Adam McCoughtry is and will experience all the benefits of being a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participant now and into his future.
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The energetic eight-year-old, who has Down syndrome, transitioned to the NDIS when it first started in 2013. Mum, Julie, said it was stress free - a relief for her family.
"Adam has had a good range of supports in his NDIS plan and as he ages, my husband Kevin and I have the flexibility to adapt his plan to suit his immediate needs.
"We feel fortunate Adam was born in this pocket of time where all these supports are available to nurture him," Julie said.
"Adam is non-verbal with low muscle tone, so when we transitioned to the NDIS we were working with a speech therapist to help him communicate and an occupational therapist (OT) to strengthen his muscles, and he has progressed really well from there."
Julie said all the NDIS supports they have received for Adam - the early intervention and the continuity of support the scheme provides - have been priceless for the family.
"It has helped Adam to become a very social boy," she said. "His strengths are sport and social interaction. He has built great networks at school and in the sports he does, soccer and tennis, so we are going to be able to facilitate it going forward.
"Working regularly with OT has been so beneficial too, especially when Adam went through kinder. We were able to work on all his fine motor skills, which lea him to being able to pick up and hold things like pencils and paintbrushes, and learn how to use scissors.
"We also had to concentrate on getting Adam up on his feet. We wanted to make sure he was capable of climbing up and down things, like stairs and play equipment, to help build his low muscle tone and he has gone from strength to strength."
Throughout Adam's life, Julie said there have been times where he has required different supports.
"At the moment our main focus is his speech," she said. "It's affecting him socially and we are worried it will affect him in the longer term when it comes to education and schooling opportunities, employment, independent living and socialisation.
"If Adam wasn't on the NDIS and we didn't have the continuity of support he would definitely regress in this area so the funding has been invaluable.
"At the end of the day we want Adam to be happy and comfortable in his community, have a social life, become employed and enjoy independent living - the scheme is supporting us to work towards these outcomes for the long-term.
"We are hopeful it will help him live a happy and fulfilling life," Julie added.
The NDIS provides Australians under the age of 65 with a permanent and significant disability the supports they need to live an ordinary life and to increase their social and economic participation. The NDIS now provides support to more than 79,000 Victorians and nationally, over 300,000 Australians.
For more information on the NDIS, visit www.ndis.gov.au.