Your child has just been diagnosed: the first 90 days

First: nothing has to happen today

Most parents describe the same mix after a diagnosis — relief that there's a name for it, grief for the version of things they'd pictured, and a sudden to-do list that feels like it's written in another language. All of that is normal. The diagnosis hasn't changed your child. It has opened doors.

The next 90 days are really about three things: getting the paperwork right, getting onto the lists that take longest, and keeping ordinary life as ordinary as you can. Everything else can wait.

What the report needs to say

NDIS access for a child isn't decided by the label alone. It rests on functional impact — what your child finds hard in day-to-day life across areas like communication, social interaction, learning, self-care and managing themselves — and on what support they need because of it. A report that only states a diagnosis is a weaker document than one that describes your child's actual week.

If the report you've been given is mostly diagnostic criteria, it's completely reasonable to go back to the clinician and ask for a section on functional impact and recommended supports. Keep every report, letter and assessment together from now on — you'll be asked for them more than once.

The right door depends on your child's age

• Under 9 — Contact an NDIS early childhood partner — this is the “early childhood approach”. You don't need a diagnosis to start the conversation; developmental concerns are enough. The partner helps connect you to supports in your community and, where a child's needs meet the criteria, helps with the NDIS application itself.
• 9 and over — It's an access request to the NDIA — a form plus evidence of a permanent disability and its functional impact. A Local Area Coordinator (LAC) can help you put it together, and your paediatrician or psychologist should know what the agency looks for.
• Either way — Ask the clinic who did the assessment whether they've written NDIS evidence before. The ones who have will shape the report accordingly without being asked twice.

Don't wait for the plan to start therapy

Here's the part nobody says plainly enough: paediatric speech, occupational therapy and psychology waitlists in many areas run six to eighteen months. If you wait for an NDIS plan before joining a list, you've added the whole access process to the front of that wait. Get on lists now — two or three at once is normal and expected.

In the meantime there are supports that don't depend on the NDIS at all. Your GP can set up a chronic condition management plan, which funds a small number of allied health sessions a year, and a mental health treatment plan for psychology. Medicare also has specific items for assessment and some early treatment for children with autism and certain other disabilities — ask your GP or paediatrician whether your child qualifies. Childcare centres can access inclusion support, and schools can make adjustments for your child right now under the disability standards for education, with no NDIS plan required — ask for the learning support team.

• Join 2–3 waitlists — Ask each clinic for your position and a rough start date. “We'll call you” with no date is effectively a closed book.
• Ask for the cancellation list — And be reachable. Short-notice openings go to whoever answers the phone.
• Check who's confirmed accepting — Rather than ringing from the top of a search results page, start with providers who've stated they have room — the list at the foot of this guide is updated by the providers themselves.

What to keep from day one

One folder, physical or digital: every report, every date, who you contacted and what they said. Before a planning meeting, write a single page describing a typical day for your child — morning routine, school or daycare, meals, sleep, the hard moments and what helps. Planners read dozens of reports; a parent's one-pager is often the clearest thing in the file.

What can wait

• Buying equipment or committing to long, expensive programs. Nothing needs to be decided in month one.
• Comparing your child's plan — or lack of one yet — with other families'. Plans are individual and the comparisons are rarely like-for-like.
• Taking one clinic's “no” as the answer. One full practice is one full practice.