REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT
A year in the life
Ava Balestrin was one of the first people
to receive an NDIS package in Townsville.
One year on, we sat down with Ava’s
mum Jess to find out how different life is
with the NDIS.
Jess Balestrin, mum to 4-year-old Ava, has
one message for individuals and families
getting ready for the NDIS: start planning
now.
“We saw a social worker at CPL and I don’t
think that I would be anywhere near as
prepared if it wasn’t for her. We spent heaps
of time with CPL while we were writing a
plan. They helped me create really detailed
goals for Ava and gave me all these ideas
about things that we wanted and how to
articulate it,” Jess explained.
“I had all of our goals in mind, I knew
exactly what we wanted. I just didn’t know
how to speak NDIS language and put them
on paper and that’s where CPL were a great
help.
“For us, the NDIS represents much better
access to things like equipment for Ava.
Not long after we had Ava’s plan approved,
she’s got her new chair and we’ve got a
modified vehicle.
“When we looked into that before NDIS,
we were told an amount that we would be
able to access for a car and that would have
been only for a manual ramp and even then
we would have had to pay quite a big gap.
8
“All I do is that I save all of my invoices, I
have a little workbook every time Ava has
an appointment, I just write down what
appointments she’s had and then CPL
invoices me at the end of the month. And
that’s it.
“I was a bit nervous about doing it myself,
but CPL let me know that I can switch back
to support coordination anytime so it’s
good to have that option too,” she said.
Looking to the future, Jess has one major
goal for Ava: independent communication.
“
Independent communication, or as
independent as she can get, is what
we’re working towards currently.
”
“She is an Augmented Alternative
Communication (AAC) user, so she uses
her PODD to communicate and she
communicates very well. We started off
with AAC when she was about nine months
old.
“As soon as we went over the NDIS, all we
had to do was put in the paperwork and it
was approved,” Jess explained. “At the moment she is doing partner
assisted, so she really needs me or someone
else there. Down the track as we are
heading into school it would be great if she
could do that on her own. Even just initiate
communication on her own, that would be
good.
Jess self manages Ava’s plan and explained
that she’s finding it easier t han anticipated. “She has got a lot to say and she’s a pretty
happy kid,” Jess said.
Touchstone Autumn 2017
You can follow Jess and Ava’s journey on their
Facebook page ‘The Adventures of Ava Lou’ at
facebook.com/adventuresofavalou
Before your first planning meeting, we suggest talking through with your family and (any
carers who already support you) about what’s missing in your current support, activities and
plans and your quality of life. The goal is to get a better idea of what you believe you need
and what will work for you, your family and carers.
CPL has put together an NDIS Planning Workbook that’s designed to help you get the most
from your meeting. Get your free copy here: www.cpl.org.au/NDIS