Funding a communication aid

Also called AAC funding, Paying for a communication device, Communication aid grants

The NHS, the education system, social care and charities can each pay for a communication aid. Which one depends on who needs it and why.

What it is

A communication aid can cost anything from nothing, for a printed board or a free app, to several thousand pounds for a dedicated eye-gaze device with mounting. Who pays is not decided by a single rule. It depends on the person's age, whether the need is for education, health or daily living, which nation they live in, and how complex the equipment is.

There are five routes: NHS, education, social care, Access to Work for employment, and charities. They are not exclusive and it is common to combine them.

Who it can help

Anyone who has been assessed as needing an aid they cannot get free. Before spending money, be sure the free tier has been ruled out: printed core boards, communication books, the accessibility features built into every phone, and free apps such as Fiducia Talk cover more ground than they used to, and a person can be communicating on them while the funding argument is happening.

Funding routes are not for something nobody has assessed the person as needing. A specific recommendation from a speech and language therapist is the key that opens most of the doors below.

How it works

NHS: in England, the specialised hubs fund powered aids for people who meet the criteria; below that, local services have variable budgets. Elsewhere in the UK the health board or trust holds the budget. Education: in England, if AAC is written into Section F of an EHCP the council must provide it; without an EHCP a school must still make reasonable adjustments, which since 2012 include auxiliary aids. Social care: a council can fund equipment that meets an assessed care and support need, and a personal budget can be spent on it. Work: Access to Work pays for equipment needed to do the job. Charities: The Sequal Trust and others fund devices for people who fall through the gaps, usually with a therapist's report.

What no route does well is fund the ongoing support, training and repairs, so ask about those explicitly.

Getting started

Get the assessment report and read its recommendation. If it names a specific device or app and says why, you have the document every funder will ask for. If it does not, ask the therapist to write one that does.

Then ask the funders in this order. The NHS service that assessed: can you provide this? If the person is in education: does the school or council accept this as their duty? If the person has social care: can the personal budget cover it? If the person works: apply to Access to Work. If all say no, apply to a charity with the report and the refusals attached, because refusals are evidence.

Meanwhile, use the free option. A person should not be silent while adults argue about money.

Where to get help

Communication Matters publishes plain guidance on AAC funding across the UK. The Sequal Trust is the charity that funds communication aids for individuals. IPSEA for the EHCP route in England. Scope and Contact list wider grant sources for disabled people and families. Cerebra has a grants scheme for children.