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However, if you only have Medicaid, you may only need to provide letters of necessity from your Medicaid-provider speech and primary care physicians. In that case, you MUST apply through your private insurance first and be denied before you can apply to Medicaid because Medicaid is always the payer of last resort.

Suppose you have both private insurance and Medicaid. Likewise, if you have a Health Savings Account (HSA), check to see if it will cover an AT device, as some have been able to obtain an iPad through with HSA funds.

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The insurance company can direct you to get the forms, what coverage you may have for DME, and how to apply.

There will be special forms and processes unique to your Insurance plan. InsuranceĬontact your insurance company to find out about applying for one as part of their DME – Durable Medical Equipment. If you cannot obtain an iPad from the school or your state’s OVR, you can try through your insurance company. After all, your child should be able to communicate all of the time, not just in certain circumstances.įor additional tips more tips on obtaining an iPad for AAC through the school, please read PrAACtical AAC's How I Do It: AAC in the IEP.ĪAC Funding Through Insurance or Medicaid Doing so will ensure they can take it home and keep it with them.

Last but not least, make sure you specify in the IEP that your child needs the device 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Also, rewrite all of your applicable IEP goals to include the phrase 'with verbal output' so that they are using the iPad in class and everywhere your child goes with school staff.

This is an essential part of the evaluation process and needs to be in the final document.

NOTE: the evaluation should define the apps that best fit your child's individualized needs.

Training for you, your child, and any staff who interacts with your child at school.

Be sure to include the following details:

Then, if the evaluation indicates that your child qualifies for an iPad as an AAC modality, add it to their IEP.

Many will evaluate how your child does with low-tech, medium-tech, and high-tech modalities.

Specify that the evaluator should have AAC experience, using iPads as an AAC modality (and has access to one for the evaluation - it's astounding how many don't).

Begin by asking (in writing!) for an Assistive Technology evaluation from the school.

After all, this is who SHOULD be providing your child's iPad – or any other AAC device.Īccordingly, the process for obtaining an iPad for AAC is the same as it is with any Assistive Technology device:

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i.e., when an iPad allows your child to participate in a Free and Public Education (FAPE).

School districts are looking for educational necessity.

i.e., if a medical condition, such as Apraxia, limits your child's ability to speak.

Insurance companies are looking for medical necessity.

However, the term 'necessary' is relative, the meaning of which depends on who you're talking to. In order to get an iPad funded through your school district or insurance company, you will need to prove that it is necessary. Those options include the public-school system, your state's Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, private insurance, Medicaid, and grants/scholarships. Fortunately, iPads are a viable Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) modality, so there are several ways to obtain funding for them. Even the least expensive iPad is unaffordable for families who already have enormous out-of-pocket medical expenses.

Autism Families Newly Diagnosed Initiativeįor many people with autism, iPads literally give them a voice.

Obtaining Funding for an AAC Device - The Autism Community in Action (TACA) Search for:

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