Shared vs Individual Respite Care: Which is the Best Option For Your Situation?

If you are continuously living and taking care of a person with disability, a break in the form of respite care can be helpful. It is great for both the caregiver and the care receiver. If you are an NDIS participant, you can check out the NDIS share respite care plan or you can also opt for the individual respite care. Both options have their own set of advantages and disadvantages. 

Let us check out all about shared vs individual respite to see which one would work best for your situation. 

Individual Respite Care: 

In most cases, when you opt for the individual respite care, a support person would visit the home of the NDIS participant. It can work well for people who don’t like to change their living environment and are very comfortable in their own living space. Some of the evident advantages of individual respite care is that it offers personalized care to the participant. Moreover, it is a familiar environment so it does not cause any anxiety to the individual and the overall experience is very smooth for them. It also offers more flexibility when it comes to scheduling the sessions or choosing the days for respite care. Overall, it is less stressful for both parties when they choose individual respite care. 

However, there are also some cons that you must consider before availing the individual respite care. In case of individual respite care, the social interaction of the participant is very limited. Moreover, it also requires you to adapt the home to accommodate the needs of the participants and may require extra resources. Lastly, you also need to check if this service is available in your area. 

Shared Respite Care: 

This offers you the respite accommodation options so there is a facility with a wide range of resources for individuals who need support. There is also more social interaction and there are group activities that can help the NDIS participants build social relationships and bondings outside of their household. There is constant supervision by professionals and the environment is very structured with a definite routine that is followed everyday. 

However, shared respite care also has its own set of cons. It requires the individual to adapt to the new environment and new people. There is also less personalisation in the way caretakers work. Finally, the cost of a shared accommodation can be higher so you need to check with your NDIS plan if it would be covered completely or not. 

Hence, these are some pros and cons of shared respite care. You can go through them thoroughly  and choose what works best for you as a part of the NDIS plan. 

Final Words

Comparing respite options is a good idea to make sure you go with the one that is perfectly aligned with your needs. Once you are sure about your requirements, you can check with your NDIS plan and make sure that the given option is included and you will be reimbursed for it.