For Parents

For parents & caregivers

You do not have to convince anyone to invent a program for you. The program already exists, it is federal, and your child may already qualify. What most families are missing is simply the language to ask — so here it is, in writing, ready to carry.

What you're entitled to ask for

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, assistive technology is something your child's team is required to consider. It is defined broadly on purpose — 34 CFR §300.5 says an AT device is "any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a child with a disability."

Two things follow, and they're the ones families most often don't know:

There is no approved-products list

No federal registry of allowed vendors exists. A product qualifies because the team decides it meets your child's need — not because it appears on some list. Anyone who tells you a product is "federally approved" is describing something that does not exist.

Family training counts too

Part C explicitly covers training for the family, not just services for the child. Materials that teach you to sign with your baby are inside the scope of the conversation.

Which meeting is yours

Birth to 3 → an IFSP through your state's Early Intervention program. Ages 3 to 21 → an IEP through your school district. Ask for AT to be added to the written plan; a verbal yes is not a plan.

Be ready for the honest version of "free"

You will see "$0 cost to families" written about early intervention. It is often true and it is not automatic, and knowing the difference makes you harder to brush off.

Part C is the payer of last resort (34 CFR §303.510) — private insurance and Medicaid get billed first, and Part C covers the remainder. Separately, 34 CFR §303.500 lets each state run a system of payments, which in some states includes sliding-scale fees. Ask your coordinator directly: "Does our state have a system of payments, and where do we fall on it?"

Families have paid nothing where the team approved the device and no other payer applied. That is the accurate promise, and it is the one to hold them to.

Find who to bring this to

Choose a provider type or type your own, add your city and state. The audiologist, SLP, or early-intervention office you find here is the person who can start the referral.

Pick a starting phrase or write your own, then finish it with your city and state.

The voucher — print this and bring it

Fill in the blanks by hand. Printing this page prints only the document below — the rest of the site is hidden automatically.

or press Ctrl + P (⌘ P on Mac)

Request for Assistive Technology Consideration

To be presented at an IFSP or IEP meeting

Child: Date of birth:

Parent / guardian:

Program / district:

I am requesting that the team consider visual language assistive technology — specifically lenticular motion cards that display American Sign Language signs in movement — as part of my child's plan, together with the family training needed to use them.

34 CFR §300.5 — "Assistive technology device means any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a child with a disability."

Why this device, for this child:

A sign is defined in part by its movement and palm orientation. Printed materials that show a single frozen pose omit those parameters, which is why look-alike pairs are routinely confused.
These cards present the movement itself, without a screen, battery, or application — usable during everyday routines, by any caregiver, at any time.
Research on instructional media finds a large advantage for dynamic over static presentation when what is being learned is a motor procedure — which is what producing a sign is.

What I am asking the team to do:

Consider and document assistive technology for visual language access in the written plan.
Identify the funding route, including whether any other payer must be billed first.
Include family training in the use of the materials.

Parent signature: Date:

Vendor information, specifications and a W-9 are available on request at holographicsignlanguage.com. HoloCards are educational aids for language exposure and practice — not a medical device, and not a substitute for qualified instruction or a licensed interpreter.

Email your coordinator

If you'd rather start in writing, copy the text below, fill in the bracketed parts, and send it to your service coordinator or special education office.

Copy-ready email

Subject: Assistive technology request for [child's name] — [IFSP / IEP] meeting Dear [coordinator's name], I am the parent of [child's name], [age], who is enrolled in [program or district]. Ahead of our next meeting on [date], I would like to formally request that the team consider assistive technology for visual language access. Specifically, I am asking about lenticular motion cards that show American Sign Language signs in movement, along with family training in their use. Under 34 CFR §300.5, an assistive technology device includes any item acquired commercially off the shelf that improves a child's functional capabilities, so I understand this is within scope for the team to consider. Could you let me know: 1. Whether AT consideration can be added to the agenda for that meeting 2. Whether our state operates a system of payments under 34 CFR §303.500, and how it applies to us 3. What documentation you need from a provider or vendor Thank you for your help. [Your name] [Phone / email]

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We are a vendor, not a government agency, and nothing here is legal advice. Your state's early intervention program and your district's special education office are the authorities on your own case.