The Allied Health Assistants (AHA) Project is delivered by Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect). Aspect is Australia’s largest autism-specific service provider. A not-for-profit organisation, Aspect work in partnership with people of all ages on the autism spectrum, and their families to deliver evidence-informed solutions that are person-centred, family-focused and customer driven.
There are considerable barriers in accessing regular allied health services in regional, rural and remote regions of Australia. Issues of long wait lists, lack of choice of specialists, and extensive travel, are underpinned by difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff in these areas.
Aspect was awarded funding under NDIS Jobs and Market Funding for a project that will develop an Allied Health Assistant workforce to deliver professional, culturally competent services to participants in their local community.
Aspect will recruit and employ Allied Health Assistants to work under the guidance of Aspect Allied Health Professionals in delivering therapy services to participants in targeted remote locations
Aspect will provide training and supervision to Allied Health Assistants including enrolment and participation in TAFE accredited Allied Health Assistant training, regular Aspect internal face-to-face and online training, regular supervision outside of regular client service delivery
Aspect will deliver services using an AHP/AHA model of support for participants in their local communities.
The disability sector will benefit from the growth in services provision it can offer in remote locations. The keys to success that are learnt through the evaluation of the above activities will enable other disability organisations to implement an AHP/AHA model successfully for the participants they support. Finally, the activities presented above will ultimately benefit individuals with a disability including being on the autism spectrum in isolated regions where access to Allied Health intervention is limited.
Aspect is partnering with The University of Sydney Centre for Disability Research and Policy to investigate and evaluate the Allied Health Assistant (AHA) model for NDIS participants.
The research will identify aspects of allied health assistant models of service delivery that are important in the disability sector to differentiate these models from the existing and dominant medical model of service delivery.
This phase will interrogate current literature and policy on the Allied Health Assistant model, applying a disability lens that is focused on participation and inclusion. An online consultation and feedback process will capture current and emerging practice to inform the final outputs.
This phase will collect, analyse and report on data collected through photo voice projects, experience sampling and cost analysis of the Allied Health Assistant service across four locations.
Aspect therapy has been successfully delivering NDIS services to the Norfolk Island community using the Allied Health Assistant model since July 2018. It is our intention to replicate this model across other communities using NDIS Jobs and Market Funding to further support under-served areas of Australia.
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