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Tristram's NDIS journey
Join Tristram as he shares his personal NDIS journey in this witty and inspiring video series.
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Living Independently: Organising my supports
"Plan Partners have been instrumental in helping me, they've been incredibly supportive of my sporting dreams and aspirations. I can continue doing all these things that I love because I've got my NDIS plan in good shape." Tristram, Aussie Powerchair Team and Plan Partners' Customer
Episode 12 - Living Independently: Organising my supports
Tristram shares his journey towards living independently and how he organises his supports.
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Show Transcript
<p><strong>[00:00:00]</strong> Hi everyone, welcome to another episode of My NDIS Journey.</p>
<p><strong>[00:00:04]</strong> One of the main things that guides your plan are your goals.</p>
<p><strong>[00:00:07]</strong> One of my key goals is to live independently, so we thought let's explore that in today's episode.</p>
<p><strong>[00:00:20]</strong> Let's unpack my goal of living independently into three simple steps.</p>
<p><strong>[00:00:25]</strong> The first step is to build a pool of support workers that you're comfortable with, helping with personal care, community access, and the things you need to live independently.</p>
<p><strong>[00:00:35]</strong> The second step is Specialist Disability Accommodation, or SDA — think of that as the bricks and mortar of moving into a new place.</p>
<p><strong>[00:00:45]</strong> The third step is Supported Independent Living, which is essentially on-site carers who assist you in your home.</p>
<p><strong>[00:01:04]</strong> Those last two steps are quite big, so we'll explore those in future episodes.</p>
<p><strong>[00:01:08]</strong> For me to live independently, I obviously need a lot of support to make that possible.</p>
<p><strong>[00:01:11]</strong> Previously, Mum and Dad as informal supports were helping with my personal care and daily life.</p>
<p><strong>[00:01:22]</strong> When I got my NDIS plan, the first thing I needed to do was build a team of support workers to assist me at home and in the community.</p>
<p><strong>[00:01:36]</strong> I decided to go with an agency to provide all my support workers because I wanted a large pool of workers.</p>
<p><strong>[00:01:44]</strong> That way, if someone is sick or unavailable, another worker can step in and there’s no disruption to my life.</p>
<p><strong>[00:01:57]</strong> For me, a good match in a support worker is common sense, engagement, and the ability to actively listen.</p>
<p><strong>[00:02:18]</strong> My agency gives me control over rostering.</p>
<p><strong>[00:02:23]</strong> About one to two weeks in advance, I message the team leader with the shifts I need, and we work together to assign the right people to the right shifts.</p>
<p><strong>[00:02:45]</strong> Recently, I had the perfect test run with Mum and Dad going away, which taught me some valuable lessons.</p>
<p><strong>[00:03:01]</strong> The first lesson is having a communication book at home where support workers can leave notes for each other about care and daily needs.</p>
<p><strong>[00:03:25]</strong> The second lesson is having contingencies — knowing who to contact in case of emergency and having a standby plan.</p>
<p><strong>[00:03:50]</strong> The third lesson is that living independently allows you to innovate and adapt on the spot.</p>
<p><strong>[00:03:58]</strong> For example, when my TV remote was out of reach, I improvised and used a potato masher to turn it on.</p>
<p><strong>[00:04:17]</strong> It’s about brainstorming solutions and thinking on your feet — that’s how you become independent.</p>
<p><strong>[00:04:28]</strong> If you would like more information on finding and managing support workers, visit the relevant resources available online.</p>
<p><strong>[00:04:50]</strong> For more information on the NDIS and your journey, head to planpartners.com.au.</p>
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