Dikina (pictured left) with her wonderful family. Dikina is 24 years old and lives at home with her Mum, Wendy and wonderful sisters. For the last few years, Dikina has had her mind set on getting her learners driver's license.  All of her sisters (even the younger one) have their drivers licenses and Dikina doesn’t want to miss out! Dikina needs to get to her place of work early in the morning as well as sometimes working night shifts. Understandably, she feels unsafe catchi

Esther Bramwell lives in a tiny home with her parents and two younger sisters. As she is getting older and has auditory processing needs, Esther has been asking for her own space and claims she is old enough and clever enough to build it herself! Although Esther struggles with learning, she is strong and has an innate understanding of what is required when she has helped her family with building projects. Esther is happy and mentally stimulated when she works on a physical an

Image of Rachel with daughter Molly Whilst being a wheelchair user, Rachel Peterson has not only excelled as a mother of two but also as a successful entrepreneur and disability advisor.  Born with Muscular Dystrophy, Rachel is grateful for the approach her parents took from the moment she sat in a wheelchair. “Doctors told my parents I’d never lift my head off a pillow and that they should consider putting me in an institution. But they were having none of that,” she says. S

Introducing Braxton! Braxton lives with his Mum, Nicole and 2 siblings who love to go on family bikes rides. Braxton has ADHD and a bladder and bowel disability, which means he can only walk or bike for around 5-10 minutes before he gets too tired and sore. His muscles are very weak, and this makes him frustrated that he can’t properly join in. Being able to partake in regular light exercise would help build Braxton’s confidence. As he is growing up, his disability has impact

Introducing the lovely Melissa from Manawanui’s Customer Experience Centre (CEC) team. She is a recent addition to the team – having spent a wonderful 3 months at Manawanui! As a part of the CEC team, Melissa talks to customers on the phone and via email, helping to make things easy and answering any questions. We thought since many customers talk with Melissa on a daily basis, it would be nice to put a face to the name. So, we’ve asked her a few questions to get to know her

Individualised funding works best when you understand how to make it work to suit your needs. Let's take a look at the path towards self-directed funding.  Step 1:  Have a needs assessment A needs assesment may be done through your DHB or Ministry of Health NASC. Visit www.whaikaha.govt.nz for services near you.  Be prepared to talk about ALL the support you need – perhaps provide them with what a typical day and week looks like and how you need to be supported. If you need