Access to Work Funded Coaching
Practical, neuro-affirming coaching — funded by the UK government, chosen by you.
If you're employed or self-employed in the UK and you're autistic, have ADHD, AuDHD, dyslexia, or dyspraxia, you may be entitled to a government grant that covers the full cost of specialist coaching. It's called Access to Work, and many people who qualify have never heard of it.
This page explains what it funds, who's eligible, how the application works, and how to find out whether it could cover your coaching with Infinity.
Free 20-Minute Introductory Call
A relaxed, no-obligation conversation to talk through your situation, find out whether Access to Work coaching could be right for you, and get clarity on what to put in your application if you decide to apply.
what is access to work?
Access to work coaching - the funding is yours, not your employer's!
Access to Work is a grant from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), designed to fund practical support for people whose disability, health condition, or neurodivergence affects their ability to work. Neurodivergent conditions — including ADHD, autism, AuDHD, dyslexia, and dyspraxia — qualify.
This is a fundamental point worth stating clearly: the funding is yours, not your employer's. It's awarded directly to you as an individual, and you choose who provides your support — including which coach you work with. Your employer doesn't select your coach, and they don't need to approve your choice. Access to Work exists to remove barriers for you, on your terms.
• It is not means-tested — your salary, savings, or other income don't affect what you're entitled to.
• It doesn't affect any other benefits you receive.
• It's available whether you're employed, self-employed, or about to start a new role.
• The maximum award is up to £66,000 per year (2026 figure).
What Access to Work Can Fund
Specialist Neurodiversity Coaching
One-to-one coaching with a specialist — not generic productivity advice, but targeted, evidence-based support built around how your brain actually works. This covers executive function strategies, workplace systems, communication approaches, energy management, and sustainable ways of working that fit your specific profile.
Coaching is tailored to your particular profile. Here's what that looks like in practice:
ADHD Coaching
Support for executive function, time blindness, task initiation, and emotional regulation — the practical, daily mechanics of working with an ADHD brain rather than against it. Sessions cover building systems that actually stick, managing overwhelm before it becomes burnout, and communicating your needs at work with confidence. Find out more about ADHD & AuDHD Coaching
Autism Coaching
Coaching that starts from your sensory and processing profile, not a neurotypical default. This covers navigating sensory environments, managing social and communication demands at work, building in recovery time, and advocating for adjustments that genuinely reduce friction rather than just ticking a policy box.
AuDHD Coaching
For the specific, often contradictory experience of being both autistic and ADHD — where the need for structure and the need for novelty can pull in opposite directions. Coaching addresses this overlap directly, helping you build approaches that hold both sets of needs rather than treating one as the "real" diagnosis and the other as background noise.
Late-Diagnosed & Self-Identified Adults
A growing number of adults reach diagnosis later in life — or recognise themselves in the research and lived experience of others without ever pursuing a formal diagnosis at all, whether by choice, because of waiting lists, cost, or simply because a label isn't what they're looking for. Often this comes after years of being told, or telling themselves, that they were simply anxious, disorganised, or not trying hard enough.
This isn't limited to one group.
Men frequently reach late diagnosis or self-identification too, often after high-functioning coping strategies stop working under the pressure of a new job, parenthood, or burnout.
But the gap is especially pronounced for women: the clinical picture of neurodivergence was built largely on research into hyperactive boys, and the more internalised presentation common in women and girls — masking, compensating, holding it together on the outside while exhausted underneath — was, for decades, simply missed.
Coaching for late-diagnosed and self-identified adults starts with separating what's genuinely you from what you've come to believe about yourself through years of compensating, whatever shape that compensation took. A formal diagnosis is never a prerequisite to begin — what matters is how your brain actually works, not what's written on paper.
This work is informed by both the research and lived experience: Aideen was herself late diagnosed, and works from the inside of that experience as well as from professional training.
Dyslexia & Dyspraxia Coaching
Practical strategies for written communication, organisation, coordination, and processing speed at work, alongside support to reframe years of internalised messaging about effort and capability that often accompanies a dyslexia or dyspraxia profile.
