My Impressions of the NDIS Changes and "Thriving Kids"
Note: I use the terms autism and autistic as this language is more commonly referred to by the autistic community. I acknowledge that some people in the autistic community prefer identity-first language.
A new Code of Conduct for Psychologists comes into effect on December 1. Psychologists must: "participate in efforts to promote the psychological wellbeing of the community." As such, I believe I have a responsibility to promote the wellbeing of those that I most commonly work with.
The Federal Government announced changes to those who can access NDIS from 2027. Those under the age of 18 who have "mild" to "moderate" levels of autism and developmental delays will be transition to the Thriving Kids program.
This announcement has already caused a lot of stress and anxiety from within the community. What the government has announced has the potential to do significant harm to the wellbeing of those affected. Autistic people in particular benefit from consistency, clarity, and fairness. Not only is this announcement unexpected, but there are limited details about this plan making what is going to happen extremely unclear.
The Australian Government in their announcement used language to describe Autism that is outdated, and essentially wrong. Terms such as "mild" and "moderate" are not used because they are essentially meaningless. This language is not used by either diagnostic manual - DSM-5 or ICD-11. Autism is a lifelong disorder, with each autistic person's characteristics being unique and can fluctuate over their life. This means that autistic people who are considered "mild" can appear to "fit in" with society better, but may have more profound difficulties in other areas in their life that may not be as visible. The terms "mild" and "moderate" can be great terms to use when you really want to say "your problems are not that bad." It is evident that many people in our political landscape would benefit from upskilling in neurodiversity, autism, and what it means to be neurodivergent.
The Australian Government have made some suggestions of what Thriving Kids might look like. For example, Inklinks and PACT programs have been suggested. These programs should be treated with caution. These programs have only been around for a few years and lack the long term studies to show their benefit as well as risks. In addition, many people in the community are concerned about these programs as there is an underlying assumption that autistic behaviours can be reduced. Autism is a lifelong disability. As such, although non autistic children could potentially benefit from these programs, all it may be teaching autistic children (and yet to be diagnosed) is how to mask and camouflage. The concern with masking is that this leads to Autistic burnout, which is linked to a decline in wellbeing, increased risk of medical and safety problems, and increased suicidality later in life.
Another suggestion was utilising Medicare services and taking on more of a role in delivering services to autistic children and children with developmental delays. Whilst this may be helpful for some families, I am cautious about whether this will be fully funded and that families will be able to access the services at a frequency that would make positive progress for their child. There is currently ongoing debate whether the Medicare rebate properly services those seeking medical and/or mental health support.
I am mindful that we need to wait for more information before jumping to any conclusions about what this may or may not look like. My desire is for autistic children and children with developmental delays to receive the level of support they need in order to do well in the world. We need this support to be evidence based, affordable for any family to access, include the voices of those with lived experience and those who work tirelessly to support our children with disability, and not lean too heavily on whom talks the loudest.
A key recommendation of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability is to make Australia more inclusive and increased emphasis on "Nothing about us, without us." Has this already been forgotten?
I will be expecting the following to occur (though it is already happening):
I will continue to support my clients and will continue to advocate for people with disability(s) in the best way that I can.
Carl Tolomei
Created - August 27, 2025.
A new Code of Conduct for Psychologists comes into effect on December 1. Psychologists must: "participate in efforts to promote the psychological wellbeing of the community." As such, I believe I have a responsibility to promote the wellbeing of those that I most commonly work with.
The Federal Government announced changes to those who can access NDIS from 2027. Those under the age of 18 who have "mild" to "moderate" levels of autism and developmental delays will be transition to the Thriving Kids program.
This announcement has already caused a lot of stress and anxiety from within the community. What the government has announced has the potential to do significant harm to the wellbeing of those affected. Autistic people in particular benefit from consistency, clarity, and fairness. Not only is this announcement unexpected, but there are limited details about this plan making what is going to happen extremely unclear.
The Australian Government in their announcement used language to describe Autism that is outdated, and essentially wrong. Terms such as "mild" and "moderate" are not used because they are essentially meaningless. This language is not used by either diagnostic manual - DSM-5 or ICD-11. Autism is a lifelong disorder, with each autistic person's characteristics being unique and can fluctuate over their life. This means that autistic people who are considered "mild" can appear to "fit in" with society better, but may have more profound difficulties in other areas in their life that may not be as visible. The terms "mild" and "moderate" can be great terms to use when you really want to say "your problems are not that bad." It is evident that many people in our political landscape would benefit from upskilling in neurodiversity, autism, and what it means to be neurodivergent.
The Australian Government have made some suggestions of what Thriving Kids might look like. For example, Inklinks and PACT programs have been suggested. These programs should be treated with caution. These programs have only been around for a few years and lack the long term studies to show their benefit as well as risks. In addition, many people in the community are concerned about these programs as there is an underlying assumption that autistic behaviours can be reduced. Autism is a lifelong disability. As such, although non autistic children could potentially benefit from these programs, all it may be teaching autistic children (and yet to be diagnosed) is how to mask and camouflage. The concern with masking is that this leads to Autistic burnout, which is linked to a decline in wellbeing, increased risk of medical and safety problems, and increased suicidality later in life.
Another suggestion was utilising Medicare services and taking on more of a role in delivering services to autistic children and children with developmental delays. Whilst this may be helpful for some families, I am cautious about whether this will be fully funded and that families will be able to access the services at a frequency that would make positive progress for their child. There is currently ongoing debate whether the Medicare rebate properly services those seeking medical and/or mental health support.
I am mindful that we need to wait for more information before jumping to any conclusions about what this may or may not look like. My desire is for autistic children and children with developmental delays to receive the level of support they need in order to do well in the world. We need this support to be evidence based, affordable for any family to access, include the voices of those with lived experience and those who work tirelessly to support our children with disability, and not lean too heavily on whom talks the loudest.
A key recommendation of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability is to make Australia more inclusive and increased emphasis on "Nothing about us, without us." Has this already been forgotten?
I will be expecting the following to occur (though it is already happening):
- The media being used to whitewash the issue. We don't really have great data related to disability and conclusions are being made on misleading or unrepresentative data. This is risky as decisions made tend to lean towards more of a "one size fits all" approach. It also misses important concerns from those who do not access certain services (both providers and people accessing services).
- Minimisation of autistic people's concerns and issues.
- Increased ableism through the language being utilised by the Federal Government and in the media.
- Community backlash towards autistic persons and children with developmental delays.
- Increased stress from providers who have to consider significant changes to their business models.
- Increased stress and anxiety in schools. There are going to be children may no longer be eligible for services that significantly benefit them and benefit their school functioning. The Australian Government have been clear in wanting education systems to pick up more of the work in supporting children with disabilities. However, what this looks like and what the states will agree to is unclear.
I will continue to support my clients and will continue to advocate for people with disability(s) in the best way that I can.
Carl Tolomei
Created - August 27, 2025.
Last Updated - August 27, 2025