Brain in Hand is easy to recommend. Assessors or Supporters, find out about funding options and eligibility here
Guidance about recommending the Brain in Hand system via funding pathways in education, employment, and local authority social care.
Brain in Hand can be funded via DSA, Access to Work and EHCP.
DSA Assessor's Toolkit
About Brain in Hand
Brain in Hand is a professional digital support system accessed via smartphone. It helps with making decisions, coping with anxiety, and dealing with unexpected situations. Our system combines high-quality help from a Specialist to get started, digital self-management tools for keeping each day on track, and easy access to extra human support when it’s needed.
The Brain in Hand University Edition is now quoted as a single DSA Support Package. Needs Assessors have one point of recommendation and the audit trail is clear for monitoring and quality.
To access our useful guides, log on to our demo account, or join one of our webinars to help you feel confident in recommending Brain in Hand to your students, visit our assessor's toolkit page:
DSA Assessor's Toolkit
If you are:
- a DSA Needs Assessor or practitioner and want to recommend Brain in Hand for a student, please click here to refer a student and receive a quote
- a Workplace Assessor or Employer and want to recommend Brain in Hand for an employee, intern or apprentice, please click here to refer a candidate and receive a quote
- another kind of assessor, please contact us at support[@]braininhand.co.uk.
We work with universities and assessment centres and regularly deliver workshops and webinars. If you would like to book a webinar to find out more or book an education engagement specialist to visit your assessment centre then please contact us below.

Supporting and keeping individuals in education and the workplace
Brain in Hand can be funded via:
- Department for Work and Pensions - Access to Work
- Department for Education - Disabled Students' Allowances
- Local Authority - Education, Health and Care Plans
Brain in Hand is now available to more people and is even easier to recommend. To find out more, access step-by-step guides to each funding body’s referral process, or request extra help or resources from us, please review the 'Resources' section on this page (click here to jump to that part of the page).
Book an awareness session with one of our Engagement Specialists to find out how we can ensure you are confident about the referrals you are making and how to make robust recommendations: call 01392 247 909 or email support[@]braininhand.co.uk. You can also book a free assessor’s awareness webinar session; please check our events section on this page for upcoming webinar dates and engagement sessions in your area, or support[@]braininhand.co.uk to discuss your requirements.
Get in touch:
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Why recommend?
We have helped thousands of students to complete their education; we’ve also worked with employment specialists and charities such as the Charity for Civil Servants to support individuals to start and retain employment. Brain in Hand is also being used by some local authorities to support people in education or the workplace, or for related skills such as travelling.
Ultimately, it’s about making sure that the individuals you are assessing, whether they’re students or individuals looking for or in employment, are given every chance to reach their potential and experience all that life has to offer. Brain in Hand equips individuals with all the necessary tools to determine and self-direct their future, with additional support delivered when they actually need it.
Individuals using Brain in Hand report an increased ability to manage their own anxiety, greater confidence and resilience, and a better overall experience of all that education, employment, and life have to offer. Being able to get the right help at the right time means that they’re more able to achieve independently or succeed in a situation with which they might otherwise have struggled; improved organisation and time management also means a better chance of academic and employment success.

How it works
Every user’s journey begins with a face-to-face session with a Brain in Hand Specialist who has the expertise to encourage individuals to think about what they want out of school, college, university, work, or life.
Working with the individual, and engaging with their wider support network (professionals, family members, or anyone else who helps them), our Specialist guides them to use Brain in Hand to develop and reinforce their positive strategies for overcoming the things they find difficult.
A simple traffic light system allows users to track their mood and request extra help if they need it. In combination with a timeline recording their problems and solutions, this allows users and their supporters to reflect on what’s been working well and which strategies might need a little refining.
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A short animation explaining the elements of Brain in Hand.
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We know Brain in Hand helps both individuals and their supporters – and it helps them to communicate better with each other too. Brain in Hand gives individuals the power to do things for themselves, and it gives supporters the confidence to give space to thrive but be there when their help is needed.
Throughout the life of their funded subscription, we remain available to all our users for online reviews, planned check-in calls, and proactive contact with them (or their support team) based on digital cues.
Funded Support Packages
Brain in Hand will tailor each person’s support to best meet their needs; we will provide a quote for the most appropriate package for each user. To make a recommendation, please use our online DSA or workplace referral forms (links under 'Ready to recommend?' below) and we will guide you through the options available within the funding scheme chosen.
Making recommendations
You will find step-by-step guides for making recommendations within the different funding schemes in the resources section of this page (click here).
Getting support
To make sure you’re as confident as possible making recommendations, we also run free webinars and visit assessment centres to deliver awareness sessions. To see dates and reserve a place: book here.
Asking questions
If you have any questions about recommending Brain in Hand or wish to talk to an Engagement Specialist, please don’t hesitate to contact us below.
Ready to recommend?
To make a referral and receive an immediate quote, please click to access our HE Referral (including DSA) or Workplace Referral forms.
