What does inclusive education look like when you commit to including every child?

Building an inclusive learning environment is a commitment to recognising and addressing the diverse needs of every child. It also means creating an environment where all children feel welcome, valued and that they belong, without having to ask!

Being intentional in the set up of your learning environment will drive successful outcomes in engagement and positive behaviour. Children who experience an inclusive learning environment develop not only academically, but also socially and emotionally.

Just as inclusive architecture focuses on creating environments that are usable by all people – in education, resources and adjustments that may be a priority for some, can be used by all to enable opportunity.

These resources and adjustments encourage learning environments to:

• provide information and content in various ways to accommodate diverse learning styles
• offer various ways for students to engage with the content, which encourages motivation and interest
• allow students to demonstrate their understanding in different ways, which recognises different strengths and preferences

When you minimise the barriers to learning and create an inclusive environment, ALL students are set up for success. This approach is particularly important in the early childhood setting, when needs may not yet have been identified and children are at different stages of development, with varying abilities.

Part of the equity and equality picture

There’s another buzzword you may have heard in education – Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

UDL guides the creation of learning outcomes, resources and assessments that work for everyone. While some children will need more individualised adjustments and tools to participate in an environment, UDL closes the gap that needs to be filled by an individual.

For example, height adjustable desks in a classroom mean that a child who uses a wheelchair some or all of the time, can still sit at the same desks and in the same space as all of the other children. In addition, taller children and smaller children can also set the desk to the height that best suits them rather than needing a cushion or having to sit at a different desk. These children ‘just fit’ in their classroom and there is no requirement to apply for extra funding, have special meetings to organise an appropriate desk, nor to encounter challenges when the class moves to a different room where the ‘special desk’ is not available. There may also be some days where all children would benefit from alternating between standing and sitting.

Communication is no different. Though the majority of children in our childcare and school settings communicate with spoken words, many need or prefer other methods such as sign, symbols, typing, body language and more. Many children benefit from alternate methods some of the time, or to enhance their expression or understanding through visual channels.

Just as PowerPoint, photos, maps and pictures add visual meaning and interest to our conversations and learning, visual displays can do the same for our children by expanding on the spoken word. All children can benefit from the inclusion of symbolic communication displays to enhance understanding, idea generation and expressive communication. With varied methods of communication available, those who need or prefer to use them will ‘just fit’ into their learning environment too. The communication displays also have a beneficial impact on those who may not speak English as a first language, may be shy, or as yet have not been identified as someone who may benefit from a personalised communication system.

It’s never one-size fits all, especially when we consider preferences

Remember that preferences are part of the equality equation and are an important component in creating your inclusive learning environment. Taking preferences into account is crucial because it acknowledges that children have different ways of processing information and engaging with their surroundings. And those preferences may change based on the activity or environment.

Considering preferences promotes a sense of autonomy and agency among children. When children have choices in how they learn and demonstrate their understanding, they are more likely to be actively engaged and invested in their learning process. It’s empowering to feel valued and supported when exploring your own unique interests and strengths!

As we aim to create an inclusive world that includes communication accessibility opportunities, we need to ensure that symbolic communication starts in the early years as a component of UDL (also referred to as Tier 1 support). We can not know which children may need or prefer to use symbols for communication later in life, nor those who benefit from the symbols to enhance their comprehension of speech. Rather than waiting to find out, let’s give opportunities early.

It’s better to be glad we did, than to regret we didn’t

Integrating symbolic communication into existing curricula can be done with a few simple adjustments. By incorporating visual aids alongside other forms of communication, all children will feel empowered to express themselves effectively. And as we mentioned earlier, embracing inclusive communication practices early, not only benefits people with specific needs, but fosters empathy and understanding among all children preparing them for a diverse and interconnected world.

At Two Way Street, we’ve started our quest to ensure that people see symbolic communication as ‘just part of it’ rather than it being different or special.

Our first Communication For All Pack is available now, for the Early Childhood setting. We’ve done all the work, so you can create a truly communication inclusive environment. The pack includes symbolic communication displays for common activities in kindy or childcare settings, along with posters that value, respect and represent symbolic communication, plus downloadable templates to help you implement inclusive communication practices.

Want to know more?

