Access to work is a government funded initiative to support people with physical and mental health conditions or disabilities. The intention is to help people struggling to stay in work by offering various technical and service based enhancements.
Does having ADHD qualify me to receive an access for work grant?
The short answer is yes. ADHD and dyslexia both qualify as a condition or disability that entitles you to receive additional funding to meet your needs. You do not need an official diagnosis to apply for the funding.
As long as you are in paid work, which can included full or part-time employment, self-employed, apprenticeships, work-placement, you can apply.
How do I apply for access to work?
The government website explains the process of how to apply for access to work,the process itself is fairly straightforward, there are questions around your employment where they ask you about the type of work that you do, your usual duties that are involved in your job. They then ask you how your condition effects your ability to carry out these duties, it is up to you to include as much detail as necessary to support your application.
The types of issues that would commonly be considered are time management, being unable to start or complete tasks, organising workload, filing and managing documents, preparing for meetings, completing reports, taking on too much work, prioritising work, rejection sensitivity interfering with relationships. There are many ways ADHD might impact your ability to complete your work, try and list as many as you can and use your worst day in terms of how badly it effects you.
What can I use the funding for?
In the application they ask you if you have any specific requirements for the funding, if you are not sure then this doesn't matter as once your application has been processed they will contact you to arrange a call with their advisors. This is your chance to discuss what kind of support you might be able to get.
They can help with technical items such as an electronic note takers and standing desk equipment.
They can also provide funding towards ADHD coaching or therapy. With the coaching they will allocate an amount that you can use to pay for private ADHD coaching, they will tell you how much they have awarded in total and how you can claim this. Usually they will ask you to send a receipt or invoice for the session and they will then re-imburse you. Last time I checked they allowed you to submit the first two sessions and then subsequent sessions after.
You can find your own ADHD coach, as this industry is unregulated they do not require any specific details or have any requirements for who you choose to work with.
Therapy however they will offer you one of their own therapy services to work with, this is not always the best option depending on what you are looking for help with, so my suggestion is to work with a therapist who specialises in ADHD and you feel can help you the most, and then ask for the funding under ADHD coaching, you can then use this funding to get the best support for you.
I accept clients with funding for ADHD coaching, there are a few ways that you can work with me, you can book and pay for one session at a time and claim it back via funding - this is £80 per session. Alternatively you can book and pay for 8 sessions which is £550 meaning it is cheaper per session and I will send part receipts so you can make the claim. As you get up to £200 per session working with me allows you to maximise the number of sessions - access to work might say you can have £200 for 12 sessions, but the total amount you can claim is £2400 meaning you can have more sessions if you go for a coach that isn't part of a larger company as they add their business overheads into the cost per session and admin fees for working with them.
If you have already received your funding acceptance letter then get in touch to book a free discovery call and we can chat about how best to work together.
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