In the final episode of season two, Mel chats with tech entrepreneur, brand expert and NDIS participant Steve Ralph. At the end of 2017, Steve misjudged a jump into a swimming pool and sustained a spinal cord injury that saw him become a quadriplegic.

Steve now needs significant support to go about his day and he’s got some very cool assistive tech to help him get out adventuring, like modified bikes and kayaks and an all-terrain wheelchair. He shares how he manages his NDIS funds with the help of a support coordinator and his advice for people who are new to the scheme. 

In very exciting news, Steve is hosting a new, soon-to-launch podcast for Hireup called Life Rolls On. This series sees Steve chatting with other people who’ve experienced life-changing injuries – and sharing the challenges and triumphs they've had since. 

Listen to the Life Rolls On trailer: https://omny.fm/shows/life-rolls-on/life-rolls-on-trailer-a-podcast-about-living-well

Get in touch with NDIS Know-how topic and/or guest suggestions: [email protected]

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This is the second part of Mel's conversation with Lisa Grech, a researcher, psychologist and mum to Hannah, who has a rare genetic condition and intellectual disability. If you missed part one, where Lisa shares how she fiercely advocates for her daughter, who is an NDIS participant, skip on back and check it out. 

In this episode Lisa talks about the issue of inequality in relation to the NDIS – a topic she’s particularly passionate about, having come from a disadvantaged background herself. She also shares how she feels the scheme is going in the area of supporting participants' mental health. 

Explore Hireup's library of webinars and free resources to help you navigate different elements of the NDIS: https://bit.ly/HU_NDIS

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode is part one of Mel's chat with Lisa Grech, a researcher, psychologist and proud mum to Hannah, her 20-year-old daughter who has a rare genetic condition and intellectual disability. Lisa herself has multiple sclerosis (MS) and chronic mental health issues. She co-parents and cares for Hannah with her ex-husband, Tim.  

Lisa uses what she calls an “aggressive” strategy when it comes to Hannah’s NDIS plan reviews – and she advocates more broadly around inequality issues within the scheme. In part one of Lisa and Mel's chat, Lisa shares how she assertively and effectively gets what her family needs from the scheme.

Link to Lisa Grech and Carly Findlay’s article: https://hireup.com.au/news/who-has-the-right-to-talk-about-the-issues-facing-people-with-disability/

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In this episode Mel chats with Bernard Namok Jr, host of Yarning Disability, the first podcast dedicated to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability. Bernard has a long history in radio broadcasting and, since experiencing disability first hand and in his family, he's now working as a community advocate for the First Peoples Disability Network in Cairns. 

In this conversation Bernard shares his experience of navigating the NDIS on behalf of his brother, who is a participant, and how he believes the scheme can better serve Indigenous communities.

Find the First Peoples Disability Network podcast, Yarning Disability, here: https://fpdn.org.au/podcast/

Find Tanika Davis' The I Am, Movement here: https://theiammovement.com.au/

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In this episode Mel chats with Jo Abi, a journalist, media commentator, author and autism advocate who has three children - two sons, Philip, 18, Giovanni, 15, and her daughter Kitty, 13. 

Philip and Giovanni both have autism and are on the NDIS - and it looks like Kitty will soon be joining them, as she’s currently being assessed for an autism diagnosis. 

Jo has a lovely new partner who also has autism - and who she met at an Autism Awareness Australia event - but for the past five years, she’s been a solo mum. Not an uncommon thing to be, in the disability family space. 

Jo shares her tips for fellow solo parents navigating the NDIS and explores how things change when kids on the scheme grow into young adults.

Hear more from Jo at the Autism Awareness Australia's AUStism 2023 conference: https://www.autismawareness.com.au/events/austism-2023

Find top-notch support workers for your family: https://hireup.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode Mel chats with Stacey Phillips of Tubie Fun, a business that makes products to support families and people who tube-feed. Tubie Fun was inspired by Stacey's son, Callum, who’s been tube-fed for pretty much his whole life. Callum is now six, and is one of three boys being raised by Stacey and her husband, Anthony, in Brisbane.