Take a closer look at the Communication For All Pack – Early Childhood. And get in touch with the team at Two Way Street for more information.

Transition tips

Most of us spend well over a decade of our younger lives at school. The transition from school to work, school to university – or to whatever life after school looks like – can be a tough one! And it becomes even more complex when you have a communication disability.

In this insight article, we share some strategies and ideas for you to help prepare your person to begin their new life after school, and be ready for whatever the future brings.

Talk about life after school

You don’t need to prepare anything for this, just talk as you normally would. If possible, use your person’s communication system to model the messages. Here are some ideas:

• “At the end of the year you will leave school” or “soon school will finish”
• “Maybe you feel worried, or excited. That’s ok, it’s a big change”
• “You can ask questions like… When am I leaving? Who is coming with me? Why am I leaving school?”
• “We will make sure you always feel safe”
• “You can still see your friends from school after you leave”

Social story

Create a story using Microsoft Word or the Pictello App outlining what will happen. Use photos and symbols. It’s ok if you don’t have all of the answers when you first introduce the story, you can add to it as you go along. Try to include photos of the school, your person and the key people in their lives. If you know where your person is transitioning to, whether it be further education, work or something else, start introducing this.

On-site visits

When you know where your person will be transitioning to after they finish school, organise some on-site visits as early as possible. It is important that the new setting, whether it is another educational facility, a workplace or somewhere else, becomes a familiar place for your person, to reduce anxiety they may experience about leaving school. Take photos if you can. Ask your person their thoughts about the visits each time they go. Try to gradually work up your days at the new location, so your person has an opportunity to get used to their new routine after school has finished.

Visuals

A visual calendar is a great way to support the lead up to finishing school and the start of their life after school. This may help you to talk about changes in their routine with symbols. A visual schedule may also help your person with new morning or afternoon routines once school has finished.

New vocabulary

Leaving school is a big change, so it is important to give your person access to the vocabulary they need to talk about it. If your person uses a communication app as part of their overall communication, you can program additional vocabulary to support the transition from school. Include the name of the place they are transitioning to once they leave school and the key people that will be in their lives. You could also create a chat page about the transition from school and questions that your person may ask. Be careful not to erase their school vocabulary. Most young adults still want to talk about school after they have left.

Involve the new team

If your person is transitioning to a new place such as a workplace or day options program, it is important that their new team understand how they communicate. You, your person and/or your speech pathologist can create a communication video talking about:

• What your person likes / doesn’t like (favourite footy team)
• How your person communicates (voice, sign, body language, PODD book, iPad with Proloquo2Go)
• How to use their communication system
• General communication strategies
• Activity ideas

These videos are an accessible and engaging way for others to get to know your person.

Connection with others

Once your person leaves school for the final time, find ways to stay connected and enable them to have conversations about their school experiences.

• Ask their teacher or school principle to record a video message. They could say something like “Hi . We miss you here at school. We hope you are doing well. We would love to hear about what you’re up to now”.
• Make a class photo easily accessible to your person so they can use this as a way to start an interaction about school.
• Ask the teacher to connect your person with a pen pal. This doesn’t need to be writing letters to one another. Instead, your person could create a message on their communication system. You could record them sharing the message in a video and then send it to their “pen pal”.

Keep learning

Learning doesn’t stop with school! Your person will have the opportunity to consolidate skills they have learned at school and pick up new skills on their post-school journey. Using these strategies, your person will be better prepared for life after school and empowered to embrace whatever the future holds. This is a new chapter full of possibilities and with your support and the right tools, your person will continue to thrive and grow in their own unique way.

Is your person already a client with Two Way Street? Talk to your Speech Pathologist about creating resources to support the transition from school.

Written by: Erin Morley, Speech Pathologist

On October 14th, the people of Australia will vote in a referendum. The question on the ballot paper is: “A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?”

Voters will be asked to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to this question.

At Two Way Street, we think it’s important that everyone has a voice. If you are over 18, then you are entitled to vote in the election. If you are under 18, then it’s still a very important topic of conversation. Not just for the outcome of this vote, but to consider and understand significant events occurring in our country and the world. This will help you to relate to information you might hear in the news or on social media, as well as to be part of conversations both in person and online about current events.

