Circular 0010/2013 • Form 3 (Under 18) • Form 3A (Over 18) • 100% Handled In-House
The Assistive Technology Grant is a Department of Education scheme under Circular 0010/2013 that provides funding to primary and secondary schools to purchase specialist equipment — including AAC devices and software — for pupils with disabilities who require it to access their education. For most TapTalk AAC school families, it covers 100% of the cost.
Typical family out-of-pocket cost
TapTalk AAC grant approval rate
For pupils under 18
For students over 18
Our SLT conducts a formal AAC assessment and produces a clinical report specifying the need for TapTalk AAC.
We complete Form 3 or Form 3A, attaching the clinical report and device specifications.
Completed application submitted to your school's SENO for forwarding to the NCSE regional office.
Grant approved by the Department of Education. We deliver and configure the equipment, including staff training.
TapTalk AAC operates in full alignment with Irish Special Educational Needs (SEN) legislation and statutory Assistive Technology grant frameworks.
When a non-verbal child uses a speech-generating device (SGD), the brain relies on cerebellar motor mapping rather than visual searching. Research in motor automaticity (Frenz et al., 2022) demonstrates that when graphic symbols maintain fixed spatial locations on a screen layout, the neurological process transitions from controlled visual search to automatic motor execution—the exact neural pathway utilized by fluent typists and concert pianists.
Under Irish law, assistive communication technology is not an optional luxury—it is a statutory educational entitlement designed to guarantee equal access to the national curriculum for students with special educational needs (SEN).
"A persistent myth claims that giving a non-verbal child a speech device will make them 'vocal lazy'. Consider vision: when a child has severe myopia, we prescribe eyeglasses. Eyeglasses do not make the eyes lazy; they correct visual refraction so the visual cortex can process shape and color. AAC works identically: it resolves the physical obstacle of motor speech production so the language center in the brain can express complex thought."
"Human speech is not a single solo instrument; it is a full symphony orchestra. Vocalization, facial expression, Lámh key-word signing, body gesture, and digital AAC devices are different instruments in the same ensemble. Restricting a non-verbal child to vocal production alone is like forcing an orchestra to play a symphony with only a triangle."