Leah is like any other teenager, utilising social media to document her life, and showcasing the successful results of her National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) supports.

With help from her dad, Peter, the 17-year-old posts on her Instagram page about her life with autism and the improvements she is making to her mental health and confidence since accessing support to attend music therapy and personal training.

Peter said Leah loves her music lessons as her music therapist teaches her songs she enjoys and already she has learnt 12 new words.

“These words are now being used by Leah in actual communications. For example, in sports Leah calls out ‘me’ to pass her the ball; she asks for ‘car’ to go for a drive, and asks for ‘keys’ to open a door,” he said.

Leah’s support workers are also an important part of her life, as they take her out in the community to go shopping and teach her yoga and fitness.

“Leah enjoys going for picnics and shopping at grocery stores, which she didn’t enjoy at all in the past; she no longer wears headphones out in public. Her confidence has improved,” Peter said.

“The personal training and yoga Leah does with one of her support workers has improved her balance and fine motor skills.

“Leah is such a happy lady with all the supports she has obtained through NDIS; she wakes up excited every morning and can’t wait to get into her days.

Peter said he was so happy with Leah’s achievements he decided to release a song and music video to showcase a day in the life of Leah, and,

“… to show autistic people are capable of acting and following instruction. The song, ‘The Dizer’ by ‘Dizzer Dinoris’, is available on all music platforms and has been listed over 400,000 times, and the videos have been watched by over 200,000 people,” he said.

“The video was filmed over two long days, but Leah loves every part of it from the make-up, dress up and filming, plus she got to spend time with so many people who were involved in the video.”

Leah received assistance to apply for and implement her NDIS funding from Carers Queensland’s NDIS Local Area Coordination Partner in the Community Program for the Brisbane region.

Peter said he was grateful for the supports Leah receives through the NDIS.

“As parents we are so happy to see the improvements in confidence and behaviour by Leah; it is also wonderful to see Leah exploring and trying to learn words and having exposure to music and sports she loves so much.”

Carers Queensland can support you to find out more about the NDIS, to apply for funding and to help you get started with the NDIS.
If you have a disability but are not eligible for the NDIS, Carers Queensland can help you identify and link to options for support in your community.

You can also contact Carers Queensland:

Ph: 1300 999 636, or Email: cq.enquiries@ndis.gov.au

Follow Leah on Instagram: @leahdinoris

Images of Leah supplied