Coordination, a big part of Specialist Support Coordination is helping the participant learn to manage their support by themselves over time. But if the participant’s situation is complicated, they might need more help and a specialist’s approach.
Remember, Specialist Support Coordination is funded separately in a participant’s NDIS plan and it’s usually for a short time to help with really complicated issues or during times of crisis.