What Access to Work Can Also Fund
Other forms of support, typically arranged through separate specialist providers
Beyond coaching, Access to Work can fund other forms of support, typically arranged through separate specialist providers as part of the same overall award. It's worth knowing about these even though they sit outside what's offered at Infinity, since they may be relevant to your wider application:
Assistive Technology
Software, apps, noise-cancelling headphones, and tools that reduce cognitive load and support focus, organisation, and memory — practical aids that make a measurable difference to your working day.
Workplace Support and Adjustments
Structured support to help you navigate workplace systems, communicate your needs to managers and HR, and put adjustments in place that actually work — rather than generic policies that don't fit your situation.
Mental Health Support at Work
Particularly relevant if years of working without understanding or support have contributed to anxiety, low self-esteem, or burnout. Access to Work can fund structured workplace mental health support alongside coaching.
Travel Support
If your condition makes using public transport consistently and independently difficult, travel support may also be available.
Am I Eligible?
A formal diagnosis strengthens an access to work application, but you don't necessarily need one
You're likely eligible for Access to Work if:
• You're employed, self-employed, or due to start a new job within the next few weeks.
• You're based in the UK and the job is in the UK (excluding Northern Ireland, which has its own equivalent scheme).
• Your condition or neurodivergence has a long-term impact on your ability to work — this includes ADHD, autism, AuDHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and related profiles.
A formal diagnosis strengthens an application, but you don't necessarily need oneto apply. What matters most to Access to Work assessors is evidence of how your condition affects your work — not a diagnostic label on its own. Many people apply successfully while on a waiting list for assessment, or having self-identified without yet pursuing a formal diagnosis.
How the Application Process Works
The process is straightforward, though it isn't instant. Here's what to expect:
• Apply online via GOV.UK, or by calling the Access to Work helpline directly.
• You'll be asked about your condition, how it affects your ability to work, and what support you think would help.
• A workplace assessment is often part of the process — this can happen independently or be facilitated through your employer, but your employer's involvement is not a requirement to apply.
• If you have a diagnostic report, include it — but it isn't a prerequisite.
• If you're already employed, allow up to 16 weeks for processing. If you're starting a new role within four weeks, applications are typically prioritised.
It's worth knowing what kind of support you want before you apply, since the application asks you to describe what would make a difference. An initial conversation with a coach can help you get that clarity first.
Why Choose Infinity for Access to Work Coaching
Specialist, evidence-informed coaching across ADHD, autism and AuDHD— not a one-size-fits-all progra
All coaching is delivered personally by Aideen Smith-Watson — an accredited neurodiversity coach, MSc Psychology graduate, and someone with lived experience of late ADHD diagnosis. That combination of professional training and personal understanding shapes every session.
• Strengths-based and regulation-first: sessions start with where you are, not where a generic framework says you should be.
• Direct experience supporting Access to Work applications and what assessors are looking for.
• Available online across the UK, and in person in Brighton and East Sussex.
• No diagnosis required to begin working together.
Getting Started
If you think you might be eligible, or you're simply not sure where to start, the most useful first step is a conversation — not an application form.
A relaxed, no-obligation conversation to talk through your situation, find out whether Access to Work coaching could be right for you, and get clarity on what to put in your application if you decide to apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please reach us at aideen@infinityneurocoaching.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
No. While a formal diagnosis can strengthen your application, what matters most is evidence of how your condition affects your work. Many people apply successfully while on a diagnostic waiting list or after self-identifying.
No. Access to Work funding is awarded to you as an individual, and you choose your own coach. Your employer's role, where relevant, is typically limited to facilitating a workplace assessment — not selecting your support
Yes. Access to Work is available to employed and self-employed people alike.
The maximum award is up to £66,000 per year (2026 figure). It is not means-tested, so your income, savings, or other benefits don't affect your entitlement.
As of July 2026, applicants are currently being told to expect up to 16 weeks for a decision, though this varies, so applying as early as possible is strongly advised.
Get in touch for a free introductory call. We can talk through your situation and you'll leave with a clearer sense of whether Access to Work is likely to apply to you — no pressure, no obligation.
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