if(; ; No one left behind. No one held back
This is my son Riley, and he lives with autism.
I’ve never publicly named one of my kids before, but this issue is too important not to.
When I talk about the NDIS, and supports outside the NDIS, I am often thinking about Riley.
Riley’s autism is both a strength and a challenge. It makes him who he is – a bright and funny young man. It also creates obstacles that don’t exist for most people.
That is why our recent forum, Supporting Neurodivergent People in Forde, mattered so much.
For the first time, Forde’s neurodivergent community came together in this way. We had 135 people in the room, with more joining online.
Neurodivergent people, parents, carers, advocates and community members came together to be heard.
The NDIS is changing, and It needs to change.
But as those changes happen, people cannot be left behind.
No one is asking for special treatment. We are just asking for a system that works.
Here in Forde, around 4,000 people on the NDIS have autism as their primary disability.
But that raises a bigger question. If 4,000 neurodivergent people in our area are receiving support through the NDIS, how many more need help but are not getting it?
For too many families, the NDIS has become the only lifeboat in the ocean.
We need to make the NDIS work properly for the people it was designed to support. We also need stronger supports outside the NDIS, so no one is left with nowhere to turn.
That is what no one left behind, no one held back means in practice.
To everyone who came in person or joined online, thank you. I heard you, and will keep fighting alongside you.
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Supporting Neurodivergent People in Forde: No One Left Behind
