I A T P Collage of People Using A T

Funding Assistive Technology

Finding a way to pay for assistive technology is often a major obstacle for people with disabilities. So where should you start looking? IATP has devoted a special section of our website to assistive technology funding. Listed below you will find a collection of places to go on the internet that offer assistive technology funding options.


Funding Categories

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ALS - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

  • Les Turner ALS Foundation - Provides a variety of funding resources including augmentative communication equipment loan, durable medical equipment loan, the Ralph Russo Patient and Family Services Grants Program and the Stuart Rosen ALS Transportation Program
  • The ALS Association - Many local ALS chapters provide AT equipment loan and respite programs

Art

  • National Arts and Disability Center - Funding sources for individual artists and arts organizations of all disciplines
  • VSA - The International Organization on Arts and Disability assists with funding the artistic endeavourers of people with disabilities

Auto/Vans

  • Ford Mobility Motoring - The Ford Mobility Motoring Program provides up to $1,200 of reimbursement toward the cost of installed adaptive equipment on any new Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicle
  • GM Mobility Program - Offers up to $1,000 reimbursement for eligible adaptive mobility equipment
  • Honda Customer Mobility Assistance - Honda will provide a reimbursement of up to $1,000 to each eligible customer
  • Hyundai Mobility Program - Offers $1,000 toward the cost of installing adaptive equipment in a new Hyundai
  • Lexus Mobility Program - Reimburses the vehicle owner up to $1,000 cash for after-market adaptive equipment for drivers and/or passengers when installed on any eligible Lexus vehicle purchased or leased
  • Marionjoy Driver Rehab - Marianjoy's Driver Rehabilitation program provides driver evaluation and education for people with disabilities
  • Toyota Mobility - Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. will provide a reimbursement of up to $1,000 to each eligible customer

Blind/Low Vision

  • Association of Blind Citizens - The Assistive Technology Fund (ATF) will provide funds to cover 50% of the retail price of adaptive devices or software
  • The Chicago Lighthouse - Provides a variety of programs for people who are blind or visually impaired
  • Eye Care America - Provides free information, eye care screening and treatment for seniors, children and people who are diabetic or who have glaucoma
  • Hadley School for the Blind - Hadley offers courses free of charge to its blind and visually impaired students and their families and affordable tuition courses to blindness professionals
  • Horizons for the Blind - Assists people who are blind or have low vision to access print materials; most services are free of charge
  • New Eyes for the Needy - purchases prescription eyeglasses for indigent people in the U.S. through a voucher program
  • Sight for Students - provides free vision exams and glasses to low-income, uninsured children

Cancer

  • CancerCare - The CancerCare Co-Payment Assistance Foundation provides financial help to patients in treatment for breast cancer, colorectal cancer, head and neck cancer, glioblastoma, non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and renal cell cancer
  • Cancer Fund of America - Helps cancer patients, hospices, and other non-profit healthcare providers by way of sending products free of charge directly to them
  • CancerSurvivors.org - Provides a list of organizations that fund cancer relate needs
  • Leukemia & Lymphoma Society - provides financial aid and co-pay assiistance

Children

  • All-Kids - Offers Illinois uninsured children comprehensive healthcare coverage at lower rates than private market insurance
  • Camp New Hope, Inc. - Offers summer camp and year-round respite programs for children with developmental disabilities
  • Disabled Children's Relief Fund - Provides disabled children with assistance to obtain wheelchairs, orthopedic braces, walkers, lifts, hearing aids, eyeglasses, medical equipment, physical therapy, surgery . . .
  • Division of Specialized Care for Children - offers care coordination and cost-supported diagnosis and treatment for children with chronic health impairments determined eligible for program support
  • Macs 2 Kids - Helps connect low-income children with gently used and refurbished computer systems
  • Miracle Ear Children's Foundation - Provides no-cost hearing aids and hearing support services to children whose families have incomes that are significantly limited
  • Lekotek Center - Lekotek sites offer family play sessions, toy lending libraries, compuplay family computer centers, and other innovative community-specific programming
  • SNAP - The Special Needs Assistance Program (SNAP) provides specialized equipment, services, and education for children with special needs and their families in order to promote independence and quality of life
  • Shriners Hospital - Shriners Hospitals for Children is a network of pediatric specialty hospitals, founded by the Shrine, where children under the age of 18 receive excellent medical care absolutely free of charge

