SUPPORT & ADVOCACY*

We are dedicated to neurodivergent Entrepreneurs, Leaders and Small Business Owners

When we are neurodivergent, we struggle with our Executive Function including emotional regulation. This can play havoc with our professional and personal lives! It's not a measure of how bright we are, it doesn't negate how highly capable in other areas of our lives we might be, but it CAN lead to horrible stress, shame and a reduction in our capacity to undertake daily tasks, which is what a Support Worker and Advocate can support you with.

Please note that our service has been designed especially for professionals and students without a Learning Disability and therefore people who would not attract DWP, social services or charitable support

* A note on 'Advocacy'. Our company does not work in debt management or anything financially oriented. Nor are we legally trained. We perform the kind of 'informal advocacy' that any support worker does as part and parcel of being in their role, supporting people with a communication difficulty (for reasons of processing speed, language, memory, caetextia, alexyithymia etc.) This is also the same as a relative or friend or employer advocating informally. However, because statutory services and charities are not funded to support professionals and students who do not have an intellectual impairment or legal status of vulnerability, we offer this service for people who are in need of support to help with the load on them and their mental health. For any questions about this innovative service please contact larry.blackshaw@wireddifferently.co.uk. (We do not take commission for the work we do).

Q&A WITH SARA-LOUISE ACKRILL

ON OUR SUPPORT & ADVOCACY SERVICE

1) Sara, why did you start the Support and Advocacy Service?

I used to work as a disability specialist for the government Work Programme and I became aware of the high percentage of people who are house bound. There are lots of services available but they are modelled on meeting away from the home, which can create huge anxiety and tension.

In house services are seen as a carers, and social services criteria would mean professionals or people in higher education wouldn’t be able to access the service.

It was when I needed to go for a regular smear test in a new location, without my former advocate being there to come with me in person, that I realised I could do with someone coming with me virtually… and that was when it dawned on me that everyone should be able to access virtual support.

PAYING FOR OUR SERVICES  

Many of our clients pay direct, but if you are planning to pay for the Support & Advocacy service with an Access to Work grant please speak to Julie our Coordinator.

ATW Support Workers are required to support the client in their existing work or self-employment. However we can add in Support and Advocacy where it is related to your work situation and within the remit of the grants purposes. Some of our clients work with several members of our team for more traditional VA support, some Support and Access to Work or other benefits help. We try to tailor things where we can.

Do also look into: funding from the Disabled Students Allowance; applying for and using the Personal Independence Payment; social services payments; small grants from your local Parish or the Turn2Us grantfinder. Many people put the invoices through their books where they are self-employed as a Reasonable Expense for a Disability (speak to your Accountant about this)

NON PAYMENT OF INVOICES

Grant recipients are legally responsible for the payment of their invoices. We do accept payment in arrears from the DWP.

Handover and induction time needs to be paid for as it would be for anyone in a paid professional role.

Overseas clients may be required to pay a month in advance. This is because the cost of chasing unpaid invoices when clients are based overseas is prohibitive but we do not want to deny support where we can provide it.

KEY INFORMATION

Wired Differently holds full Professional Indemnity Insurance with Policy Bee (Hiscox).

For the Support Service there is no minimum number of weekly hours as long as you keep us updated in advance and your Support Worker is able to work adhoc if needed.

If you need to put things on pause though then please give us a minimum of 14 days notice.

A few points to note based on our experience as a VA provider:

We accept payment by bank transfer, Stripe/ bank card, Go Cardless Direct Debit mandate and PayPal. 

We all have our ups and downs...

We have had the odd instance where clients have harassed our team, shouted at us, sworn at us, withheld payment or acted inappropriately for the context of a professional relationship. We will never tolerate this. 

Where we deem we are not a good fit for a client, or vice versa, we will take swift action to terminate the relationship.

RSD and emotional dysregulation affect all of us but this is not an excuse to treat our team without the respect they deserve.

Psychological safety is a priority in all we do.

Wired Differently is a registered Data Handler with the Information Commissioner's Office and our Virtual Assistants are Data Processors.

Please note that all Support clients must be over 18. Please ask us about support for under 18s who are in education.

If more than 20% of your needs are directly work related then please ask about our Virtual Assistant service. 

DBS CHECKS Our Virtual Assistant and Support & Advocacy Workers are not in a DBS role, unless a specific client is legally defined as Vulnerable under the Care Act 2014 (UK). It is a criminal offence to attempt to DBS check someone who is not both in a DBS appropriate role and working with someone coming under this definition. For more information, please visit the GOV UK website