Factors that help people with disability to self-manage their support

Abstract

Disability policy in many countries encourages people to self-manage their disability support funds, yet few people do. This is also the case with Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Little is known about who chooses self-management and how they sustain it. This project explored the conditions and resources conducive to self-management in the interests of the person with disability. It used Katzman and Kinsella’s typology of self-management work to analyse the current conditions that facilitate or hinder self-management. The research demonstrated unequal take-up of self-management, particularly by location and disability type. Often, a family member self-manages on behalf of the person with disability. Conditions and resources people needed to sustain self-management included prior experience and socio-economic advantage, or resources to fill these gaps. Implications are that resources such as advocates, peers, organisations or support coordination can help fill the gap between people with and without personal and social advantages.

Points of interest:

• In many countries, people with disability have the option to self-manage their disability support funds. But many people do not choose to do so.

• We asked people who self-manage their funds or who self-manage on behalf of their family member with disability about how they do it and what helps them to make it successful.

• Their experiences show that self-managing is easier if they have money, education and prior knowledge about managing.

• People without these advantages can also self-manage. They may need support from peers, organisations, advocates or support coordinators.

Keywords:

• self-management
• disability support
• choice and control
• NDIS
• direct payments
• individual budgets