Get in touch to ask any questions and learn more:
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Eligibility
Brain in Hand is suitable for people whose condition impacts their ability to make decisions about, and respond quickly to, everyday challenges (typically people with impairment to executive functioning, memory deficit or a mental health difficulty, particularly anxiety).
Our model focuses on the person: their strengths, skills, and difficulties, and not their diagnosis. However, the below list can be useful in identifying people who are likely to find Brain in Hand beneficial to overcome barriers to learning (this list is not exhaustive):
- Autistic Spectrum Disorder including Asperger syndrome and other Pervasive Development Disorders such as PDA and PDD-NOS
- Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Specific Learning Disability (SpLDs) such as: dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia
- Tourette’s
- Hearing or Visual Impairment where this impacts language development
- Acquired brain injury including traumatic injury or stroke
- Physical Difficulties / Chronic Medical Diagnoses* including, but not limited to, ME, MS, Narcolepsy, diabetes, epilepsy
- Depression*
- Bipolar Disorder*
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder including PANDAS
- Phobias* including: agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder, specific phobias
- Personality Disorder*
- Anxiety Disorders including social anxiety disorder, eating disorder, panic disorders
- Psychotic Illness* including Schizophrenia
- Conversion / Somatoform Disorders* including BDD, Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder.
*Please note: where these physical or mental health disorders are the primary diagnosis, Brain in Hand will be suitable to help address barriers arising from the impact on executive functioning, memory, or associated anxiety but would not be suitable to support a recovery model without clinical involvement.
Please contact us directly if you require any further information or advice on recommendation.
Upcoming Events
Ongoing Support for Education & Workplace Practitioners - Webinars and Resources
Date: 01 Sep 2021 - 20 Dec 2021
Time: Various
Venue: Online
FREE WEBINAR: Workplace adjustments uncovered: empowering neurodiversity
Date: 26 Apr 2022
Time: 11:00-12:30
Venue: Virtual
TechEd AT Speed Dates, May 22
Date: 10 May 2022 - 12 May 2022
Time: 09:30-13:05
Venue: Manchester, Newcastle, Cambridge
The Autism Show
Date: 10 Jun 2022 - 25 May 2022
Time: 09:30-16:00
Venue: Manchester, London, Birmingham
Natspec 2022
Date: 21 Jun 2022 - 22 Jun 2022
Time: 9:45am-late
Venue: Jurys Inn Hinckley Island
ADSHE 2022
Date: 17 Jun 2022
Time: 9:45-16:45
Venue: Aston Conference Centre, Aston University, Birmingham
AMOSSHE 2022
Date: 13 Jul 2022 - 15 Jul 2022
Venue: Crowne Plaza Stephenson Quarter, Newcastle upon Tyne
Case Studies
Staying on track at work
Managing panic with Specialist help
Returning to work by managing anxiety
Hereward College: supported internships
Understanding triggers and anticipating problems
Bolton College and ESSA Academy
Learn more and find resources
For an introduction to Brain in Hand for assessors and support professionals, we offer awareness sessions via webinar. You can view upcoming sessions and sign up for free on our Eventbrite page. We can also come and deliver awareness training in person for support teams or awareness centres; get in touch to request a visit.
If you are:
- a DSA Needs Assessor or practitioner and want to recommend Brain in Hand for a student, please click here to refer a student and receive a quote or explore our DSA Assessor's Toolkit page for more information
- a Workplace Assessor or Employer and want to recommend Brain in Hand for an employee, intern or apprentice, please click here to refer a candidate and receive a quote.
For step-by-step guides to making recommendations, download our guidance for each funding body below.
To help you explain what Brain in Hand is, how it works, and the benefits, we have a range of resources you can share with potential users. You’ll find a selection of case studies a short way up this page, each featuring users who have received Brain in Hand through a funding body as a result of an assessment.
More case studies from users across a variety of settings can be found on our For Me, Education, Health and Social Care, and Workplace pages.
You can also download and print our information sheets about how Brain in Hand helps individual users; these can be shared with users to help them understand what our system is and how it could benefit them. Download these sheets from the list of resources below.
Request access to an education or workplace demonstration account in the BiH mobile software to try the system for yourself and learn more about how a service user might interact with it.
In addition to our existing education/workplace accounts, we can provide bespoke demo accounts to professional support teams on request; get in touch to discuss your requirements on 01392 247 909 or at support[@]braininhand.co.uk.
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User perspectives on Brain in Hand
This short video features a few Brain in Hand users explaining how the system helps them, and might be an additional useful resource for helping a potential user to understand the benefits.
If you need any additional assistance or resources, please get in touch by calling 01392 247 909, emailing support[@]braininhand.co.uk, or using the contact form just below.
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Links & Documents
Easy Referral Guide for DSA Assessors
Brain in Hand Guidance for Workplace Assessors (Access to Work)
Student Guide to BiH
To access our useful guides, log on to our demo account, or join one of our webinars to help you feel confident in recommending Brain in Hand to your students, visit our assessor's toolkit page:
Access your resources now
Contact us to learn more:
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