Adam McCoughtry is and will experience all the benefits of being a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participant now and into his future.
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 has been priceless for the family.
“It has helped Adam to become a very social boy. His strengths are sport and social interaction. He has built great networks at school and in the sport’s 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 lead him to being able to pick up and hold things like pencils, 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,” Julie said.
