Mildura Disability Support Services

17/04/2026

I’m going to say something a lot of carers think, but don’t always say out loud…

There was a time when I was caring for my 3 kids with disabilities where I was so sleep deprived, so exhausted, that I felt like I was living in the seventh circle of hell.

I remember thinking that going into hospital for an operation actually sounded better than being at home… because at least I’d get a proper sleep.

That’s how far gone I was.

If you’re caring for someone with a disability right now and running on empty, I see you.

Whether you’re a parent, sibling, foster carer or family member, that kind of exhaustion hits the same.

Sleep deprivation from constant care, broken nights and always being “on” isn’t just tiring, it wears you down over time.

And this is exactly why short term respite matters. Not as a luxury, but as something necessary.

Through Mildura Disability Support Services, short term respite can be funded under your loved one’s NDIS plan, giving you the chance to properly rest, reset and take a break without guilt.

I know how hard it can be to leave someone in someone else’s care. That fear is real. But so is the burnout that comes from never stepping away.

With us, clients are cared for like family, because we understand this life from lived experience, not just training.

Taking a break doesn’t make you a better or worse carer. It simply means you’re human. And when you come back rested, you’re able to care better, with more patience, more energy and more of yourself to give ❤️

Much love,
Narelle 🥰

16/04/2026

Welcome to the team, Natasha & Irene! 🌟

We’re so happy to welcome Natasha and Irene to the team. They both bring not only experience and skill, but a genuine heart for supporting people to feel seen, supported, and valued in their everyday lives.

✨ Irene is especially passionate about:
✔️ Creating warm, welcoming, and comforting environments where people feel at ease
✔️ Taking time to truly get to know each person and what matters most to them
✔️ Supporting people in a way that feels natural, personal, and meaningful

✨ Natasha is especially passionate about:
✔️ Empowering people to live with independence, dignity, and choice
✔️ Building strong, trusting relationships through empathy and understanding
✔️ Walking alongside people as they work toward their personal goals

At the heart of everything they do is a genuine care for people and a commitment to making a positive difference no matter how big or small the moment.

Get in touch with us today to learn how we can support you or your loved ones 💙 Our friendly team is here to listen, guide, and tailor supports that suit your needs every step of the way.

📞 Call us today: 0497 173 572
📧 Email: info@milduradisability.support
🌐 Website: milduradisability.support

15/04/2026

Some stimming behaviours don’t look “obvious.”

They can seem like ordinary habits, but for neurodivergent people, these actions are ways to regulate emotions, sensory input, or focus.

Unexpected stims can include:

🎈 Tapping pens, feet, or fingers while thinking or concentrating
🎈 Chewing gum, snacking, or sucking on items for sensory comfort
🎈 Cracking joints or knuckles to release tension
🎈 Rubbing skin, clothing, or fabrics to calm the nervous system
🎈 Rearranging objects or organising things repeatedly for focus
🎈 Humming, talking to yourself, or making small repetitive sounds
🎈 Playing with hair, jewellery, or accessories for self-soothing
🎈 Pacing, walking in circles, or shifting weight to manage energy
🎈 Clicking pens, mice, or other objects as a calming ritual
🎈 Re-reading text, highlighting, or repeating tasks for processing

These behaviours aren’t “weird habits” or distractions.

They are adaptive ways your brain helps you self-regulate, cope with sensory input, and maintain focus.

Originally posted by Blue Sky Learning

14/04/2026

This is what most people don’t see.

Behind MDSS are people who truly get it.

Someone who’s lived it.
Someone who understands what it’s actually like to care for a person with a disability, not just from training, but from real life.

That’s why we’re more than a support company.

We become extended family.

We show up on the hard days, we celebrate the wins big and small, and we genuinely care about the people we support because we know this journey firsthand.

A lot of providers talk about care, but for us it’s personal.

We have skin in the game.

That’s something we’re incredibly proud of, just like we’re proud to be one of only 6% of NDIS registered providers across Mildura, Ouyen, Robinvale and Wentworth.

For us, this isn’t just a job. It’s something much bigger ❤️

12/04/2026

The conversation around registration of disability support providers is gaining urgency, and we strongly support universal registration across the sector.

