Our 2024 - 2025 appeal
Support our 2024-2025 appeal to ensure no Victorian child with disability falls through the gaps. Donate to provide essential therapy & support services.
About this campaign
Support our 2024 - 2025 appeal and help us make sure that no Victorian child with disability falls through the gaps.
Many children with disability are denied access to essential support services, simply because they do not qualify for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) due to their visa status.
The gaps in support have left the families of children like Aneela and Josh, in vulnerable positions, struggling to provide the necessary therapies and equipment these children need to live safe, connected, and empowered lives.
Make a donation
Your donation will benefit a child today and can contribute towards strong foundations for their lives as adults.
Together, let’s ensure that no child with disability in Victoria falls through the gaps and can continue to receive the essential support they need to help them thrive.
The purpose of Yooralla’s 2024 – 2025 fundraising campaign
Yooralla's Allied Health team includes many different types of therapists who support people with disability in Victoria. In addition to children and adults with NDIS funding, the Allied Health team are often approached to support children with disability who are not eligible for the NDIS.
Without your help, these children will continue to miss out on therapies, assistive technology, and developmental support that are vital to their wellbeing and quality of life.
Beyond the NDIS: addressing urgent and invisible needs
Across Victoria, we are currently supporting 61 children with disabilities who cannot access NDIS funding. Many of these children require early intervention services, assistive equipment, and ongoing therapy, including speech pathology, occupational therapy and psychology/behaviour support due to their disability.
While some of them receive initial support for therapy intervention from the State Government’s Early Childhood Intervention Service - Continuity of Support Program (ECIS CoS), this funded program ends when they begin school, leaving families without options for continued disability support.
The loss of early intervention and the lack of funding for assistive technology can impact a child’s development and independence. Without additional support, many of these children and their families face growing challenges as they try to manage these complex needs.
Josh and Aneela (left to right)
Aneela and Josh's story
Consider the journey of a Nepalese family we currently support, who have two young children, Aneela and Josh, each with severe disabilities. Due to their visa status, neither child can receive NDIS funding, leaving their family with few options to access essential support.
Aneela
expand_moreAneela is four years old and has Dravet Syndrome, a rare and life-threatening form of epilepsy that causes significant developmental delays.
Annela has received early intervention therapy from Yooralla but only some of these services have been funded through the ECIS CoS Program. For example, this funding does not extend to her specialised walker, nor can it be used for any other assistive technology that children like Aneela require for their learning and development.
Thanks to philanthropic support, Aneela was able to take her first steps using a specialised walker.
Despite Aneela's progress, her future remains uncertain. When she begins school, her current funding will end, leaving her without support for continued therapy and mobility equipment.
Josh
expand_moreAneela’s older brother, Josh, faces a different challenge. At nine years old, Josh who is autistic and non-verbal (does not use speech to communicate) urgently needs psychological and behaviour support to manage behaviours that impact his wellbeing, school attendance, and family life.
For Josh, long-term, consistent support is crucial for his continued stability and growth. Without intervention, there are significant risks to:
- Josh’s safety within the home
- His ability to access an education
- Development of his self-help skills
- His ability to go out into the community
- The wellbeing of his family.
Josh is in school, so unlike Aneela, he does not receive any State Government funding.
![“With the help of the Crocodile walker, [Aneela] can go outside, [in the] backyard and move around.”
Sarita - Aneela and Josh's mum, on the support that Aneela has received thanks to philanthropic support](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fd3vhx6zppsh8h5.cloudfront.net%2FFeature-Images%2F20241128_Serita-Fund-Appeal-Testimonial.png&w=1920&q=75)
How your support will make a difference
Your donation can help ensure that children like Aneela and Josh receive the ongoing therapy, assistive technology, and behavioural supports they need.
Together, we can create an inclusive system that bridges the gaps and provides critical services for children with disability who would otherwise go without support due to their visa status and ineligibility for NDIS funding.
Your support can ensure that children like Aneela and Josh continue to grow, learn, and access the tools they need to lead a good life.
Every donation, no matter the size, will go towards providing continuous, well-rounded support that enables children with disability to achieve their fullest potential and live their best lives.
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