Keely Walsh
Your Experiences Matter
Abstract
Psychosocial disability has been described as one of the most challenging and misunderstood areas of disability. With the emergence of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), the term “psychosocial disability” was brought to life in the Australian context. The NDIS represents a radical transition to the way in which individual support services are being delivered under national disability reform.
The NDIS is a government funded service system which provides support to eligible people with disability. Evidence suggests that the current service system being delivered by NDIS was not designed to fully cater to the multifaceted needs of people with psychosocial disability. More specifically, it is not yet known if this system is able to provide adequate care to people with trauma diagnoses and trauma histories.
The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the research project Your Experiences Matter (YEM). The aim of this exploratory research is to analyse participants with psychosocial disability and trauma histories subjective experiences of accessing and utilising the NDIS to better shape the future of service delivery. This qualitative study will be completed in two parts: 1) a doctrinal and socio-legal analysis of 23 Administrative Appeals Tribunal cases related to the NDIS and PTSD, and 2) semi structured interviews with 23 participants of NDIS. This study seeks to address a gap in research by examining the needs of people with lived and living experiences within the current disability paradigm.
Supervisors
School
Department of Social Work in the Melbourne School of Health Sciences