What are NDIS goals?
Your child’s NDIS goals are the things you want your child to work towards with support from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and other supports and services.
Here are examples of NDIS goals:
- ‘Jenny and Simon would like Charlie to be able to tell people when he needs or wants something.’
- ‘Jordan wants to be able to get to gymnastics classes once a week by themselves.’
- ‘Dimitra wants to develop social skills so that she can take part in a local soccer team.’
Goals help your child, your family and the people helping you know what’s important to you. They also help the NDIS choose the right supports for your family.
When to start thinking about NDIS goals
It’s best to start thinking about your child’s goals when an NDIS representative contacts you to arrange your first NDIS meeting. This meeting is part of the process of getting NDIS support for your child.
This way, you’ll be well prepared to discuss and decide on your child’s goals when it’s time for the meeting.
How to start setting NDIS goals
When you’re setting your child’s NDIS goals, start with what you know about your child’s daily life. For example, if your child needs more help to get dressed than other children the same age, a goal might be to get dressed with less or no support.
It’s also important to think about your child’s likes and interests. For example, if your child likes playing board games but has trouble sharing, a goal might be to play a board game with another child for a short period of time.
You can also think about what success might look like for your family. If your child achieved their goal, how would this affect your family as a whole?
And it’s a good idea to think about what would make it easier for you to care for your child and support your child’s development. For example, you’d like it to be easier to get your child in and out of bed or the bath.
As you develop your child’s goals, it can help to think about the following questions – What are you hoping your child will achieve? How will achieving these goals help your child’s development?
How to set short-term NDIS goals
Short-term NDIS goals are the things you and your child want to work towards over the next 3-12 months.
Short-term goals can be very specific. When you look at your child’s progress after 12 months, it’s easy to see whether your child is achieving or has achieved short-term goals. Short-term goals give you a good idea of how well your child’s plan is working.
For example, a short-term goal might be for your child to hold a spoon by themselves.
How to set long-term NDIS goals
Medium-term and long-term NDIS goals are the hopes you and your child have for their future, like successfully starting high school, getting a job or doing further education.
You can break down long-term goals into the steps your child will take to achieve them. For example, your child’s long-term goal might be to make friends more easily. Steps towards this goal might be your child being able to take turns or ask questions.
Long-term goals can be quite flexible. This means that there are many ways your child could achieve them. For example, your child’s long-term goal might be to stay home alone without a carer when they’re in their teens. Your child could move towards this goal in many ways – for example, by being able to move around the house independently, use a phone, manage anxiety and so on.
It’s good to think about a mix of short-term and long-term goals for your child. This gives you a clear sense of what you want for your child, as well as some flexibility in how you get there.
How to link NDIS goals to supports
As you’re thinking about your child’s NDIS goals, it’s important to think about the supports that could help your child work towards these goals.
NDIS supports
NDIS supports are reasonable and necessary supports funded by the NDIS. For example:
- If your child’s goal is to feed themselves, an NDIS support might be sessions with an OT that help your child practise this skill.
- If your child’s goal is to make more friends, an NDIS support might be sessions with a speech pathologist that help your child build social communication skills.
- If your child’s goal is to interact more easily with family and community, an NDIS support might be Auslan or Key Word Sign training.
Connections
These are mainstream services, community supports and family support. These supports aren’t funded by the NDIS. For example:
- If your child’s goal is to spend more time with other children, a local playgroup could support this goal.
- If your child’s goal is to be more independent at home, mainstream health services could support this goal by providing information about routines and visual schedules to help your child start and complete tasks on their own.
- If your child’s goal is to be involved in the local community football team, the football club could support this goal by including your child in play, training or other club activities.
Who to involve in setting NDIS goals
Your child
Depending on your child’s age, you might be able to work on setting NDIS goals with your child. Involving your child can give them a sense of control, boost their confidence and prepare them for setting their own goals as they get older.
You could start by asking your child what they like doing or what they’d like to do better, more easily or more often.
Older children might have ideas about what could help them reach their goals. For example, your teenage child might enjoy socialising but has difficulty using public transport. Your child might say they need help understanding the bus route or using their communication device to get help from the bus driver.
People who know your child
There are probably people in your child’s life who know your child well, like your child’s early childhood educator, teacher, paediatrician, GP, therapists or disability professionals. It’s a good idea to ask these people about goals.
The NDIA
The NDIA can help you with developing goals for your child. For example, your NDIS representative will discuss your child’s goals with you during your information-gathering meeting and help you finalise them. And you can tell the NDIA at any time if you want to change your child’s goals or set new goals.