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Abstract
The needs of people with disabilities have recently been under the spotlight with the advent of the National Disability Insurance Scheme in Australia. The ability of people with disabilities to be self-determining and access services which reflect their needs is becoming a reality. Service providers are examining the impact of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) on their businesses and assessing the effects on their current and future clients. This paper will explore how people with severe and profound intellectual disabilities are being served under this scheme with particular reference to music therapy services. Long term involvement in music therapy is highlighted and the benefits explored, addressing concerns regarding the inclusion of ongoing therapy in participants' NDIS plans. Case vignettes highlight the value of long term music therapy.
Keywords: music therapy, NDIS, severe and profound intellectual disability, long term therapy
Introduction
Long term music therapy for people with intellectual disabilities and the NDIS
As the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) fully rolls out across Australia, participants will be able to choose the providers of all their services. Upon entering the scheme, participants may use a NDIS planner who can provide advice regarding the range of services which may be accessed. Music therapy has a long history of working with people with intellectual disabilities (Alvin, 1965; Nordoff & Robbins, 1971) and is provided for under the support category of Capacity Building for Improved Daily Living in the NDIS Price Guide (Australian Department of Human Services (DHS), 2016).
To date the inclusion of music therapy in a participant's NDIS plan has been ad hoc with some participants gaining approval for music therapy services and others not. To address these issues a White Paper was recently prepared for the Australian Music Therapy Association (AMTA) discussing the inclusion of music therapy in NDIS plans (McFerran, Tamplin, Thompson, Lee, Murphy & Teggelove, 2016). AMTA also produced short animations and information on music therapy and its applications (www.rmtschangelives.com.au) and the symposium "Music, Health and Wellbeing, and the NDIS" was hosted by the University of Melbourne in September 2016 to explore how music services, including music therapy, would continue under the NDIS. These initiatives have disseminated information in accessible formats to the wider community regarding music therapy and the NDIS....