A while ago I said that I would do bit of a delve into Access to Work (A2W for short) and what kind of things you could get help with and how you go about doing this.
I know that my personal journey with A2W might not be the same as everyone else’s but personally I will say this has been the only time that me not having a clearly visible disability hasn’t been a hindrance in accessing help.
A2W is there to support people who are employed or self employed. If you are a salaried member of staff then generally your manager or HR department will be the ones who contact A2W for you. If you are self-employed you will need to fill out the initial form yourself. I will be discussing this from a self-employed stand point, however if you need help with getting A2W as an employee I have experience of this too.
Importantly A2W is separate from any other funding like Universal Credit or Personal Independence Payments.
There are many different types of things that A2W can provide you:
Physical equipment – Chairs or tables that are easier for you to use your computer at. A laptop that can run certain programs or adaptive keyboards/mice ect
Computer programs: Like Grammerly, IdeaMapper and Microbreak.
Physical Access: having an access worker that can help you by body doubling, providing physical assistance or to help with your organisation. If they say that an access worker may be helpful for you, they will often ask you to find a quote from an AW as to how much they charge – this of course depends on the worker but generally it ranges from £15-20 per hour.
Transport: Providing a budget for taxis. Taxis normally need to be paid by you, and then you get a refund from A2W. However I have heard that there are some taxi companies that will invoice A2W directly but I haven’t actually used them myself.
Training/coaching: Providing training on using adaptive equipment or software. They also can provide coaching for example there are coaches out there that specialise in helping people who have been diagnosed as ADHD later in life.
Mental health support: If you have a mental health issue that affects how you can work, they can provide help with that. Importantly this is about how mental health affects your work, which I know crosses over with how your MH affects your personal life but the focus will be on how to help your MH so it doesn’t affect your work.
You do not need to know what support you want – I went in asking just for an access worker not knowing half of the stuff that was available to me. I have heard previously that when initially asked on the form what support you may need, leaving it blank is better.
The process:
So the first thing you will want to do is have a look at the A2W website to double check your eligibility.
From there, a form will need to be filled out. Thankfully it doesn’t require a huge amount of detail. There is a step by step view of the form on the flown website – importantly you do not need to note down everything you think will make your life easier that will be discussed later.
After the form an assessment will happen, for me it was over the phone. The assessment will discuss what your average working week is like, and what things you have difficulties with. It can be useful prior to this to talk to someone that knows you well as they might highlight things you haven’t thought of. They will then go through the suggestions for you. Be frank and honest about things here, the person I spoke to was fabulous and suggested things I didn’t know I could get help with.
From there they will produce a document with a list of things that are available for you, and how to go about getting them along with information about claiming money from the A2W grant that’s been applied to you. They will also give you a case handler who will be your point of contact.
If you have been given funds for an access worker, these are often found out in the wild rather than having A2W provide you with one. If you need help finding people I can of course give you some contacts for people I trust.
When I applied for A2W I did so because of my ADHD and the fact I was finding paperwork and organisation incredibly difficult. This was how I found out about A2W and what could be provided so I have included some links below of things that I have found helpful. Its worth mentioning though that although I applied because of my ADHD they did view my disabilities as a whole and gave me support with my mobility issues ect as well.
Resources / Links
ADHD Adults another podcast looks at late diagnosis and how challenging it can be as an adult with ADHD they massively helped me both by identifying parts of my mind that were working differently to others and also by giving advice. They have a patreon/discord server that is full of information and assistance its about £3/5 and i found it really useful
ADHDAF is a great podcast that highlights that the classical view of ADHD (naughty energetic boys) isn’t the only way ADHD presents, especially in fems and NB (non binary) people. So ADHDAF is primarily focused on and for those of us who are not cis men. They also have a patreon which is about £3 which gives you access to a discord server full of information and has regular body doubling sessions.
ADHD Foundation has resources and webinars
ADDITUDE an online magazine and resource centre for ND
ADHD Adults Charity I don’t know if the podcast or the charity came first but again full of information and useful guides. They also used to have webinars which were so helpful to me
ADHDAF Anti ableism page. The website also has a really comprehensive list of resources.
ADHD Aware a site that has a lot of support pages and peer support
Deepwrk Another website that offers support for ADHD people, but they have an excellent guide on A2W