Voting is both a right and a privilege in Australia, as well as being compulsory for those over 18 (remember to enrol to vote if you haven’t already!). For those under 18, events like this referendum give us opportunities to talk about voting, laws and topics that help to build our understanding and capacity to make decisions, and to vote as an informed citizen after we turn 18.

Accessible resources for the Voice vote

The Australian government and others have created some accessible resources relating to this referendum. We’ve included links to these below.

We also think it’s important to provide opportunities for people to talk about the referendum, their reasons for voting ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and to ask questions before they make a decision. Good decisions include more than just being told information. Most people have conversations with friends, family, colleagues and even those who disagree with us in order to make decisions and prepare to vote.

To get the conversation started for people who use communication symbols to augment their communication, we have created a ‘Talking about The Voice’ aided language display (ALD). Of course there may be many more words required for a robust discussion on this referendum. This ALD is just to get the conversation started.

The Talking About The Voice ALD

The first page has vocabulary to talk about the Voice and express opinions. The second page (reverse side) includes some common questions as well as space to add the individual’s own questions that they might like to ask people. We’ve also included some spaces to add personal opinions or preferences to share with others once you’ve had a chance to think about it. If you are a parent or support worker, be sure to only add messages that have been created by the person or at a minimum, agreed upon by them.

After these discussions, you might also like to add messages to the person’s own AAC system for use in all situations, or consider sharing information on social media, or by joining their selected campaign. It is crucial that you gain consent for any action you take on their behalf and that you keep your preferences separate from theirs when sharing their message.

Tips when talking about the Voice with the ALD

• Point to (and/or read out) the messages on the board as you talk to the person, and give them opportunities to say things with the board too. They may not point to the messages but may use their body, voice or facial expression to show agreement or disagreement with your messages. Watch and listen to hear their opinions or questions.
• If a person can’t point to the symbols, then read out the options and ask them to tell you ‘yes’ or ‘no’. When you get to the one they want to say, ask if they are finished or want to add another word, otherwise you might only get half of the message.

• To speed things up, you might point to a column at a time first, then the individual messages.
• Scan the QR code -> for an example of what that might look like.

• It may help to take a photo of the ALD, so you have it handy at all times. You never know when the topic of the referendum will come up. (Maybe when you’re out for coffee, or visiting friends).
• The Two Way Street talking about the Voice referendum ALD can be used to share information with a person who would benefit from symbols to aid their understanding, and/or it can be used by the person to ask questions or talk about the referendum and their decision.
• Remember that voting is a personal decision and it’s important to respect each individual’s views. When you are talking about The Voice with someone who uses AAC, be very aware of your own personal preferences and try to avoid any bias or coercion.

Examples of phrases using the ALD

Giving information:

• Start by reading the Easy English Fact Sheet this is a helpful way to share information to start the discussion.
• You could also ask the person to point to a section of the fact sheet if they don’t understand.
• You could say tell me more if you want more information.
• Let’s talk about the referendum.
• It’s on October 14, 2023
• It’s about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice/ The Voice
• You can vote. (Or You can’t (not) vote yet but we can talk about it).
• You can vote Yes or you can vote No.
• It’s your choice.
• (I have a question) What do you know about it?
• (I have a question) Do you have any questions for me?

Talking about the referendum:

• You tell me more and point to the Easy English Fact Sheet or any documents or websites you’ve been looking at.
• I want to learn more (communication partner to offer options for the ways the person could do that such as watch, listen, read, talk with others).
• (I have a question) Why do we need it?
• (I have a question) What do you think?
• (I have a question) What will happen if yes/no?
• I don’t know.
• Tell me more.
• I choose/think/vote Yes
• I choose/think/vote No
• That’s not fair.
• That’s fair.
• Me too. (to agree with something someone else said)
• I heard/think it’s good/not good for All Australians
• I heard/think it’s good/not good for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
• I heard/think it’s good/not good for people who are not Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
• We (all Australians) should vote yes/no.
• We don’t need The Voice to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
• We need The Voice to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
• I feel proud of Australia because of this vote.
• I am worried for Australia because of this vote.
• We (you and me) should ask some other people what they think (I have a question) What do you think?

Enjoy the conversations and we look forward to a referendum where everyone has a voice about the Voice!

