Specialist disability service types
Specialist disability services supplement other general community supports and are designed to assist people with a disability who require more specialised support.
- Accommodation support
- Community access support
- Case management
- Early childhood intervention services
- Goods and equipment
- Health liaison
- Life skills development
- Mental health support
- Multidisciplinary services
- Respite services
- Specialist assessment
Accommodation support
Accommodation support helps people with disability live in the community and in a home environment as close as possible to that enjoyed by other community members.
Accommodation support may include personal care, domestic assistance and social and communication support, as necessary to allow people to carry out the essential activities of daily living.
Accommodation support may be provided to an individual or within a group setting, and may range from a few hours a week through to 24 hours a day.
Community access support
Community support primarily helps people who do not attend school or work due to disability to gain and use their abilities to enjoy their full potential for social independence.
Community support involves providing practical social support, company and reassurance of safety to help people access community activities, services and facilities.
Community support may be provided to an individual or within a group setting.
Case management
Case management assists people with complex disability support needs who have difficulty maintaining and coordinating their support arrangements.
Case management is support designed to assist people to have choice, a stable and sustainable home and to live as independently as possible.
Case management support includes skills and capability training, liaison with support providers, and coordination of service delivery.
Early childhood intervention services
Includes a range of therapies that enhance development and maximise the potential for a child under six who has a significant developmental delay or who is at risk of such a delay. The focus is on motor, social, communication and behavioural development, to reduce the impact of the disability and the need for ongoing support.
Goods and equipment
Disability specific goods or equipment can enable a person with disability to increase their mobility, communication, reading, and independence in personal care or health care.
Goods and equipment support provides assistance with costs, which including arranging assessments or consultation with relevant equipment experts as necessary.
Health liaison
Health liaison support contributes to the sense of wellbeing and belonging in a home environment of a person with disability by providing help managing health-care needs and negotiating with the health system.
Health liaison is delivered by carers or staff with a nursing background and may include liaison with doctors, monitoring of diet and general health and wellbeing, care for specific health conditions, and coordination of assessments and appointments.
Life skills development
Life skills development provides specific short-term skill-development activities that enhance the ability of a person to live as independently as possible.
Skill development activities can include training in budgeting and financial management, use of public transport and general mobility, daily living skills like washing and dressing, self esteem and assertiveness, home and community safety, and use of assistive technologies.
Mental health support
Mental health support includes a range of community-based services to assist people in their recovery from mental illness and to remain connected to their community.
Mental health services can include life-skills development, support to access community services or activities, service coordination and referral, early intervention support, peer-run psychosocial support, mutual support and self-help groups, respite accommodation services, pre-vocational training, and support services for families and carers of people with mental illness.
Mental health support services are usually delivered by community-based non-government organisations funded mainly by Queensland Health.
Multidisciplinary services
Multidisciplinary intervention services are designed to maximise the independence of people with disability by increasing motor, social, communication, personal and community living skills.
Services include speech and language pathology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, behaviour intervention and support, counselling, social work, and psychology. These are delivered in combined sessions of approximately 1-2 hours per person per day over a 12 week period.
Respite services
Respite provides a way for the primary carer of a person with disability to take a break. Respite, either in-home or in a setting away from home, provides support for the person with disability in all their daily activities where they would usually be supported by their carer.
Respite types include in-home, host family, centre based (day or overnight) and vacation care.
Specialist assessment
A specialist assessment is a way to assess the support needs of people who have multiple, complex or unclear needs or require long-term or intensive support.
Specialist assessments generally occur when a person requires a specialist service response, like allied health or therapy interventions such as physiotherapy or psychiatry, mental health services, or health and medical services (for example, continence support, wound care or specialised health care).
