Needs Assessments
For individuals at school, college, or home
We provide Assistive Technology Assessments for children and adults. This might be for support at school, work, or at home. We are independent of all suppliers. Our recommendations are based solely on the client’s needs.
We start the assessment process with a short telephone call. During the call we gather essential information, answer your questions, discuss cost, and decide together whether an assessment from us is the next best step.
The assessment may be booked during the call if you wish. We might ask for relevant documents to enable us to understand more about the client’s needs. Examples include medical or psychological reports.
Our assessments are mostly delivered remotely via video call. This works very well in many instances. During the assessment we discuss matters with the client (or their support worker / advocate) to understand the key areas where support is required. Relevant assistive technology products will be discussed and demonstrated. We discuss options, consider recommendations, and form an opinion. The assessment takes up to about 2 hours, but we are flexible with rest breaks when necessary.
After the assessment, a detailed report is produced. The report consists of an overview of the assessment, our recommendations, along with costs and next steps e.g. where to purchase equipment, training and support etc.
For students at university (Non DSA)
We can provide needs assessments for your disabled students who are not eligible for DSA funded support. This might be a research council funded student, a student on an apprentice course, or an international student.
These assessments are mostly delivered remotely via video call or telephone. If your student prefers a face-to-face assessment, please contact us to discuss.
Prior to the assessment we will request documentation regarding the student’s disability or medical condition. This might be a note from a GP, or medical or psychological report etc.
During the assessment, we will identify, discuss and explore learning barriers and challenges faced by the student as a result of their disability or medical condition. Assistive technologies will be demonstrated when necessary, other support strategies might also be explored, for example human support, ergonomic furniture and accessories, and travel support.
We produce a detailed report containing our recommendations to enable the student to study more effectively and independently. The report also contains quotations and supplier details for all recommended support strategies.