Mentoring a NDIS participant

This article covers mentoring related to participants with a disability and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in Australia.

So what is it all about?

Mentoring, first and foremost, requires a holistic approach. Mentoring can take many forms and needs to relate to the goals the participant wishes to achieve. They can be sub-goals related to a National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) goal. 

These are also known as SMART goals:

·         S = Specific, sensible and significant

·         M = Measurable, meaningful and motivating

·         A = Achievable, agreed, attainable.

·         R = Relevant, reasonable, realistic, and results-based.

·         T = Time-bound: An endpoint for reaching the objective or objectives.

A smart goal is usually a part of the main goal the participant wants to achieve.  Let's look at an example.

NDIA Goal; George wants to increase his social and community participation.

The SMART goal would involve the mentor really knowing the participant.  Spending time with them, creating a trusting relationship, and collaborating with their key chosen people and stakeholders.

Looking at what skills they already have and creating a baseline of where to start increasing their progress.

In this case, it may be; George will be mentored to learn how to try new activities in the local community.

Then comes the strategies;

·         George will choose three places to go and explore where there are activities of interest.

·         George will be supported by his mentors to attend, explore, or participate in the activities.

·         George will be actively supported to engage if he finds the activities meaningful.

·         George will be actively supported to form relationships with peers at the activity.

This is a basic example.  The idea of a mentor is to actively support the participant to progress with their chosen goals and choices and promote increased skills driven by self-determination to succeed.

The participant becomes increasingly independent with the skills they learn and develop through being mentored where possible.

The strategies developed should be fun and engaging.  Many approaches should be used to deliver this type of service, and it needs to always be a collaborative approach with the participants, choice and control at the centre. 

Mentoring requires an array of skills to be used by the mentor.  They need to be competent in various intervention approaches, including being able to grade and adapt the approaches to be taken.  For the participant to engage and feel fully supported to participate.

In many cases, a diverse range of skills can be combined to support and increase the participant's understanding, natural learning styles and potential impacts that can be mitigated or used to learn life lessons.

Collaboration from allied health therapists is vital to mentoring.  They also bring identified aspects of places to support, what can assist and how to modify the delivery.

One of my favourite approaches is The Steps Programme.

Literally, mud mapping the steps with the participant can be visually completed on paper with different coloured pens to show all the stages, breaking down what the participant wants to achieve.  So they can see when they are progressing.  For some participants, this supports inner pride of self-achievement as they move through the steps, keeping them focused on the tasks/steps needed to reach their desired outcome.

Mentoring is a positive way for participants to progress and reach their chosen goals, sustaining and maintaining these skills for life.  Enhancing and developing hard and soft skills, personality traits, and the participant's attributes.

 Lastly, keeping stakeholders and therapists informed is essential.  Working collaboratively with full transparency ensures everyone is kept in the loop.  It is a team approach and best practice to ensure the right people are up to date-and in the loop.

The participant's 100% desire to achieve the goals is essential, if there is no desire, there is no motivation to participate, and it will not be successful.

Keeping sound and professional boundaries throughout the process is also key to successful outcomes.