Other information sources

The Voice website, includes:

• a fact sheet written in an easy to read way with pictures to explain ideas
• videos in Auslan under ‘translated resources’
• First Nations toolkit featuring a Conversation Guide
• resources in languages other than english under ‘translated resources’

Visit the Australian Electoral Commission for more accessible resources and information on enrolment and voting.

Civics Australia also provides information about the referendum in an engaging way.

By Margie Charlesworth

I was born with Cerebral Palsy and grew up using my natural speech with what I like to call a ‘Cerebral Palsy accent’ (some of you may call this a communication disability). It was an era when talking freely about emotions just didn’t occur. Limited options for speech generating devices made it difficult for me to communicate effectively, and when I did try to express my feelings, the outcomes were often disastrous for me and those around me.

My parents did the best they could!

My parents did their best to create a happy and nurturing home environment. Dinner time was a fabulous time of sharing laughter and conversations, but it would have been immensely valuable if my parents had access to a program like Talking About The Important Stuff to support my emotional development, just as they could with my brother. This would have provided strategies not only to talk about emotions, but to provide children with complex communication needs (CCN) with avenues to express thoughts and feelings, just like any other child. We now recognise the significance of supporting parents and caregivers in this journey as well.

The dangers of over-protection

As a child with communication difficulties, my Dad tended to over-protect me, wrapping me in cotton wool as the saying goes! However, I have come to appreciate the wisdom in quotes from people with lived experience of CCN in Talking About The Important Stuff. Quotes like “throw them out of their wheelchair (gently) and let them eat dirt” and “the kid with disability should not be the centre of love all the time”. These quotes serve as powerful reminders that children with CCN deserve to experience everyday life and be exposed to the realities of the world, just like any other child. Over-protection hinders our growth and independence, whereas providing us with opportunities to learn, explore, and be understood promotes our emotional development and self-empowerment.

Empowering All Ages

While it is crucial to start conversations about “the important stuff” during childhood, I am a strong advocate for providing tools and strategies that continue to support individuals with CCN throughout adulthood. Conversations around independence, personal safety, and self-empowerment are long overdue for anyone with a disability, and they hold even greater significance for people with CCN.

How Speech Pathology can help

Speech Pathologists can work with children and adults with CCN to support them to build on their natural speech. They can also support by introducing Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) as a way to supplement this speech or to give them another way of communicating. AAC systems can take many forms e.g., sign, aided language displays (ALDs), comprehensive communication books (PODD), speech generating devices and many more.

Thinking back to when I was young and having speech therapy, I remember having to listen to the words on a flash card, repeat the words and then sound out each word as I said them. I’m pleased to say, especially during Speech Pathology Week 2023, that nowadays speech therapy looks different. Speechies are much more involved in advocating what works best for their clients and ensuring that all ways that a person communicates are valued. This is important, especially when considering the future “voice” for their individual client. #SPWeek

Meaningful connections

Through my journey with communication disabilities, I have come to realise the immense power of words in shaping our understanding of one another. By embracing the voices of children with CCN and providing them with the means to express themselves, alongside continued support throughout adulthood, we create opportunities for meaningful connections and a life that flourishes with possibilities.

When you’re little, emotions are big! Think back to when you were young. Did you throw an occasional tantrum? Did you have a bad day and go over it again and again in your head? Until you eventually talked about it with someone you trust and finally felt that huge sense of relief from a problem shared… Probably. 

We’ve all had a tough few years and kids have watched their world evolve in ways we could never imagine a short time ago. One of the main messages conveyed when the world was in the turmoil of a pandemic was to ‘stay connected’. We stay connected with one another through sharing stories, ideas, thoughts and even our sense of humour. And we use language to manage our emotions – to tell people how we’re feeling, to validate ourselves, to get help and to regulate ourselves. 

What happens when you have a communication disability?

So just imagine, you have a million thoughts in your head – some are worries about the future, some are funny stories about your day, some are wondering about what’s happening with your body… but, you need an augmentative communication system like a PODD or communication device, and maybe also a communication partner to share your thoughts clearly. You may not get the same opportunities to talk things through like your siblings or peers.

