00:00Hi Sienna!
00:03Five-year-old Sienna is autistic.
00:06Hi Mum!
00:07Before starting preschool, she was non-verbal and wouldn't eat much.
00:11Sienna is like a whole new child now.
00:13She's much more confident.
00:15She is much more independent.
00:18Mum Isabella puts much of it down to this unique sensory-friendly centre.
00:24Run by not-for-profit Karana,
00:27it reserves a quarter of its places for children with disability like Sienna.
00:31She gets an occupational therapist, a feeding therapist, a speech therapist,
00:36which have all helped her so much.
00:38Educators and therapists are connected with families,
00:41so work continues at home.
00:44Building the parents' confidence and their skills and capability
00:47to support their child is really quite critical to the model.
00:51That model, Karana says, could be a blueprint
00:53for the government's NDIS alternative.
00:56Thriving Kids will be for those with what the government calls
01:00mild to moderate developmental delay and autism.
01:03It's due to start in July, primarily to ease the growth of the NDIS,
01:08which will cost $52 billion this year.
01:11But exactly how Thriving Kids will look and operate is still unclear.
01:15One of my fears is that we end up with just therapy teams in schools.
01:19The NDIS Minister Mark Butler said he's determined to deliver a better system
01:24to help kids thrive.
01:26An advisory group will meet for the first time today.
01:29Whatever happens, advocates say it's critical families are involved.
01:33Thriving families equals thriving kids.
01:36A simple message with a simple goal.
01:39A simple message with a simple goal.
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