About Us
At Lewis Support, our goal is to change people’s lives by giving them complete solutions for assistive technology.
Our team of expert consultants can you provide you with personalised evaluations, advice on the right equipment, and ongoing support to meet your specific needs.
How We Can Help
We offer a wide range of services to meet your needs. Our expert team of Assistive Technology consultants can provide:
Immediate Technology Needs Assessments
These assessments identify a client’s immediate technology needs and recommend solutions.
Environmental Control Assessments
Environmental Control Systems (ECS) are automated household appliances.
They are highly customised and can include automated doors, lights, windows, curtains/blinds, intercoms, and access to home entertainment systems.
Our assistive technologists can assist clients in identifying the environmental controls they need and provide guidance on the best implementation strategies.
Equipment Implementation and Training
The immediate technology needs reports list suppliers and exact products. Ordering the correct product or specification can be complex.
Training is an integral part of the successful implementation of technology. We work closely with a client to ensure they understand how to use the equipment.
Ongoing Consultancy
We offer ongoing support to many clients to ensure they fully benefit from technology.
We can also adapt the technology as it improves or as the client’s needs change.
Bespoke equipment
AT Buddy
Digital Safety
We provide digital safety assessments and tailored training for families and professionals, and adapt our guidance as needs or technologies change.
Meet The Team
Oliver Lewis
Director and Lead Assistive Technology Consultant
Oliver Lewis has over 20 years’ experience of assessing and supporting disabled individuals.
Oliver has assessed and supported individuals with a range of conditions across the whole field of disabilities within private, business, and educational environments.
He has worked with individuals who have wide-ranging issues including: visual impairments, physical disabilities, profound and multiple learning difficulties, autism, speech language and communication needs, hearing impairments, and behavioural, emotional, and social difficulties.
Oliver’s interest in assistive technologies started whilst working in the third sector for a national charity. These experiences enabled Oliver to support and train local charities across the country in assessment skills. Working with a large variety of specialist charities has enabled Oliver to build a great depth of experience from assessing severely disabled, limited-life children to the elderly.
Oliver has helped set up and run a variety of projects to provide assessments to individuals with a wide variety of conditions. He works closely with solicitors, case managers, teachers, and families to bring about the best outcomes for all, ensuring that individuals can access their home and education.
Oliver has previously been the Regional Manager for the Disabled Students Allowance, managing 14 assessment centres. The position involved assessing students and training assessors to produce reports to justify funding.
For over 14 years, Oliver has also been a freelance assessor, working with disabled individuals in education, business, and supporting them in their own homes.
Oliver holds an Enhanced Disclosure Certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
Louise Lewis
Director and Specialist Teacher
Louise brings 20 years of experience in education, with a focus on supporting students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). She holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Language, Literacies and Dyslexia, Approved Teacher Status (ATS) from the British Dyslexia Association (BDA), and a PGCE from Exeter University.
Throughout her career, Louise has taught a broad range of subjects, from Pre-Key Stages to A-levels and was nominated for a Teaching Award in 2008. She is passionate about the transformative power of education and takes great joy in teaching and supporting young learners. Her commitment is to ensure that all young people, regardless of ability, can access and thrive in education.
With a particular interest in complex communication needs, Louise has experience working with Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) users and is currently pursuing British Sign Language (BSL) Level 1 certification.
Louise also holds a Level 2 certificate in Mental Health and a Level 2 certificate in Food Hygiene and Safety.
Mike Williams
Senior Assistive Technology Consultant
Mike Williams has over 35 years’ experience of working with disabled people and assistive technology solutions. He has carried out more than 5,000 assistive technology needs assessments for individuals.
Mike has worked with individuals with wide ranging challenges, including complex physical disabilities; speech, language and communication difficulties; visual and/or hearing impairments; behavioural, emotional and social difficulties; and mental health conditions. He also has experience of supporting people with medical conditions such as cancer, long covid, chronic fatigue and acquired brain injury,
He has shared his expertise by training new assessors and clients, and by delivering hundreds of training workshops and presentations to professionals and community groups. He co-designed and taught on Ireland’s first accredited Assistive Technology course, which has run in Dublin and beyond since 2000.
Mike has worked as an assistive technology expert witness. He has led and worked on numerous government and charity-funded projects in the field.
Over the past 15 years, he has worked in a freelance capacity by assessing and supporting disabled children and adults in schools and their homes. During this period he assessed and supported more than 2,000 university students at Roehampton and Royal Holloway via the government-funded Disabled Students’ Allowance programme. He also provided assistive technology training and support to university staff. Prior to 2010, Mike was Head of Assessment Services at the national disability and technology charity, AbilityNet.
Abbey Hemming-Mitchell
OT Assistive Technologist
HCPC Registration number: OT63318
Abbey has worked with people with disabilities for over 15 years, beginning with children with additional needs in holiday club settings and adults in supported living environments.
She qualified as an Occupational Therapist from Cardiff University in 2010 and has since gained extensive experience in specialist education settings and residential schools, as well as providing support to children with SEN in mainstream schools.
Abbey holds a Level 1 qualification in Sensory Integration and is particularly interested in using sensory strategies to support children and their families.
Having lived abroad in Cyprus, she provided training in Cypriot schools and collaborated with the Saudi Autistic Society in Riyadh. The importance of emotional well-being and mental health has always been central to Abbey’s work, leading her to undertake courses in Emotional Literacy and counselling to support this.
Jodie Parkes
Assistive Technologist
Jodie has been an IT Professional since 1986. He became an IT Manager with experience in networking and many other areas of IT but was mostly interested in working to help people and ensuring people could get the most from their IT. This led him into Assistive Technology as an Consultant Assessor with AbilityNet in 2004. Through this role Jodie worked with diverse people who struggled with difficulties that could be solved with a skill and understanding of AT. He also had an opportunity to work in buildings accessibility and deliver training sessions to ‘spread the word’ about AT and how it helps not only disabled people, but everyone.
