News — disability

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.

Through his NDIS plan, eight-year-old, William Tagg is using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to enhance his speech and parents, Sharon and Rob, couldn’t be happier with the results. William, who has Down syndrome, experienced delayed speech, which made it hard for him to communicate so AAC, a method of communication to supplement his speech, has supported him to communicate more effectively and participate more in daily activities. Sharon said through William’s NDIS plan she was able to allocate some funding to a communications tablet. “It’s purely a speech device, and it goes with him every day to school. William uses...

Tallula Bourne was born deaf and did not properly hear music until she received cochlear implants at age 12.

Tahnee Afuhaamango stepped out of the pool and went home, not realising until later how fast she had actually swum.

More than 20 disability organisations have called on the federal government to abandon a plan which they say will force people to explain their support needs to a stranger in less than three hours, or risk losing their NDIS funding.