Experiences of National Disability Insurance Scheme planning from the perspective of adults with intellectual disability

Abstract

Introduction: The Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme(NDIS) is attempting to address long-term inequalities experienced by people with disability. Through planning, the NDIS aims for people with disability to exercise choice and control over supports. People with intellectual disability will be the largest group of NDIS participants. It isi mportant to understand how they experience and perceive NDIS planning. Methods: Ten adults with intellectual disability participated in semi-structured interviews to explore their experiences of NDIS planning .Phenomenology and thematic analysis were utilised. Introduction: The need for research to inform policy and practice is increasingly crucial in the fast‐moving context of disability internationally. Stakeholders in this process come with bodies of knowledge and expectations of each other that are seldom made explicit, or are themselves objects of inquiry. In particular, researchers frequently grapple with how best to operationalise the theoretical and conceptual foundations of their work in ways that are accessible and applicable in the real world.

Methods: This paper outlines three intersecting ideas that have been successfully used to underpin an approach to developing evidence‐informed resources for use by people with disability and practitioners – Knowledge Translation, Praxis and Action Research.

Results: The insights emerging from the combination of these ideas are demonstrated in the ways that they enable reflexive practice for all stakeholders in the research process. This is particularly so for researchers themselves.

Implications: Drawing on a framework which pays attention to the relationship between theory and its application to practice has significant benefits for understanding the positioning and contribution of all stakeholders in the knowledge production and translation process.Implications: In principle the NDIS presents a real opportunity to increase choice and control, social participation and independence of people with disability, however this does not always translate into practice for people with intellectual disability.