Philippa has a rare neurological condition that affects her hands, arms, legs and feet (Picture: Philippa Willitts)
After hitting send on my Access to Work grant application, I got an automated email in response.
‘You should hear from us within 12 weeks,’ it read – in February this year.
I was perplexed.
Access to Work is a government scheme that helps to cover the extra costs of things that allow a disabled person to work. For example, if somebody needs to get taxis to work, a British Sign Language interpreter or a specially adapted chair, this grant helps a disabled person to enter the workplace on an equal footing (or, at least, it should).
In my case, I needed a headset for when my hands aren’t working well and I need to dictate instead of type, as I have a rare neurological condition that affects my hands, arms, legs and feet.
So reading that it could take up to three months to hear back about my application, I thought it was a really long time to continue working in a way that is both painful and less efficient.
But you get what you’re given, so I waited.
That was almost 30 weeks ago and I’m still no closer to getting an answer.
This was the second time in my life that I’d applied for such a grant – the first time was in 2012 and, back then, it had been a pretty easy process.
I had just become a self-employed writer, but needed a specialist chair and an adapted keyboard to make my laptop and working space more accessible.
That’s when someone told me about Access to Work grants.
I thought it was a great idea in theory because there’s already so much relentless admin and extra expenses when you are disabled. Scope, the disability charity, estimates that households with at least one disabled adult or child face extra costs of £975 a month on average.
So I applied for Access to Work in 2012 and was given a named contact. I talked her through my needs, I was assessed to work out what I needed, and then she approved the assessors’ recommendations. I bought the equipment, filled in a form, and Access to Work paid me what I’d spent. It was quick and relatively easy.
My condition is progressive and there are days when my fingers just do not hit the keys I need them to (Picture: Philippa Willitts)
The equipment Access to Work recommended and paid for meant I wasn’t facing quite as many disadvantages. It was incredibly helpful to have my laptop positioned in the best way for my posture, a keyboard that reduced pain in my hands when I was typing all day, and a chair that supported my body.
Fast forward 12 years, though, and I was increasingly struggling to type.
My condition is progressive and there are days when my fingers just do not hit the keys I need them to. It’s painful and it’s frustrating. I need my typing to be able to keep up with my brain!
So a headset, which would improve the accuracy of the speech recognition tools I use, would help a lot.
It’s a relatively inexpensive …read more
Source:: Metro
