Major changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) are coming.

This includes the launch of Thriving Kids in October. This program will be co-funded by state, territory and federal governments and will replace some children’s individual NDIS funding with foundational supports.

Read more: Thriving Kids will start in October. But will the new support system be ready when families need it?

Foundational supports are disability services such as physiotherapy, speech pathology, occupational therapy and psychology.

However, instead of being offered as a private service, funded by the NDIS, they will be integrated into other settings such as schools or community activities. The idea is children get the support they need wherever they already live, learn and play – without needing a referral to a specialist, or a diagnosis.

But Thriving Kids will only be for children aged 0–8 with developmental delay and autism who have low-to-moderate support needs.

What about children aged nine and over?

Those with higher needs will still be eligible for NDIS funding. But what if your child is no longer eligible for the NDIS, but too old for Thriving Kids?

There’s still a lot we don’t know

We don’t have exact numbers about how many children and young people would fall between the NDIS and Thriving Kids.

Health department documents seen by The Guardian in July estimated that – among those with developmental delay and autism no longer eligible for NDIS funding – 151,240 will be aged 18 or younger.

There is already concern among some experts that Thriving Kids will struggle to........

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