Another question people ask me, perhaps even more than the one about my beloved Lakers, is "How do I go about getting AT?" The process of getting assistive technology covered is not as difficult as you would think. The biggest mistake most people make or the problem that they face is that they don't gather all of the information they should about the process before they proceed. Hopefully, after reading this article, you'll have a better idea about how to get your AT funded without having to buy it out of pocket.
In the Beginning. . .
So you have an idea that you need some AT. You're not sure what it is or maybe you know exactly what it is. Maybe you've talked to a friend or family member who has a piece of technology that will work for you. How can you get one for you? Well, while the temptation may be to just go buy whatever it is, you may want to consider doing things in the proper order. The first step in trying to get any sort of AT should always be a conversation with your doctor. The importance of this cannot be stressed enough. If you've had changes to your health, your doctor can help figure out what's going on. For example, if your vision has changed considerably such that your glasses aren't sufficient for reading, you may want your doctor to check your eyes to make sure there isn't a bigger problem causing your vision to get worse. This is also important because most insurances, including Medicare and Medicaid, want you to have seen your doctor within anywhere from 3 months to 1 year of asking for AT.
By seeing your doctor you can also get a general idea if AT will help you or not. Your doctor may have you see a specialist for AT recommendations. This might be a physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech language pathologist, audiologist, respiratory therapist, or some other licensed health care professional. That individual may perform an assessment and evaluation to see if, indeed, AT would help and if so, what type or family of AT would do the trick.
That's what we'll look at in part two!
Talking to a doctor, occupational therapist or physical therapist is very important before working with some equipment. I can't tell you how many times customers of ours have had to return things because they ordered it without knowing if it would work for them or not.
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