What we do · Life transition planning
Getting through the big changes.
LiftOff is our life transition planning support, and how we handle the big transitions.
What we believe
They know the process. We know the person.
Most providers believe a difficult transition needs more support wrapped around the person. The thinking is that big changes are hard, so the answer is extra hours: a support worker who comes to the new school, the first shifts at work or the enrolment appointment, and does much of the talking on the person's behalf. The support stays until things seem settled, then winds back. It's a caring response, and on the day it does get the person through the door.
In reality, every major transition already has an expert team attached to it, and most of them are free. Schools have transition teams. Universities have disability services. Employers have onboarding. What none of them have is any understanding of this particular person, so a standard approach gets applied, it doesn’t land, and the record shows that the person didn’t engage. Adding support hours around the outside doesn’t change what the receiving team knows.
That's why we don’t add hours around the person. We built LiftOff to do the handover rather than the job. We work out what this person needs the receiving team to know, we build the skills they will need on the other side, we find the team that specialises in it and make the introduction ourselves so the first meeting is with somebody they already trust beside them. Then we stay until it holds, rather than closing the file at the referral. It also means that when somebody moves from one of our programs to the next one, the same person carries them across.
What changes
The change goes well, and the capability stays.
At every stage
Every stage has its own big change.
And when somebody moves from one of our programs to the next, the same person carries them across.
The move into Prep is the first time your child will be expected to manage a new building, new adults and a new set of rules without you in the room.
Before school →Primary schoolAt nine, the NDIS moves your child from an early childhood partner to a local area coordinator. The coordinator changes; we do not.
Primary school →Secondary schoolLiftOff plans the transition out of school before it arrives, because that is the moment the default peer group disappears for good.
Secondary school →School leaversLiftOff handles the practical transitions, from moving into study to getting to a workplace independently.
School leavers →AdultsLiftOff for the practical changes: moving house, changing services, losing a carer.
Adults →Straight answers
What LiftOff is, and what it isn't.
We are not a substitute for the mainstream service.
We are the reason the mainstream service works. The school's transition team, the university's disability service and the employer's onboarding all stay in charge of their part. We make sure they understand the person before they start.
We stay until it holds.
The handover isn't finished when the referral is sent. It is finished when the person is settled on the other side, and that is when we step back.
If there is no team on the other side, we'll tell you.
LiftOff is for changes with a mainstream service to hand over to and a skill to build. Where neither exists, what's needed is ordinary support, and we will say so plainly.
Common questions
What people usually ask.
Anything else, ask us on the call.
When should we start planning the move to secondary school?
Earlier than February. For many autistic and neurodivergent kids, Year 7 starts in Term 4 of Year 6. Read why, and five things you can start this term.
Is life transition planning funded by the NDIS?
If the person has an NDIS plan with relevant goals, transition supports may be funded through Capacity Building, for example under Life Transition Planning in the Increased Social and Community Participation category. Funding depends on each person's plan goals and budget, so check with your support coordinator or plan manager before anything starts. We go through costs plainly on the first call.
Take the first step
Let's talk about the change ahead.
Request a call back and one of our team will ring you at a time that suits. It takes about fifteen minutes, it's free, and you don't need anything worked out before we speak.