Emotional development is extremely intertwined with language development. During early years of communication, parents describe their own emotions and the emotions of their child. This ‘emotion talk’ is how we navigate our feelings and start to create our belief systems that stay with us through life. So it’s time to start talking about the important stuff with children with a communication disability, as early as possible, so they too can build a strong foundation for emotional well-being.

Here’s our top strategies on how you can start ‘talking about stuff’ to help manage those emotions

Set the scene

Just being aware that emotional development and language development go hand-in-hand is important. Think about all the things that happen in a day that can affect a child emotionally. Create a supportive environment, where you notice when your child may have had strong feelings about something. Celebrate and acknowledge those feelings when you notice them, and do that often! There may not be a response from the child yet, but it’s a great way to ensure they feel heard and can navigate those feelings. And keep talking about stuff in age appropriate ways! 

Provide learning opportunities

Make vocabulary available. Further to that, model emotional conversations. These conversations may be about something that happened that day or what’s happening in a story you’re reading. You can also scaffold and co-construct messages, to figure out what is happening for your child and help them learn what it means to feel a certain way, how to share their feelings with others and how to indicate why they’re feeling that way. 

Promote independence

It is crucial to encourage independent exploration and problem solving from an early age, no matter how a child communicates. Ask children to direct you when appropriate, respect preferences and begin to negotiate. Perhaps you could include your child in interviews with support workers. Any time you find yourself advocating for your child, add those messages to their communication system and show them how to advocate for themselves. Let them hear from people with lived experiences of communication difficulties. Always respect and enable privacy and authorship for anyone using AAC. Do they have the opportunity to talk privately? Can they tell you ‘don’t say that’ or ‘don’t tell anyone’?  Can they clarify a message, or say ‘that’s not what I meant’? 

By adopting these simple strategies, you can help your little one manage big emotions and navigate their world with confidence and resilience. 

Learn more

To learn more about positive emotional development in children with communication difficulties, take the FREE Two Way Street online course ‘Talking About The Important Stuff’. The course gives parents and key communication partners the skills and knowledge they need to enable meaningful conversations with their kids. 

Why an accurate representation of differences in our world matters, especially to people living with disability.

If you’re a white, middle-class male or female living without disability, you won’t need to look far to find someone you can relate to in the media. People just like you are on TV, in movies and can be seen on the pages of catalogues and magazines. 

Yet, if you’re living with a communication difficulty, or any type of disability for that matter, you’d be hard pressed to find relatable characters on your favourite media outlet. And when you consider that 4.4 million people in Australia live with disability, there’s a huge gap. That’s 18% of our population, or 1 in 6 people, unrepresented. It’s definitely time for a change.

Media is a powerful creator of perceptions. And it can also be used to create the cultural change that people living with disability would love to see. 

What happens when perceptions create your reality?

Our very own Communication Access Consultant, Margie Charlesworth, lives with Cerebral Palsy and has a communication difficulty. She uses her natural speech to communicate and also uses AAC when creating videos or presenting at conferences and to businesses looking to increase their communication accessibility. She is one of the smartest, funniest, most driven people you will ever meet and a great work mate to everyone at Two Way Street. And yet, Margie faces all kinds of perceptions around her ability to communicate. People STILL finish her sentences for her ‘to help’. And she goes from being respected for her knowledge and experience one minute, to being infantised and called a ‘good girl’ the next. 

In one of her ‘Street Talk’ moments, Margie explained how it feels to have people finish her sentences. “Finishing my sentences implies many things. It implies that the person who I am communicating with can read my mind, or that I can’t communicate my own messages. It also implies that I have difficulty expressing myself or trouble figuring out how to say it myself. And finally, it implies that people would rather not listen to my voice…” 

Imagine if Margie’s experiences were depicted somewhat realistically in the media! Those assumptions of Margie not being able to get her message across, or not being mature due to her communication difficulty wouldn’t exist. A person’s disability is an important part of their identity and is something we would love to see normalised in media representation.

This is what happens when someone dares to challenge the ‘norm’.

We’ve seen Target Australia using a model in a wheelchair to advertise kids clothing. Was that the first time a child in a wheelchair rolling through Target saw someone like them on an in-store advertisement? Potentially, yes!

We’ve just seen Disney release a remake of The Little Mermaid featuring a non-caucasion Ariel played by African American actress and singer, Halle Bailey. Reactions from little girls seeing their all-time favourite mermaid as someone they can relate to, again maybe for the first time, made the internet explode.