Recent commentary from industry leaders highlights a concerning reality. Right now, there is more regulation required to serve alcohol in a pub than to operate as an unregistered disability support provider. With little more than an ABN, individuals can begin billing for services that directly impact the wellbeing and safety of participants.

This lack of consistent regulation also creates significant imbalance within the sector. Under the current flat pricing model, unregistered providers delivering basic community support can often charge similar rates to registered professionals delivering complex therapy and specialised care.

This places compliant, highly skilled providers under financial pressure while less regulated operators thrive.

We believe mandatory registration for all disability support providers would:

🥰Improve participant safety and quality of care
🥰Create fair and consistent standards across the sector
🥰Ensure pricing better reflects skills, qualifications, and complexity
🥰Support sustainability for professional providers committed to best practice

Participants deserve confidence in who is delivering their support, and providers who invest in compliance, training, and quality systems deserve a level playing field.

Universal registration is a critical step toward a stronger, safer, and more sustainable disability support sector.

Mildura Disability Support Services is proud to be a registered disability support provider.

This places us within the approximately 6% of providers who meet formal registration requirements.

Being registered means we operate under the highest standards of care, governance, and compliance, giving participants and families confidence in the quality and accountability of the supports we deliver. 🤩

08/04/2026

I had to laugh when I read this headline, not because its funny but because its typically pathetic of the way out country is run these days. 🙄

“Labor seeks NDIS savings as war hits bottom line.”

Interest rates going up, petrol and cost of living going through the roof so let’s look at cutting support for the most vulnerable people first. (Those families that have disabled children and cant afford to pay lobbyists).

Let’s just look at 2 sectors for a second.

Mining and the NDIS.

One extracts value and the other restores it.

First of all, I want to say, I am not against mining, . and I do believe we should always be shoring up any leaks in any gov program

Now, mining plays a vital role in our economy, but where do the profits land, and when profits surge, and a huge portion of that wealth leaves our shores its the little guy that pay the price again.

Higher costs, higher inflation driving up interest rates.

In other words big corporation profits means pressure on everyday Australians. and for that we give these companies are given huge tax breaks!

The NDIS is different.

That money doesn’t disappear off shore in untaxed profits It moves through people.

Support workers, families and communities

It stays here holding people together when life gets hard.

SO IF WE ARE GOING TO TALK SAVINGS…Let’s be sure we are cutting in the right place.

Because one builds wealth for overseas companies and one holds lives together.

And right now, a lot of Australians need that more than ever.

Happy for your thoughts but please be respectful.

Copied & pasted

07/04/2026

💛 We’re Here for Your Family - Key Worker Capacity Now! 💛

Every child and family deserves to feel understood, supported, and empowered.

Mildura Disability Support Services has a key worker ready to walk alongside you.

Meet Ashleigh, our Key Worker and Family Support Specialist. Highly qualified and experienced, Ashleigh brings not only expertise but a gentle, thoughtful approach to every family he supports. 

As a qualified Tuning into Kids and Tuning into Teens facilitator, he’s passionate about helping children and families thrive together.

✨ We currently have space to welcome new families! ✨

How We Support Your Family:

⭐️Tailored strategies - Approaches designed around your child’s unique strengths and needs
⭐️Guiding families with confidence - Coaching and mentoring parents and carers in everyday life
⭐️Holistic support - Working closely with allied health professionals & directly under our awesome OT, Emma, for coordinated care
⭐️Practical life skills - Helping with communication, independence, social skills, and emotional regulation
⭐️ Support through challenges - Calm guidance during stressful or overwhelming moments

With Ashleigh your family will feel heard, valued, and cared for every step of the way.

Reach out today - let’s walk this journey together.

📧 info@milduradisability.support
🌐 milduradisability.support
📞 0497 173 57

06/04/2026

Every time I hear politicians and parts of the media talk about the NDIS like it’s just a cost, I shake my head. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Because here’s the reality. Did you know that for every $1 spent through the NDIS, around $2.25 goes back into the Australian economy?

No. I bet you didn’t know that.

Because the media don’t tell you that part.

Neither do politicians who are punching down on people with disabilities, trying to score points with the public.

