When Specialist Support Coordinator Cherish Clark first met 17-year-old Allie, the teenager was disengaged, suspicious of service providers, and unclear about what her future might involve beyond the out-of-home care she’d been living in since age 15.

“It wasn’t hard to understand why Allie initially seemed withdrawn, given the challenges and disappointments she’s faced in her young life,” said Cherish.

“These tough circumstances intersect with her cognitive and mental health diagnoses, which together present some barriers to Allie living the life she wants and deserves.”

Allie has a mild intellectual disability, a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, and mental health issues, which made her eligible for a support package from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Key to the success of engaging with Allie was taking time to establish a relationship of trust. Our approach looks at the whole person, including all the interconnected circumstances in their life – not just at their diagnosis.


Cherish Clark

Specialist Support Coordinator

Due to the complexity of Allie’s needs, she received funding for Specialist Support Coordination in her NDIS plan – a higher level of support, in which highly skilled and qualified coordinators work with people to address their specific needs and overcome the intersecting barriers to achieving their goals.

Jesuit Social Services provides this level of support, and Allie connected with us as early as possible in her support package.

This allowed Cherish time to build rapport with Allie, and to prepare her for what would happen once she exited out-of-home care.

“Key to the success of engaging with Allie was taking time to establish a relationship of trust, in line with Jesuit Social Services’ relational way of working,” said Cherish.

“Our approach looks at the whole person, including all the interconnected circumstances in their life – not just at their diagnosis. I worked with Allie to ensure she understood all services are completely voluntary, and gave her a range of service options to facilitate her choice and control throughout the process of her NDIS package.”

The period of support before Allie exited out-of-home care also created an opportunity for Cherish to build relationships with selected NDIS service providers, which ensured Allie had wraparound supports and a sense of stability and safety as she prepared for this transitional stage of her life.

Cherish connected Allie with allied health services, and explored opportunities for housing, employment and family reunification support, in line with the goals she had set for herself.

As Allie takes her first steps into an independent life as a young adult, her NDIS support package is one resource available to her as she moves further towards achieving her personal goals.

 

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* Name and photo have been changed to protect privacy.