Jodie has been involved in Assistive Technology for 20 years delivering assessments and support for people of all ages and abilities, with various disability related needs. He has worked with schools, colleges, universities and corporations large and small. Jodie has also been involved in many AT projects designed to support individuals, corporations and government departments. He then focused on DSA (Disabled Students’ Allowance) Needs Assessments for AbilityNet and Contact Associates. Here, he managed a team of DSA Needs Assessors and Needs Assessment Centres throughout England and Northern Ireland. This ensured that disabled students attending university would have access to the support they needed so they could complete their undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at some of the UK’s leading universities.
Jodie has been a freelance Assistive Technology Specialist and Needs Assessor since 2013. He has focused mostly on the needs of DSA students who he has provided ongoing support for, some for more than six years getting through a degree. Jodie is proud to say that he has supported many of his students through their DSA and AT journey from undergraduate right through to PhD. Freelance work has also taken him into other assessment roles and training roles, such as workplace. He has also delivered many presentations and sessions on AT in the UK and also at the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) conference in Orlando, Florida.
Jodie has assessed and supported many people with a diverse range of disabilities including cognitive difficulties, mental health difficulties, physical and sensory conditions. In his varied roles, Jodie has also produced many support documents and booklets that promote and extend the use of AT throughout the sector. He is passionate about how AT can support and improve the lives of people with disabilities.
Ian Norton
Specialist Education Consultant – QTVI
Ian has worked in Education for 20 years, 18 of which have been in Special Education. In this time, he has worked in the mainstream, independent and local authority sectors. Ian is a Qualified Teacher of the Visually Impaired (QTVI) and has held numerous roles including two Headships in Special Schools, Advisory Teacher for the Visually Impaired and SENDCO. He is passionate about supporting students with SEND and securing the very best outcomes and provision for all those he works with.
Ian worked at a school for the blind for 7 years and is a qualified Grade 2 British Braille Teacher. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience in working with students with visual impairment, including the assessment of Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) and application of Roman-Lantzy’s (2019) CVI Range in the rehabilitation in overcoming CVI.
In his previous roles as a Headteacher, Ian has worked with students with Profound and multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD), Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASC), Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties (SEMH) and many rare SEND condition such as CHARGE and William’s syndrome. He has taken schools from Ofsted ‘Good’ to ‘Outstanding’ and has an extensive record of delivering high impact training and CPD to a range of professionals, parents and other stakeholders.
Ian offers:
- Functional Vision Assessments (FVAs)
- CVI Range Assessments
- Learning Media Assessments (LMAs)
- Environmental audits for accessibility and safety
- Braille tuition
- Guidance and advice on SEND legislation
- Guidance and advice on EHCP applications
- Attendance at annual reviews
- Support with applications for High Needs Funding
- SENDCo supervision and training
- SEND/SENDCo consultancy
Pippa Norton
Teacher
Pippa is a qualified teacher and has 20 years of experience in education. She has taught in primary schools in the independent and maintained sectors. Pippa is passionate about the Early Years and the importance of providing an accessible education from the very beginning of every child’s learning journey. She has a particular interest in speech, language and communication and has supported the work of Speech Therapists across all primary Key Stages.
Natasha Ruck
Assistive Technologist
For the past 10 years, Natasha has helped individuals with disabilities use assistive technology to access education and overcome learning challenges
She began her training at the University of the West of England’s disability service arranging reasonable adjustments for students and advising academic staff on accessible teaching.
Since then, she has carried out over 1000 Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA) needs assessments, recommending specialist equipment and software for students with a wide spectrum of needs. She also led a team of assessors, designing and delivering training programmes on disability awareness and assistive technologies.
Throughout her career, Natasha has been driven by a belief in the power of technology to overcome barriers in education and daily life. She has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by those with diverse learning needs and specialises in recommending and implementing tailored technology solutions that enhance learning and promote independence. Natasha’s approach is grounded in empathy and a commitment to helping both children and adults to achieve their full potential.
Natasha has a 1st class degree in Psychology and a Postgraduate certificate in Leadership and Innovation.
Alice Povey
Iustinian Litoiu
Digital Safety and Assistive Technology Buddy
Iustinian provides specialist support for people with brain injuries to build confidence and make safe, informed choices online. With tailored support for families and professionals, and availability as an assistive technology buddy, Iustinian can help you navigate the online world safely.
Pierre Dupré
Specialist Teacher and Assistive Technologist
Pierre began teaching in 2012 as an EAL English Teacher for the British Council in Mauritius. He taught classes at the teaching centre and conducted outreach work with refugee students from The Chagos Islands who had been relocated to Mauritius.
In 2014, he moved to Tokyo where he worked as an EAL English Teacher, teaching children and adults at language centres across the city. He also taught at the International Christian University High School, working with students aged 15-18.
In 2017, he moved to The Gambia, where he taught English to local students at the Gambia Academy of Music and Culture.
In 2019, he returned to the UK to complete his QTS and PGCE. After completing teacher training, he moved to Devon and worked as an Educational Support Mentor for young learners with additional needs, supporting their academic and personal development. In 2022, he began working as a SEN Teacher at a specialist provision, where he continues part-time. He also tutors and mentors students with additional needs in their homes and community settings.
Alongside teaching, he enjoys playing music and practising and teaching wellbeing practices including Qigong, Tai Chi Chuan, Pranayama and meditation.
Dawn Hills
Administrative Coordinator
Dawn will help you make a booking, provide cost and generally be the first point of contact.
She helps keep us all in check and manages our diaries, etc