Parents, carers, service providers and community members took part in an information session on the National Disability Insurance Scheme's (NDIS) Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) program last Tuesday.
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Mission Australia is Cowra's local provider with both Community Engagement Coordinator for Western and Far Western NSW, Suzanne Welch, and local coordinator, Michelle Whitty, on hand to discuss the program to those gathered.
Ms Welch said the session was about helping support families in the local community.
"Today's session was about how ECEI works, how it can accessed and the gaps at the moment in the local community, " she said.
"It was a positive discussion about how we can all work together to support families and kids to meet their developmental milestones.
"I think everyone who attended is just wanting to know as much as they can, it's something new, a bit scary and a bit overwhelming, because it is a big change to how things are currently operating," she said.
Ms Welch said it was good to see a broad range of the community take part in the session.
"We had people from early intervention, family support, education and parents," she said.
"It's one of those changes where the really big positive impacts will be seen down the track.
"We did hear some good positive stories of how the program has been working. But we'd love to get more parents to these things but it is hard to get them along," she said.
Ms Welch said the most exciting change for the program was to the access of services for children up to the age of six.
"The fact that small kids up to the age of six can get access to the supports without a diagnosis, is what I'm most excited for," she said.
"Even when my children, who are only teenagers, were little, unless they had a diagnosis they couldn't get support unless I paid privately. So that's a positive change in the early intervention sphere."
Ms Welch said families who thought their child needed support or wanted to know more could call Michelle on 0490 889 395.
