What difference could Access to Work make to you?
Access to Work (ATW) funding could assist you in starting or maintaining your job/self-employment when you might otherwise face difficulties.
Let’s consider:
• How could some additional support improve your working life?
• What tasks might become easier to manage with extra help?
• What aspects of work cause you the most stress?
Take a sheet of paper and jot down some notes. Alternatively, discuss with someone who can assist you in listing all the areas where you could benefit from additional support. Now, reflect on the impact this could have on your work life.
This award aims to level the playing field in the workplace. Many of us encounter challenges related to neurodivergence, which can make it challenging to focus on specific tasks or concentrate on one aspect of our job or business at a time. This is not indicative of laziness or incapability but is often associated with executive function challenges. You don’t have to navigate these challenges alone. Because you could qualify for funding for specialised equipment, software, training, coaching, or even human support.
What difference could Access to Work make to you with:
Specialist Equipment
Specialist equipment refers to any items necessary for performing your job that individuals without disabilities, illnesses, or health conditions typically wouldn’t require. This could include tools not essential for someone without a disability or health condition to fulfill their role, such as:
- Ergonomic chairs, mice, or keyboards
- Sit/stand desks
- Irlen’s glasses or electronic magnifiers
- Various adaptive software packages or noise-canceling headphones.
Access to Work does not cover standard business equipment. It also does not cover conventional business support considered normal requirements or health and safety standards for a role. The purpose of ATW awards is to assist individuals in overcoming workplace challenges due to health conditions or disabilities.
Human Support
The award could provide human support to help individuals overcome workplace challenges. This could involve assistance in staying organised with tasks or breaking down larger goals into smaller tasks.
Support Worker Job Aide
A support worker assists individuals in overcoming challenges posed by their disability or health condition within their role. They work alongside the individual, empowering them to fulfill their job responsibilities.
Body Doubling
Many individuals find it beneficial to use a support worker as a “body double” during virtual or in-person meetings. Body doubling involves sharing goals for a set period, during which both the individual and their support worker focus on completing tasks together. This accountability helps individuals stay focused and tackle tasks they might otherwise avoid or procrastinate on. If assistance is needed, the individual can unmute the chat and discuss challenges with their support worker to address them together.
Other Benefits
Another benefit of having a support worker is accountability, as their presence helps individuals stay on track and prioritise tasks effectively. Specific areas requiring additional support may include using a notetaker or proofreader for reading and written work.
Access to Work may approve a job aide for certain tasks, where the individual requires assistance to complete activities they cannot undertake themselves.
When considering offering a support worker, the assessor will determine whether support is limited to 20% of total work hours or more. They will also consider whether the support worker will be making decisions and directing actions or enabling the individual to perform their job. It’s important to note that a support worker is not a virtual assistant who takes over tasks the individual would prefer to outsource if financially feasible.
Support Worker Coach
The aim of the award is to provide the best value from any support they agree to offer. Therefore if it is possible to empower you to gain the skills and strategies needed to be independent within your role they will include training or coaching to achieve this. This could be training, a job coach or ADHD specific coach to help you to explore the key challenges you are experiencing in the workplace. They will also help you to find the tools and strategies that help you to reduce the effects these challenges cause.
A job coach could be recommended to help you to learn a new role. Or help you to analyse tasks and break them down into parts. The coach identifies skills and knowledge required to do the job. They can then help to identify the most efficient, logical and safe way to undertake specific tasks. If required they will also provide soft skills coaching which could help you learn appropriate communication styles in the workplace. Soft skills can include social graces, communication, language, personal habits, interpersonal skills, managing people and leadership. This list is not exhaustive.
An ADHD coach is likely to work to identify specific areas where executive function challenges cause problems in the workplace. In doing so the coach can work to identify tools and strategies to overcome these challenges or improve performance in specific areas.
A Coach is not expected to be a business or marketing coach that we would be looking to appoint in our business or role if cashflow allowed.
So, What difference could Access to Work make to you?
Access to Work funding is an incredible opportunity to really level the workplace playing field. Helping you to gain the support and strategies needed to be the best version of yourself. The award should take away many of the limitations that your health conditions or disability creates in the workplace.
We know that applying for Access to Work can be difficult. The process certainly is not ND friendly. Anita and the team believe that we should all have access to the right support. This is why we offer a free support service. We will help individuals like you to apply and secure the funding you deserve.
Are you ready to get the support you need? Download our free guide and then get booked in for us to help you.
We have created a free download to help you check your eligibility and apply if you are ready to.
Our Guide to Applying for Access to Work
Need some help applying?
Complete the following information the best you can. If you get stuck just skip the question and move on. Once you submit this we can take a look at the information you have shared and book in a call to get your application completed and submitted for you. Don’t forget there is no charge for this service.
Let us help you to apply for Access to Work