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Hello, my name is Siobhan McNiff and I am the learning support and dyslexia tutor at Coventry University.
I am going to tell you a few bits of information about the support that is available to you
if you decide to come to Coventry.
There’s a number of services that students can take advantage of
including dyslexia support, physical and sensory support,
hearing impairment support, we also have counselling for students, mental health advisers, and a welfare team.
At Coventry University there’s a number of accommodation options for you
we have fully catered accommodation or self catering if you prefer.
Usually the rental agreements cover full access to the sports centre facilities
and full broadband internet access,
there’s also
special accommodation for students with disabilities, including hoists,
special telephones,
connections to
support workers and that kind of thing
you would have a look, and come along and have a talk
beforehand have a look at the accommodation see what you would like
and what suits your needs
also
students with disabilities are guaranteed to have University accommodation for the duration
of their studies.
So if your degree is a 3 year degree,
we would guarantee your accommodation for the full 3 years. At the University we have a number of dyslexia tutors,
who can speak to you and find out what your support needs are.
We usually find out what support you’ve had at school or college and try to put exactly the same in place.
You would usually have to apply for funding, which is called the Disabled Students’ Allowance
and this is funding that will pay for equipment for you, specialist tuition
and for other things like paper
and if you have any extra costs because of your dyslexia.
If you think
because you struggle in your studies that you might have dyslexia
but its never been diagnosed, then we offer a full diagnostic service as well
and that includes a diagnostic service for dyspraxia and other specific learning difficulties such as dyscalculia.
we haven't seen them off that she did it take a state if you require sports along
We have a team of 30 note takers, so if you require support along those lines
because you have difficulty with writing, you might be entitled to have a note taker who will come along and take notes in lectures for you.
And,
this is a confidential service, so if you don’t want your lecturers to know that the note taker is there for you,
that’s fine they will just attend the lecture
and give you the notes later on. Students with dyslexia and other disabilities,
might need special exam arrangements for example you may need rest breaks, or you might need a scribe
or a reader.
If you have those needs, then just contact the disabilities office, we will make sure that
you get the arrangements that you require.
we will liaise with academic staff on your behalf if you need us to,
but if you prefer to remain,
confidential and private then we wouldn’t release your name,
unless you give us permission to.
Sometimes students with dyslexia or other disabilities are a bit frightened about the level of
work they are required to do.
If you want you can come for tuition
with a speicialist tutor and we will show you how to write that dissitation,
we will show you how to write that report, or how to structure that essay,
and the tuition takes place in a number of ways,
you can either come to the library for our drop in sessions which you can come whenever you want
or you can come for 1-1 tuition at a time agreed
around your timetable
and that would be with someone like me,
or we have a team of external tutors as well who can perhaps meet you at your home
or meet them in a place of your choice,
where they can give you the kind of support that you might need to complete your course work successfully.
The disability service is located in The Hub
which is the new building in the centre
of the campus
and if you require other support such as mentoring or befriending
that can be arranged via the disabilities office in The Hub.
For befriending that might involve finding your way around the campus,
because it’s a big place
and you might get lost in the first few weeks, so don’t worry there will always be somebody
somebody to help you find your way around.
Also,
for some students who may have Aspergers or Autistic Spectrum disabilities,
we put in special support
where you might meet a mentor every week for the duration of your course
if you choose to do so,
and that would be things like social support, making sure you are settling in and making the most of the social
side of University as well.
We hope that University will be an extremely happy time for you
but sometimes things happen
that cant be predicted like bereavements or accidents may occur
in this case we have professional staff on hand; we have a Welfare Team
who you can meet
and talk about issues that crop up during your studies and they can either refer you
on to external agencies
or help you sort out any issues or problems that you may have.
Other teams that you might like to know about
are the Counselling Team,
so some students through their University life need
1-1 counselling
and the Counselling Service offer a very free and confidential service of up to six appointments
should you need that.
That again is available through The Hub.
Also we have Mental Health Advisers
because University can be a stressful time
and if you need any mental health advice or support
the team is on hand available to help you with whatever you need.
Some students need equipment during their University studies, for example
assistive technology
and I’d like you to know that the University has a side wide license for Text Right Read and Write Gold,
we also have a site wide license for Inspiration which is planning software to help you with your
written work and planning for your academic studies.
Other things that the
disabilities office can let you have,
we can lend out laptops,
dictaphones and any other kinds of equipment along those lines.
We can also help you get colour overlays if you have Erland Syndrome.