Families of children with level three autism are demanding answers After thousands of dollars were suddenly stripped from their NDIS plans. Support services say the cuts have forced some struggling parents to consider handing their children over to state care.
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00:00The difference in Delilah Miller is night and day.
00:07The three-year-old has level 3 autism. Mainstream preschool wasn't working out, so she moved to AEIOU, an early intervention service for autistic children.
00:20She went from a screaming, non-sleeping, non-verbal little girl to the exact opposite within three months.
00:30But the cost is taking a toll. Her mother, Chloe Thompson, has twice applied for more NDIS funding for the specialised care. Both requests were denied.
00:42Yeah, I'm just at a bit of a loss of what to do.
00:46AEIOU says problems like this are very common.
00:50A lot of the families have had their plans cut by about 60%.
00:54For some, that's tens of thousands of dollars.
00:58Their reviews have been rejected and unfortunately these families have to exit our service or move to a part-time placement.
01:05AEIOU says the funding cuts have seen some parents already struggling with their mental health forced to consider handing their children into state care because they can't support them without the specialised care and therapy.
01:20The NDIS denies there have been any cuts and says the average payment per participant is growing.
01:27Autism agencies say there is still work to do, with more transparency needed.
01:33For some of our parents, they are getting to the point where they're saying, you know, I don't feel like I can keep going with this battle.
01:39A battle that for many is only just beginning.