Abstract:
The voice of young people identified with complex support needs is conspicuous in its absence from Australian post school transition planning (PSTP) literature and relevant government reports. As we enter a new era of personalised planning under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Act (2013), opportunities exist to give voice to young people identified with moderate to high support needs regardless of functional capacity. The Final Report of the Royal commission into violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation of people with disability (2023) promised some hope. Despite the report documenting the impact of NDIS procedural inconsistencies, the voice of NDIS participants is somewhat lost, instead dominated by parent and carer voice. This study builds on the findings of the Royal commission report (2023) by leveraging flexible and inclusive methods to provide multiple communication avenues via semi-structured interviews and arts-based research. The study aims to explore the extent to which young people and their families have experienced ‘choice and control’ as part of NDIS planning for post school community participation pathways. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit 6 NDIS families from metropolitan, regional, and rural NSW. Young persons aged 13-21 took part in the study, together with 1-2 adult family members. Three stages of research were conducted over a nine-month period, starting with a Meet & Greet and followed by two interviews. All meetings took place face-to-face. The first meeting facilitated introductions, clarified the study aims, and collaboratively planned for subsequent interviews. A co-construction of flexible and inclusive methodologies reflected young person and family preferences for collection of data. With an emphasis on adaptability, these choices were revisited at the beginning of each interview, ensuring the implementation of necessary supports. The result is a rich tapestry of verbal and non-verbal expression, told through stories, dance, puppetry, body mapping, and AAC (namely PECS and LAMP). This presentation will discuss the preliminary findings of the study informed by grounded theory and how modifying methods in lockstep with participants champions inclusion in research whilst demonstrating the power of malleability in qualitative research design. In doing so, the study contributes to a wider body of research on post school transition, where flexible and inclusive methodologies for data collection amplify voices traditionally silenced in disability related research.