Guests - Lower Support Needs - Disability Homestay Network

Guests with Lower Support Needs

Assistance required – Routines, safety, meals, medication, transport to access the community, assistance with activities, e.g. electronics, games, gardening, cooking, hydration, turning on taps, cleaning, making the bed, tidying up, packing.

Guests will be ambulatory*, will not have an NDIS behaviour support plan** in place and will require limited personal care***.  Personal care requirements will be provided to hosts in the guest’s care plan.

It’s important to understand that a person’s disability / diagnosis does not determine the level of support they will require. We obtain information on each guest to understand their functional capacity and support requirements. The following information can be used as a guide to describe our guests with lower support needs:

  • Active & Young, still living at home, 18-25 years old, with intellectual disability, developmental delay, global developmental delay, higher functioning autism, mild acquired brain injury, cerebral palsy, psychosocial disability, etc. May have goals which include increasing independence and community participation, improved learning and paid or unpaid employment.  Examples of activities they may currently be undertaking include formal gaining work programs, informal volunteering, hobbies and social activities in the community.  Carer respite will help strengthen their family supports.
  • Fit & Mature, still living at home, 26-40+ years old, with intellectual disability, developmental delay, global developmental delay, higher functioning autism, mild acquired brain injury, cerebral palsy, psychosocial disability, etc.  May have goals which include gaining paid or unpaid employment, achieve independent living in supported accommodation.  Examples of activities they may currently be undertaking include paid or unpaid employment, hobbies and social activities in the community.  Carer respite will help strengthen their family supports.
  • Living independently, in supported accommodation, 26-40+ years old, with intellectual disability, developmental delay, global developmental delay, higher functioning autism, mild acquired brain injury, cerebral palsy, psychosocial disability, etc.  May have goals which include gaining paid or unpaid employment, civic participation, building community connections.  Examples of activities they may currently be undertaking include paid employment, hobbies and social activities in the community.  No carer respite required.

Definitions:

**Ambulatory – a person is able to walk about and is not bedridden

Non-ambulatory person – means a person who is unable to leave a building unassisted under emergency conditions. It includes, but is not limited to, those persons who depend upon mechanical aids such as crutches, walkers and wheelchairs.

**Behaviour Support Plan

An NDIS behaviour support plan is a document developed for a person with disability by an NDIS behaviour support practitioner. A behaviour support plan specifies a range of person-centred, proactive strategies that focus on the individual needs of a person, in order to:

  • build on the person’s strengths
  • increase their opportunities to participate in community activities, and
  • increase their life skills.

It also includes any regulated restrictive practices that may be required. A behaviour support plan is developed in consultation with the participant, their family, carers, guardian, and other relevant people, as well as the service providers who will be implementing the plan.

***Personal Care

Personal care is anything that’s done for a guest of a personal nature. This may include personal hygiene-bathing, showering, hair washing and oral hygiene- skin and nail care, dressing, toileting, continence management, including toileting, catheter/stoma care and bed changing. It may also include assistance with eating and drinking if necessary and attending appointment.