It is not waste.
It’s investment.

It pays the support worker who buys groceries locally.

It pays the therapist who employs admin staff.

It keeps small disability providers open in regional towns - like Mildura.

It allows carers to return to work.

It funds transport, equipment suppliers, cleaners, and countless small businesses.

Cutting NDIS supports doesn’t just impact people with disability.

It pulls money out of local communities.

It costs jobs.
It hurts regional Australia.

And the hardest part is that the people being blamed are often families and participants who are just trying to live safely and with dignity.

Slashing supports for people assessed as needing 1:1 care, or pushing 1:3 ratios where risk is catastrophic, is not reform.

It’s dangerous.

The NDIS doesn’t just change lives.

It’s supporting local economies, creating jobs, and keeping communities strong.

Maybe it’s time we stopped talking about it as a burden and started recognising it for what it actually is.

An investment in people, families, and Australia’s future. 💙

Anne Webster MP
Senator Bridget McKenzie

Sources:

https://percapita.org.au/our_media/the-ndis-transformed-hundreds-of-thousands-of-lives-in-its-first-10-years-what-will-the-next-decade-hold/

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/National_Disability_Insurance_Scheme/General_Issues_-_Annual_Report/Annual_Report_No_1/Chapter_6_-_Sustainability?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://afdo.org.au/the-economic-benefits-of-the-national-disability-insurance-scheme-and-the-consequences-of-government-cost-cutting/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

04/04/2026

Happy Easter, everyone. 💜

We hope you have an amazing day and get to have some relaxing time with family or friends.

Hugs,
The MDSS team

03/04/2026

I’m by no means a Greens voter but this guy has got it right regarding the NDIS. Politicians need to stop with the disability berating and walk a mile in our shoes. Maybe then they’d get it. I won’t shut up about this. The state of the NDIS and the vilifying of the participants who are able to be kept alive because of it, needs to stop. ✋ Anne Webster MP Senator Bridget McKenzie

03/04/2026

We love seeing our clients achieving their goals!!

We’re not a forever service for a lot of people.

In fact, if we’re helping our clients achieve their goals so they don’t need us anymore, we’ve done our job!!

Well done, buddy! You’re super awesome, mate!!

Here’s a guy, that openly admits that he’s a little different. He’s been coming to training for a number of years now, and every time, he gets a little more comfortable in his environment. He knows he doesn’t think like the rest, he knows he doesn’t have the same physicality, he talks about it to us from time to time, but he shows up anyway and puts in as best he can.

His NDIS supporters who bring him have tried training from time to time, and although they’re physically able, they can’t keep up like he does.

Congratulations on the 4th stripe on your belt mate. You’ve kept going when many others have quit. You’ve got a huuuuge heart .eddie Keep be you 😀❤️❤️

Open mat tonight 5-6pm. if you’re travelling for the Easter break, stay safe, see you when you’re back 😀❤️

02/04/2026

When do you just give up?

You spend your life trying to keep your child safe. You learn their behaviours, their triggers, their medical needs. You make split-second decisions every day because you have to. Because you love them.

Because no one else knows them like you do.

Then suddenly you’re under a microscope.

Things you’ve done instinctively for years are questioned. Even something as simple as a bear hug, given to calm or protect your child, can be labelled a restraint. You find yourself trying to explain that you weren’t restraining them, you were comforting them, keeping them safe.

But it feels like no one is really listening.

The meetings start.
The paperwork grows.
More people become involved.

And instead of feeling supported, you feel judged.

Every decision feels risky.
Every action feels like it could be used against you.

You start doubting yourself.
You start feeling ashamed.
You start wondering if you’re failing.

But you’re not. You’re just exhausted.

This isn’t about removing protections.

People with disabilities absolutely deserve safety and advocacy.

But families do too.

Parents, carers and siblings are doing the best they can in incredibly hard situations.

Sometimes it feels like you’re not fighting for support anymore.

You’re fighting the system itself.

And some days, you just sit there and wonder… how much more can I take?

That’s how it feels for so many families right now.

I see you.
I feel you.
I completely get it.

Hugs,

Narelle

PS photo used with permission.