Please note that as of 1st November 2023 The Autism Collective rebranded to Common Ground Disability

NDIS Support for participants and their families

At Common Ground we support families of children aged 0-14 years around Australia to navigate the NDIS. We empower you to:

  • Get the best possible plan and budget for your child
  • Use your plan effectively to get the best value and outcome
  • Understand your rights and obligations as a self manager
  • Confidently navigate plan reviews and appeals
  • Reduce overwhelm, save time and live a more supported lifestyle.

Whether you have been accessing the NDIS for a while or are completely new, there are no wrong questions here – just support and acceptance.

We take the drama out of the NDIS.

Free Resources

NDIS Support Packages

Support Coordination

Welcome

At Common Ground we support families of children aged 0-14 years around Australia to engage with the NDIS. We are a consultancy who empower parents and child representatives to:

  • Understand and uphold the rights of the participant (we specialise in children aged 0-14 yrs)
  • Consider the types of evidence needed to fund the services and supports your family require
  • Speak the NDIS language and get your point across confidently and effectively
  • Sit down to your Plan Meeting feeling sassy and super prepared
  • Understand how to use your NDIS plan and budget so that you never have to ask advice from Facebook groups ever again.
  • Find creative ways to make your NDIS budget stretch further and to use it for ‘out of the box’ therapies and supports
  • Navigate the appeals and review process with confidence and clarity. 

At Common Ground, our core values are Dignity, Innovation, Integrity, Leadership and Compassion. We believe that kids do well when they can. We embrace the twists and turns of this journey—the diagnosis, the questions, and those moments when it feels like you’re dancing on the edges of the unknown.

We understand that you know your child best… So together, we’ll tap into your inner wisdom, provide compassionate family centred support, and uncover the solutions your child and your family truly deserve.

About Anna

Hey there… I am Anna… Founder of Common Ground Disability Consulting.

I’m a mum of two, wife, daughter, advocate and beach lover who has been hanging out in the disability world for about nine years now.

For starters, I was around and dealing with the disability funding system that pre-dates the NDIS. And it wasn’t pretty. Children with an ASD diagnosis were provided with $12k of funding. Period. It had to be used before they turned 7 or it was forfeited. You could only use it for therapies or ask your OT to purchase consumables for you. And once your child turned 7 years old – you were pretty much on your own. #notkidding

So, believe me when I say that I am super grateful for the NDIS and for the opportunities it offers and continues to offer my family.

AND being one of the first areas in Australia to transition over to the NDIS meant that we as participants and family members had to use it while it was still in its infancy. (By that I mean it was messy af).

I am trained as a Support Coordinator, but I have also studied Community Services and am constantly diving into research around Advocacy and Human Rights. But above courses and study and certificates… I too am a parent of a child with disability. I live in that world just like you.

So here we are more than ten years into the NDIS lifespan, this industry is experiencing workforce shortages, price gouging, unethical behaviour abounds along with more confusion than ever for our most vulnerable Australians.

The responsibility has never sat heavier on the mothers and carers of those living with disability to understand and navigate a system where futures and in fact lives are on the line.

Common Ground Disability Consulting was born out of a clear need to provide support to families who were being left to figure it out for themselves. We’re here to remind you ‘You don’t have to do this alone’

What our clients say

Before working with Anna, I was struggling with trying to know how to navigate the NDIS all on my own. I felt like I was drowning and completely alone.

After working with Anna, I felt like I had been given knowledge and education around my child’s rights and had also been supported thoroughly trying to navigate the NDIS world when it comes to review time.

Families will benefit from working with Anna because they will feel heard, supported & not be a treated as a number, rather as the individual that you are. I have found Anna to be very attentive, empathic and professional.

 I would recommend working with Anna because we are not meant to be doing this alone. Anna “gets it” and understands from a personal level how parents of neurodiverse children feel in their day-to-day struggles and the overwhelm that comes with this journey.

Siobhan Jarvis

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