“Welcome to supportoptions.co.nz – the website that helps you find the support that best meets your needs. We aim to provide a comprehensive guide to disability support services funded by the Disability Services Directorate of the Ministry of Health in the Auckland and Northland regions.”

This recently launched website largely lives up to its opening statement as it covers a wide variety of services such as home based support, needs assessment, equipment and modification services and disability information/advice.

The website has several very useful features such as the ability to resize text to a bigger font and a function to save information sheets directly to your desktop.

The glossary is also very useful as it explains the meanings of some of the words, terms, names, acronyms and abbreviations used in the disability sector. An example is an Individual Plan (IP) which refers to a written document detailing the service plan for each individual. It will typically describe goals and outcomes, and the strategies and actions for achieving these. It is usually time-framed and identifies who has responsibility for various actions as part of the plan. Another example is the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS) which is an over-arching government policy document that presents a long-term plan for changing New Zealand from a disabling to an inclusive society. It has been developed in consultation with disabled people and the wider disability sector.

Undoubtedly an oversight but it is interesting how the definition of habilitation has thus far been left blank. A strong argument could be presented that the term habilitation as opposed to rehabilitation is an important one for people with Cerebral Palsy.

The website supportoptions.co.nz is a good starting point to untangle the maze of disability options and services, especially within the Auckland and Northland area.