Subsidised Therapy Application

The Dublin Branch of Down Syndrome Ireland invites all paid up members of the Dublin Branch to apply for a subsidy to help cover the costs of therapies or classes that might be needed for your child.  The subsidy is not restricted to ‘traditional’ therapies (OT, SLT, Physio). The branch committee will consider any form of therapy that you, or your medical practitioner, deems necessary for your child. If the proposed therapy is, e.g., one to one swimming or gym sessions we may request a letter from your medical practitioner to confirm that the activity is medically advisable for your child and why.

The branch offers a 50% subsidy, up to a maximum of €50 per session, for a maximum of 26 sessions of therapy. You may use the subsidy for one therapy or split it between two or more therapies (e.g. 10 sessions of SLT + 16 sessions of OT). Due to the high cost of assessment for certain therapies, the branch also offers a 50% subsidy, up to a maximum of €250, against one assessment in a calendar year.

The scheme works as follows:

• Parents will choose their own therapist(s) in whatever field(s) they wish.
• Parents will apply to the Dublin Branch Committee for approval for the subsidy, using the Subsidised Therapy Application Form below.
• Parents pay the therapist in full and receipts will be forwarded to therapies@downsyndromedublin.ie every three months.  Only official receipts will be accepted, they must include the name of the member receiving the therapy.
• Parents can only claim a maximum of 26 sessions of therapy per calendar year or a maximum amount of €1,300.
• Down Syndrome Dublin will subsidise each session by 50%, to a maximum of €50 per session.
• Parents can also claim 50% of the cost of assessment, up to a maximum of €250.
• The total amount allowable in a calendar year is €250 for assessment + €1,300 for therapy = €1,550.
• Parents can apply for subsidies for more than one form of therapy during the year but they must submit a separate Subsidised Therapy Application Form and receive approval for each type of therapy.
• Approval is only valid for one calendar year. If parents wish to continue with the subsidy they must reapply at the end of each calendar year for inclusion in next year’s subsidy.
• Therapy Sessions must take place in Ireland.
• Down Syndrome Dublin is unable to offer the subsidy payment to pay for therapies with any other charities, e.g., Down Syndrome Centre, Sensational Kids etc.

The following requirements must be met before subsidised therapy can commence:

• Parents must be fully paid up members of Down Syndrome Dublin. 
• The Application form must be filled out and returned to the committee for review.
• Authorisation must be granted by the committee prior to any assessment or subsidised therapies taking place.

When can we apply:

The scheme is open to applications all year round and applications are reviewed for approval at the start of each month.  When you submit receipts please allow 30 days for us to process the therapy rebate. 

 How is this funded?

Down Syndrome Dublin is run by parents just like you and we receive no Government funding or funding from Down Syndrome Ireland. We rely solely on branch fundraising events to offer this subsidy scheme to our members.  We would ask if your family are receiving the subsidised therapy sessions please try to fundraise for the branch at some point during the year to help keep this scheme going for other members in the future.

Example of how subsidised therapy works

John is an 8 year old boy who is a member of the Down Syndrome Dublin Branch, his mother Mary finds a registered Speech and Language therapist in her area for John and fills in the subsidised therapy application form with the Dublin Branch to help fund the private sessions.  After the application is approved Mary takes John to see the therapist who completes a Speech and Language assessment and recommends 6 further 30-minute therapy sessions over 12 weeks.

Mary and John attend the sessions and Mary holds onto the official receipts from the therapist which have Johns name on them.  She takes a picture of the receipts and sends them to therapies@DownSyndromeDublin.ie

The receipts show that Mary spent the following at Johns therapy sessions (note these prices are examples only and prices may vary depending on the therapist/clinic):

1.  Full Speech and Language Assessment and Written Report 
     Cost: €510
     Rebate: €250  (50% of the cost of the assessment up to a max of €250)

2.  6 x 30 minute Speech therapy session (€80 per session)
     Cost: €480
     Rebate: €240 (50% of the cost, up to a max of €50 per session)

In this case Mary paid a total of €990 and after submitting the official receipts for verification the branch paid €490 into Marys bank account to help cover the cost of the therapy for John.

In this example, John has used up his maximum amount for the assessment rebate for this calendar year.  He has also used up 6 of his 26 subsidised therapy sessions so he has up to 20 subsidised therapy sessions remaining.   Mary and John may continue to use this therapist for further sessions during the year or Mary may apply for a different therapy type for John, such as Occupational Therapy.  For a new type of therapy, Mary would fill in a new application form and apply again.