The Sensability scheme will be expanded and made more open and accessible and will also benefit people with ADHD, down sydrome and cerebral palsy.
This scheme, administered by the Housing Authority, helps financially support families with a member with a disability and sensory challenges to invest in sensory devices.
Other amendments that will be made to this scheme include the fact that it will no longer set a limit on the assets that a family must have, which was currently around € 150,000.
The € 50,000 income limit that a family could not exceed in order to qualify for this scheme will also be removed.
“We understand that the Sensability scheme we introduced in 2020 should no longer be limited to people with autism. To this end, we are expanding the existing scheme for other developmental disabilities, “said Minister for Social and Affordable Housing Roderick Galdes at a news conference.
Minister Roderick Galdes also said that the requirement that a beneficiary of this scheme must register a mortgage on the house where the sensory equipment is located and thus, a family that has purchased this equipment, will be removed. you will now be able to carry it in whatever house you go to.
After extensive consultation with various stakeholders, it was also decided that the Housing Authority will assist families who are unable to issue a deposit to enable this equipment to be ordered by providing a € 25,000 deposit. value of sensory equipment.
All these amendments will not only make this scheme more accessible but will make this aid reach a wider range of people and meet more real needs of our society.
The Minister for Inclusion, Volunteering and Consumer Rights Julia Farrugia Portelli said that the extension of this scheme and the fulfillment of another electoral promise in the first hundred days of a new government is proof of how disabled people and their relatives are a priority for the government.
Minister Farrugia Portelli emphasized that the evolution of this scheme will ensure that people who are receiving sensory therapy from professionals will have the chance to continue this therapy at home, with all the benefits it brings. with it continuity.
The minister added that through the changes in the scheme, more families with people with disabilities can buy sensory devices to live a better and more comfortable life. “This is our mission, that we all live together in a more inclusive Malta”, concluded Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli.
