It has been one year exactly since Lachlan Reardon got his first NDIS plan. Soon to turn 11-years-old, this local Mudgee boy has come a long way in a single year.
Lachlan lives with mild muscular dystrophy. He has hyper flexibility and low muscle mass. He’s always struggled with lack of balance, which has impacted on his ability to play sport.
“Due to his condition, Lachie has never been able to ride a scooter or bike like other kids his age,” explains his mum Deborah.
“With his plan in place, Lachie has been seeing an occupational therapist (OT) and a personal trainer for a year now and he’s definitely improved,” she said.
“They are working on his core strength and he’s really been enjoying the personal training sessions.”
Lachlan’s main goals in his first plan were to tie his shoelaces, ride a bicycle and a scooter. One year down, and he has smashed all three! Tying his shoelaces – tick! Riding a scooter – tick! And now, just recently, Lachlan’s perseverance paid off when he learned the art of two-wheeled balance and started to ride a bike. Tick! Tick! Tick!
“It’s given him such confidence,” Deborah said. “He’s just so proud of himself, and of his achievements. As his parent, I thought he’d never ride a bike. I was nearly ready to give up.
“In our family we never say we can’t do something. We say, it’s something we’re trying to do. We might not be able to do it now, but one day we might be able to do it, and this experience has shown Lachie that this is very true.”
Lachlan goes to a mainstream school and earlier this year they had their first school camp.
“It was the first time Lachie has ever been away from home,” Deborah said. “He went for four nights and they camped by the water. At that point, Lachie was the only one out of the 100-plus kids attending who couldn’t ride a bike. Next year will be a different experience for him.
“I think he’ll really take off this year, just because his balance is better and his confidence has grown.”
“At the beginning I felt guilty about being on the NDIS because Lachie just looks like a normal little boy.
“Now I realise there’s kids on the NDIS with behavioural problems and other things you can’t see, and as he gets older I can see the huge difference having the NDIS plan will make.
Access to these treatments is going to make a huge impact to his quality of life. It will make all the difference,” Deborah said.
Source: Social Futures