Our team was just as excited to see Val Kilmer using AAC in the Top Gun 2022 sequel, Maverick. In the movie, Iceman’s battle with throat cancer rendered him unable to speak without causing pain (emanating a little of what was going on for Val Kilmer in real life). He is seen typing sentences and pointing to his screen to get his message across. 

It’s this type of representation that needs to be included in mainstream media more. The every-day lives of people, all people, as valued members of society. This is why inclusion is important and representation matters. 

The many ways we can achieve representation.

Representation can also be achieved through communication modes. We have all become very familiar with the sign language interpreters during community announcements and emergency services briefings. Imagine if other modes of communication were as prevalent. Imagine if people who use modes other than mouth speech to communicate, could see their mode of communication used in advertising, signage and information media. 

We work with a range of agencies to create signage that is not only useful for people who need the symbols to communicate, but also represent this mode of communication within the community. Our playground communication boards are a great example. We’ve also been busy creating beautiful products, like our AAC cushion covers, to ensure that symbolic communication is seen and valued around the home. And we have more to come, so if you haven’t already, join us over on Facebook and LinkedIn to stay up to date.

We’re strong believers in that world where communication brings autonomy, belonging, connection and opportunity for everyone. But we still have a long way to go…

If you are a business or organisation and would like some representation at your site, online or within your advertising, give us a call on 0434 266 237.

Do you have a communication difficulty? Are you comfortable using AAC? If you answered yes to both of those questions, then we’d love you to join us on our mission. Get in touch with Two Way Street to find out more about employment opportunities. Email [email protected] and tell us a little about yourself.

A program that builds the capacity of children with complex communication needs and their key communication partners to have conversations that will improve their emotional well-being and self-advocacy skills.

Presented by Margie Charlesworth and Janelle Sampson at the AGOSCI National Conference in Hobart on September 4-6, 2022.

Abstract:

The ‘Talking About Important Stuff’ project aims to help children with complex communication needs (CCN) and  their parents talk about important topics such as health, hopes, worries, fears and the harder subjects such as death and loss. 

The program will target early development of skills such as emotional development, well-being, and self-advocacy with a particular focus (as a pilot program) on young children and their parents. At completion of  the  project, a free online training program will be available that includes video lessons, real stories, examples and practice activities so that parents can share and teach their children how to  talk about stuff. The training program will support opportunities for children  and their parents to  learn and practice vocabulary, skills, and habits. We also hope to build on their attitudes and insights into the uniqueness and autonomy of their children.

It is important to acknowledge that this project is not about doing or expecting anything extra than the natural conversations that occur for parents and their children who do not have CCN. We simply aim to ensure that children with CCN do not miss out on this valuable learning and connection with their parents and/or people. 

This presentation  will share the progress of the project to date including a literature review and input from the project advisory committee and content  contributors, many of whom have CCN, or are  parents of children with CCN. This information will make up the key messages to be presented in the online program. 

Creating bespoke services for people with CCN by design rather than the NDIS price guide.

Presented by Janelle Sampson at the AGOSCI National Conference in Hobart on September 4-6, 2022.

Abstract:

As providers in the disability space and in particular, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), we know there is no magic bullet. We also know that 1:1 therapy is only part of the answer, and often the more meaningful outcomes are achieved outside of therapy sessions where  motivation and engagement is much higher. The NDIS however has structured services so that the 1:1 becomes the standard and most sought after service for therapeutic intervention. In many places, we are frequently finding that demand outweighs supply for individualised therapy, particularly when it comes to those with knowledge and experience in AAC. We are left with long wait lists for individualised services and difficulty finding funding or justifying the costs for  innovative programs that may not easily fit  within the square (or price guide).

 
At Two Way Street (TWS), we have been negotiating the NDIS (formerly Better Start and HCWA) as funding for private services for 10 years. During this time, we’ve always had our eyes on the prize that is the bigger picture beyond 1:1 services. It has taken time, patience, dedication, hard work and financial risk on many occasions to expand our services beyond just individual therapy sessions and we are still only part of the way there. 