Computers

  • Computer Banc - organization which restores computers and donates them to low-income children with learning disabilities - (217) 528-9506
  • Donka Inc. - A program that helps people with disabilities improve their quality of life using computers and assistive technology - there is no cost to students
  • GiveTech.org - GiveTech does not give away computers; rather we give away input devices that allow people with quadriplegia to use computers
  • Macs 2 Kids - Helps connect low-income children with gently used and refurbished computer systems

Deaf/Hard of Hearing

  • Alexander Graham Bell Association - offers financial awards for students, ages 6 to 19, to participate in after school, weekend or summer programs focused on developing skills in the arts or sciences.
  • Chicago Hearing Society - Offering a wide array of programs and services to the Chicago metropolitan area's deaf and hard of hearing community in cluding a hearing aid bank
  • Described and Captioned Media Program - Promotes and provides free equal access to communication and learning for students who are blind, visually impaired, deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind
  • Dogs for the Deaf - trains dogs to alert people who are deaf or hard of hearing of sounds including fire/smoke alarm, telephone, door knock, doorbell, oven timer, alarm clock, name call and the cry of a baby.
  • Illinois Telecommunications Access Corporation - Provides telecommunications access to people who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Late Deafened, Speech-Disabled and Deaf-Blind, through the Illinois Relay Service and by issuing equipment that ranges from amplified telephones to Braille phones
  • Miracle Ear Children's Foundation - Provides no-cost hearing aids and hearing support services to children whose families have incomes that are significantly limited
  • SERTOMA S.H.A.R.P. - The Sertoma Hearing Aid Recycling Program (S.H.A.R.P.) helps needy people obtain hearing aids

Education

  • Bookshare - Provides accessible books and periodicals for readers with print disabilities and is free for all U.S. students with qualifying disabilities
  • Hadley School for the Blind - Hadley offers courses free of charge to its blind and visually impaired students and their families and affordable tuition courses to blindness professionals
  • Illinois Instructional Materials Center - A free service from the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind that produces textbooks in alternate formats such as brialle and large print
  • NIMAC - The National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC) is a central repository that contains electronic files that can be used to produce accessible formats on behalf of eligible print disabled students in grades K-12

Employment

General Funding

  • ILoan - Visit IATP's Illinois Loans for Independent Living and learn about cash loans to purchase assistive technology for daily living and assistive technology and other equipment for self-employment and home-based employment
  • Muscular Dystrophy Family Foundation (MDFF) - MDFF's No Boundries Family Foundation exists to provide resources, services, and adaptive equipment to enable patients with muscular dystrophy and their family members to live independent and productive lives
  • Opportunity Illinois - Illinoisans with disabilities use the Opportunity Illinois interest rate reduction to finance construction projects or purchase equipment that will help them achieve greater mobility and self-sufficiency

Homeownership and Modifications

Paralisys

  • Christopher Reeve Foundation - Provids Quality of Life Grants to non-profit organizations that provide services to individuals with paralysis
  • GiveTech.org - GiveTech does not give away computers; rather we give away input devices that allow people with quadriplegia to use computers

Scholarships



Featured Link

The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Arts & Sciences Award Program offers financial awards for students, ages 6 to 19, to participate in after school, weekend or summer programs focused on developing skills in the arts or sciences. To learn more visit www.agbell.org


Funding Tips

Sometimes in the funding maze people must turn to private funding sources, such as local community groups or foundations to help meet the financial cost of technology. These alternate sources can, and do provide financial assistance to individuals and families. Learn more visit our Funding Tips.


Ever Wonder Exactly What They Mean?

Visit the Medicaid and Medicare Services Glossary of Terms


Mini Grants

Assistive technology devices can often be the deciding factor in whether a student with severe disabilities succeeds or fails in their educational programs. Learn more about Using Mini Grants


Getting A "YES"

Once you've determined that you or some one else with a disability needs technology, you must decide how to get it funded. Families with health insurance need to look at their policy to decide if it will fund the device. Insurance benefits vary widely from policy to policy. Just because your friend tried to get a device funded through his/her insurance and they denied it, doesn't necessarily mean your insurance would do the same. Getting A "YES" From Your Insurance Company


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