How to Know Your Changing Needs in Supported Independent Living (SIL)?
As an NDIS participant, you are receiving Supported Independent Living (SIL) through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) to support your independence. There is nothing greater than the feeling of living independently while receiving necessary support for your disability.
But how will you ensure that the funding you are currently receiving will be sufficient when your needs change? Worry not. Updating your NDIS plan to continue receiving more benefits for disability services in Melbourne is one helpful solution.
In this blog, we will discuss what are the possible scenarios where your needs while receiving SIL might change and how to make the best use of your available funding.
What Does SIL Funding Cover?
Before understanding possible scenarios of changing needs while receiving SIL service, let us guide you through the services available under SIL funding.
● Personal Care:
Under this service, a support worker assists with bathing, dressing, grooming, and maintaining your personal hygiene, whether you live alone or in a shared living accommodation.
● Meal Preparation:
Supported Independent Living assists people who require higher care if their disability makes them unable to prepare meals. Under this service, you will receive help with meal planning, cooking, feeding, and learning cooking skills.
● Medication Assistance:
When taking disability services in Melbourne for SIL support, you will also receive medicines on time and daily commute for attending medical appointments.
● Household Tasks:
Funding also covers help with laundry, shopping, and other daily chores.
● Support with Community Participation:
As an NDIS participant, you also receive support to be a part of the community, engage in playful and social activities, and network with like-minded people with similar disabilities and interests.
What are the Possible Cases When Your Needs Might Change?
Now that you have understood all the services under SIL disability support, let us walk you through the possible scenarios when your needs might increase or decrease.
1. Declining Health:
If living independently without the presence of your family member begins affecting your physical health, you will need to update your NDIS plan and ask for following benefits under SIL disability support services in Melbourne:
● Round the clock assistance with personal care and hygiene.
● A support worker who can supervise and manage your medication plan for more complex health needs.
● 24/7 assistance for preparing meals on time, including healthy meal options, and taking care of regular meal intake.
● Constant supervision for health emergencies or complex medical needs.
2. Transition to New Living Arrangements:
If you are moving to a new house or shared living environment after living for some time with your parents, you will have to reassess the NDIS plan and ask for following support:
● Help to settle in a new environment, manage logistics, and arrange health visits, transport, and other necessary needs.
● You will require help to manage your emotions and become socially active within a new environment.
3. New Goals and Skills:
If you find the SIL is helping you to become independent and you want to learn new skills. You can expect NDIS disability support services in Melbourne to support with:
● Training to learn new skills, budgeting, networking, finding jobs, learning about business, and many more, depending on your abilities.
4. Improving Health:
If you find yourself happy, fulfilling, healthy, and learning new skills efficiently, you will require less support than what you were receiving in the first place. In such situation, you can ask your support worker for:
● Reducing the constant support and making the most of services that are necessary for complex needs.
● Decreasing the level of support for dressing, personal hygiene, and daily chores.
● Not managing your safety at all times and making the necessary assistive technologies available at all times.
5. Gaining Confidence:
If SIL disability support services in Melbourne is helping you to develop more into a more intellectually and physically sound individual, you must ask your support worker:
● To reduce the funding for meal preparation tasks.
● To provide less social and emotional support for social and recreational activities.
When to Adjust Your NDIS Plan?
Now that you are familiar with support services you might require more or less with changing needs, here are some additional services that you will need to adjust in your current NDIS plan.
● Transport Support:
If you are gaining access to public transportation or can drive with vehicle modifications, you will no longer need transport assistance. However, if your disability affects your transport needs, SIL provides basic travelling for daily needs and emergencies.
● Assistive Technology:
If you are accessing and safely using your disability-specific smart home technologies like smart doors, locks, or alarm systems, then you might need less human supervision. This involves less need for safety, reminding for medications, being 24/7 available, controlling lights, and limiting other’s entry to the room.
If your disability needs change, you will have to reassess your current plan and revise it with the support worker to make the best use of the funding. However, if SIL disability support requires minor adjustments, you will only need to adjust the plan to reduce the disability impact.
Final Words
We hope you liked reading this blog. As an NDIS participant, evolving needs and goals are a sign that your disability services in Melbourne are helping you in the right way. If you are under any of the above scenarios, take the time to understand your needs more clearly.
Talk with your NDIS support worker from providers like Empowering Care in Melbourne to adjust your NDIS plan for more care needs or less complex needs.