In this presentation, the TWS team will share the  milestones and challenges we’ve encountered on our way toward our BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) for the business that includes individual services alongside capacity building and community development, while maintaining a niche focus on people with CCN at the heart.  

Recent changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) are aiming to make things easier for participants. With these changes, come differences to the systems we’re all accustomed to. It’s important to be aware of how these changes may affect you and what you can do to be prepared. 

As we move towards longer plan duration and fewer meetings with the NDIA, you will notice new terminology and processes regarding your plan. 

What has changed with the 2022 NDIS legislation amendments

What was previously known as a ‘plan review’ will now be called a ‘plan reassessment’. Your review date will remain as-is. To ensure participants aren’t left without services, all plans that reach their reassessment date without a reassessment being completed will be automatically extended by 12 months.

You will continue to receive Participant Check-In calls from the NDIA to discuss your wellbeing, your goals and the support you need. These calls will determine whether you need:

• A new plan with the same supports
• A new plan with minor changes to your current supports
• A full plan reassessment

While likely to be towards the end of your plan duration, we’ve heard that the Participant Check-In call can happen at any time, and possibly with very little notice. This highlights the need to be prepared, with your goals and budget in mind.

You can now request a ‘plan variation’ at any time. This means, in some circumstances, you can make changes to your plan without needing to replace the entire current plan. The aim here is to speed up the process for accessing new supports. 

You can read the full information shared by the NDIS on 30 June 2022. This is how the NDIS has outlined the process for changing your plan.

Our recommendations in preparation for your participant check-in

Here are some of our recommendations to ensure you’re prepared and won’t need to wait for access to new supports: 

• Schedule some time with your Speech Pathologist to discuss communication progress. Talk through your goals and your Speechie can provide advice on which supports might suit your development best. We can also prepare a letter of recommendation to support your requests if needed. 
• Have the Two Way Street Resources Price List on hand so you’re prepared to share the costs of any supports you may need
• Consider upskilling yourself or anyone in your support network with online learning from Two Way Street. Plan funding covers online learning costs to allow for ‘reasonable and necessary support’ to help you participate in the community
• Keep a running list on your phone or on the fridge with ideas, challenges or funding requests so that you are ready if you receive a Check-In call with short notice. Our team will also flag ideas as they come up during our sessions. Download the Participant Check-In List from Two Way Street to help you prepare.

How can we fund services and resources from Two Way Street?

The work we do helps people meet their daily communication needs, and therefore, funding for most Two Way Street services comes from ‘Capacity Building Supports’ and funding for communication resources may come from the ‘Core Supports’ part of your plan. We recommend discussing which Support Budget to use to claim for services with your Support Coordinator, Plan Manager or directly with the NDIS.

Key points to remember:

• The NDIA has 21 days to respond to a request for variation or reassessment
• It is a requirement that every variation to an NDIS plan is prepared with the participant – no changes can be made without you
• When your plan is within 7 days of its reassessment date, it is automatically extended for another 365 days
• The participant check-in process will continue to focus on meaningful conversation with participants and will be a key indicator as to how your plan will change in the future

It can be frustrating when things change and just knowing where to look for the right information can be half the battle. We hope this article has helped with your next steps to ensure successful changes to your plan at your next variation or reassessment.

We’re here to be your teacher, your ally and your cheer squad – even for the maze that is the NDIS. Please reach out if you need any further information on accessing the resources and services you need from us.

We share and we listen. It’s a Two Way Street.

We were thrilled to collaborate with Positive Partnerships to create a series of videos showing young people with complex communication needs using their AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) systems out and about. They’re chatting at home, school, and out in their communities.

These videos are available under Creative Commons, so can be shared and used for training in your workshops or at your events with appropriate citation.

Below are a few of the videos. CLICK HERE to view all 18 videos.

We hope these videos highlight how a robust communication system can provide your young person with autonomy, belonging, connection and opportunity!

Copyright Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment 2008 to present, unless otherwise indicated. This material was downloaded from the Positive Partnerships website (https://www.positivepartnerships.com.au) on 10 March 2022 and was not modified. The material is licensed under CC BY 4.0. The Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment, Autism Spectrum Australia and Positive Partnerships do not endorse any product or service that uses this material, make any representations as to the quality of such products or services, or is affiliated with or sponsors the provider.