Personal support is a very individualised area and you will find that some things apply to you and some do not. However, all of the information here will assist you in making choices about how you manage your support needs.

No doubt you will have feelings of frustration and even anger at needing people to help you. These are quite understandable and it may take years to adjust. However, you might feel more able to cope with these adjustments if you slowly work through the areas of your life, like personal support, and get little things right. Then it will be easier to focus on dealing with your frustrations.

It is also a good idea to remember that no one is fully independent; we are all interdependent. This means that everyone, everyday or at some point or other, relies on other people to do things for or with them. You will also find that there are things you can do for others. This helping each other is just an example of how interdependent we all are.

Something to remember is that there are many ways to do any one thing. Just because someone does it differently to you doesn't matter. What matters is the end result. For example, if you put on your shirt then pants but your personal assistant puts on your pants then shirt, you still end up dressed!

These are the little things that you need to work through within yourself and your support network. By exploring the range of personal support options you can lead the life you want and do the things you want to do.

National Disability Insurance Scheme

The Australia Government's Productivity Commission is currently in the process of creating a National Disability Insurance Scheme which will make a significant difference to how disability care and support (including personal support funding) is delivered in the future. The new website called Every Australian Counts has been developed to help all Australians to understand and support the development of this scheme which is said to "make it easier for people to access essential care, support, therapy, equipment, early intervention and training".  If you'd like to get involved or read more about this campaign please check out the Every Australian Counts website or go to the Productivity Commission website to follow the time-line of the project or enter a submission on how you think disability care and support should be funded and delivered.