Both Callum and his brother Harry, 8, have NDIS plans supporting various diagnoses including level-two autism, ADHD and Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS), which is a group of conditions that affect the body’s connective tissue.

Stacey, like Callum and Harry, has EDS. She also has a condition called postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), which is a blood circulation disorder. Stacey is in the process of applying for her own NDIS plan and shares some of this experience, as well as her son Harry’s transition out of early childhood early intervention (ECEI) to the over-7s' arm of the NDIS. 

Mel and Stacey also talk about the benefits of having allied health therapists supporting kids at home, rather than in clinics, and share some nitty-gritty NDIS admin advice.

Visit Stacey's business, Tubie Fun: https://tubiefun.com.au/

Find top-notch support workers for your family: https://hireup.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode Mel chats with Benison O'Reilly and Seana Smith - co-authors of what’s known as “the essential guide” for parents of children with autism - about their new, fully updated edition of The Australian Autism Handbook. Benison and Seana both have sons with autism and this conversation covers some of what’s changed in the years since they launched the first edition of The Australian Autism Handbook back in 2008. The NDIS, of course, has majorly shaken up the disability space - and Benison and Seana share their advice for autism families who are new to the scheme. 

Buy The Australian Autism Handbook from all good booksellers: https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/The-Australian-Autism-Handbook/Benison-OReilly/9781925183849

Read an interview with Benison and Seana: https://hireup.com.au/news/the-australian-autism-handbook-is-reborn/ 

Find top-notch support workers for your family: https://hireup.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode Mel chats with Hayley Thiele, a fellow parent of a child on the NDIS. Hayley is the director of Alee Disability Support Services, an organisation that helps families on the NDIS, primarily through support coordination.

Hayley and her husband, Dave, live in regional South Australia. They have four daughters, the youngest of which is Pippa, who is four. Pippa has Wiedemann-Steiner syndrome and needs significant support to go about her days.

In this chat, Hayley breaks down what "parental responsibility" means in the context of the NDIS and shares tips on how to effectively communicate your family's need for support.  

You can find visit the Alee Disability Support Services website here: https://www.instagram.com/aleedisabilityss/?hl=en

Get in touch with the Alee Disability Support Services team here: [email protected]

Want more tips for navigating the NDIS? Visit Hireup's Navigating the NDIS portal: https://hireup.com.au/navigating-the-ndis/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NDIS Know-how is coming back strong after the holiday break with the woman who got Beyoncé and Lizzo to change ableist lyrics in their songs. Hannah Diviney is a disability advocate, writer, actor and creator of an incredible media company called Missing Perspectives. You might have seen her on the pages of Marie Claire magazine, which crowned her The Voice of Now, on ABC’s Q+A panel, or starring in her breakout acting role in the new SBS series, Latecomers.

Hannah lives with her parents, two younger sisters and loyal border collie in Sydney. She has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair to make her way through the world. In this chat she tells Mel about her experience as an NDIS participant, her hopes for the future of the scheme, and shares her tips on how to advocate for yourself or someone you love.  

Follow Hannah's work on twitter: https://www.instagram.com/hannahthewildflower/

And instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannahthewildflower/

Visit her media platform, Missing Perspectives: https://www.missingperspectives.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode Mel chats with Alexandra - or Alex - Browne, a senior support coordinator and recovery coach in the NDIS space. Having started out in occupational therapy, Alex has been working in the disability sector for a decade and her own son, Ethan, is on the NDIS. 

Alex is an expert on evidence - the reports, assessments, letters and information we need to provide the NDIS in order to paint a picture of who our family is and what we need to live an ordinary life. 

Part two of Alex and Mel's chat covers how good evidence is structured, why it’s important to back yourself up from multiple sources of evidence, and why we need to push back on our providers when their evidence isn’t up to scratch. 

Useful links:

NDIS vs Mainstream NDIA Operational Guideline: https://ourguidelines.ndis.gov.au/how-ndis-supports-work-menu/mainstream-and-community-supports/who-responsible-supports-you-need

The NDIS Act: Reasonable and Necessary: https://teamdsc.com.au/resources/ndis-act-part-1

Hireup's Navigating the NDIS portal: https://hireup.com.au/navigating-the-ndis/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.