Jayne Crouch is a mother of five from the Barwon region in Victoria. Jayne is a carer of three family members who receive support from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) – her daughter who has Down Syndrome, her son who lives with Autism and her husband who has recently suffered a stroke. Jayne speaks from the heart about her personal experiences with disability and navigating the NDIS. Jayne describes her main job as being the household manager. When she is not managing the household, Jayne shares her family’s story through public speaking.

Simone Stevens is a passionate, independent woman with cerebral palsy who lives in Geelong. Simone has been a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participant since the very first day of the trial on 1 July 2013. Read Simone’s experiences of accessing the scheme.

Linda Blaik is a woman with disability who doesn’t believe it is a reason for her to sit home and do nothing. Linda is the volunteer coordinator of the Geelong Guide Dogs Victoria office, shared with We Care Support Services and Pacific Vision. Linda has cone rod dystrophy, which caused her to start losing her vision from seven years of age. Linda gradually lost her vision over time and has been blind for around 8 years. Linda is married to her husband David and has three children and three gorgeous grandchildren.

Lynne Foreman was one of the first participants in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) trial. Lynne met with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) on 2 July 2013 after being on the Disability Support Register (DSR) for more than nine years. The DSR is a register of current needs for disability support. Having been on the register for nine years, Lynne had to manage for a long time without the level of support she needed.