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Kyle – from isolation to independence

Safety and Wellbeing
Seated on a large swing chair, an Indigenous woman dressed in black plays a guitar while an Indigenous man in red top and grey pants plays a large bongo drum.

Since joining the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), Tasmanian Kyle Stone, has gone from living in an intensive residential support unit for four years, to living in an ordinary suburban home – and started playing the drums!

Thanks to family and community support, including from sister Alison Stone, Kyle has transitioned from the former disability support system to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) with great results.

Since the transition, Kyle has gone from living in an intensive residential support unit for four years, to living in an ordinary suburban home.

Enjoying his independence, the 27-year-old’s life has changed dramatically. He goes out twice a day, plays the drums, has music lessons and swims twice a week. He also loves playing sport with his fitness trainer, and he has regular massage therapy to help his Athetoid Cerebral Palsy.

“Being a part of the NDIS has made such a difference,” Alison said.

“Kyle’s no longer in fight or flight mode, living with uncertainty. Now he can process things in a safe environment without feeling threatened, and the change in his behaviour is remarkable!”

Alison said that Kyle is still classified as non-verbal but now he’s communicating with language because he is able to self-regulate in what he feels is a safer environment.

He is saying things he’s never said before and he’s picking up some really funny things! He loves to joke with his staff, and it’s great to see his sense of humour is back.

“Kyle is lucky enough to have a multicultural team working with him,” Alison said.

“Some of his staff call him ‘brother’ because in their culture, Kyle is now part of their tribe and he relates well to it because it’s the same in our Aboriginal culture – you’re part of a tribe so you look after one another.

Through Kyle’s NDIS plan, Alison was able to pick the best specialists and the best people in their field to work with him. She also picked the service provider and the staff she thought would work well with him.

“I went in with a lot of knowledge and some baggage,” Alison said.

“NDIS staff were really respectful and they took the time to listen to me, so our NDIS experience was good from the start – it was the right fit for us.”

“We’ve had fantastic outcomes and it’s great we were able to do something many people said we would never be able to achieve,” Alison said proudly.

“Life for Kyle is very different now, he’s a different person – he is happy, very active, and it is a delight to visit him at his home.”

Find out more

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is the new way of providing support for people with disability, their families and carers. The NDIS has already transformed the lives of thousands of people with disability. From 1 January 2017, people in a number of new areas and age groups across six states and territories are eligible to access the NDIS. For more information, visit the NDIS website.