For Woonona sports lover Brenton Ashford-Potter, having a disability has not stopped him from pursuing his athletic goals.
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The 23-year-old, who has Down syndrome and dyspraxia, has completed a coaching accreditation, training both mainstream players and people with disabilities, as well as participating in a range of sport-related activities.
Brenton's achievements were the topic of discussion at a workshop in Wollongong on Saturday, which aimed to help disabled people manage their own care.
Brenton, with the support of his family, has been self-managing his care since 2009, looking after his own situation rather than turning to a disability service for assistance.
Brenton's mum, Lisa Ashford-Potter, said having more control over his own life had benefited her son.
"Brenton is very sports-focused so it [self-managing] has allowed him to do more of the sports-related things he wants to do rather than those things he doesn't like," she said.
"He's gone ahead leaps and bounds and really established his place in the community - I don't think we would have seen him where he is today if we'd tried a different approach."
Ms Ashford-Potter shared Brenton's story with nearly 40 participants in Saturday's My Choices Matter workshop to inspire other families and disabled people to trial self-management.
"I think family stories are so important because people can see how good life can be for disabled people with this individualised approach," she said.
"I think a lot of families are starting to question whether or not they can do this and I just hope people take something away from our story and make it work in their own life.
"People can still buy day services and mix them up with mainstream services, but self-management just gives people more control over how and where they attend programs.
"Brenton has achieved everything he wanted to do and more - he's more confident and more willing to contribute and be part of the community."
The My Choices workshops, an initiative of the NSW government, focuses on a more "person-centred approach", making it easier for people to take control of the way they live.
Participants in the workshop also discussed changes to the disability sector, including the introduction of DisabilityCare Australia, which has promised more individualised support for disabled people.
