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DSA is Disability Students Allowance
and that basically just supports you at Higher Education
to actually achieve the goals you want to do.
To be honest, I felt almost like it’d be cheating,
to begin with, to be getting help.
It’s not easy to think of yourself as a disabled person.
Because it never got diagnosed, I was kind-of like, am I, aren’t I?
I’d had ongoing things as a kid worrying about,
oh, I’m not very good at spelling or I need more time reading,
and they just said I needed to catch up
and I was a bit slow in what I was doing.
When I went to university I struggled and I got really low marks,
and then I decided that I needed to get help.
I wasn’t really sure what information they needed in advance,
so for example, medical information or support information.
It did feel like it was going to be complicated,
a long-winded process, something that I’d struggle with.
With having benefits in the past,
I’ve had to go through similar assessments.
And at college I’d go through assessments,
and you feel like you’re being taken apart.
Everything that is you, is having to be expressed.
And I thought going through that again for university
wasn’t something I particularly wanted to do,
but when I thought about it,
I thought, 'right, I’ll go for it, I’ll do it'.
And it actually wasn’t too bad!
Definitely go through the application process.
It’s not as scary as anyone would initially think
and I think people are there trying to support you and help you.
You should definitely go for it.
I’d say the DSA allowed me more independence,
mainly because the support workers and the equipment that was provided,
I was able to get on with things myself
rather than having to rely on lots of other people.
A laptop, a PalmPilot, an ergonomic chair,
software for my computer, such as dictation software.
They thought that some software might be of use,
that might be able to help me put my thoughts down on paper.
I was told I needed the software such as Mindmap,
which basically formalises my random ideas in my head.
So if I’m stuck thinking about stuff
and I don’t know how to write it down on paper,
I just dot it on a Mindmap
and what the software does is organise it into a Word document.
So when I’m reading through it, I go, actually that makes sense,
that’s what’s inside my head.
University is about yourself and it’s about independent learning,
and so we thought that learning through a lecturer
with the use of an interpreter and note-taker would be sufficient.
Something else that was absolutely crucial was a digital recorder.
So during lectures, even though I had a note-taker,
there were some things that I may want to go back on and re-read.
I had a taxi allowance to allow me to get to and from university,
on days I was too tired to travel,
and I had a budget for a personal assistant a few times a term.
I used to get frustrated that I couldn’t plan
so I just used to skip it altogether,
whereas now I’ve got the software to help me easily plan.
They provided me with a phone,
which allowed me to keep in contact with my peers and my lecturer.
And then there was the general personal support that they gave me,
in terms of making me feel like I was capable again.
It’s not my fault and it’s not me not working hard enough.
It’s actually just something that’s natural
and it’s something I’ve been supported in learning.
So it’s basically built my confidence up,
it enabled me to go off and do an essay,
and go, 'I’m going to do okay with this because I’m getting supported,
I’m equal to everybody else'.
It helps me get the tools and the help I needed to carry on with my degree.
Because of the availability of DSA
and because of the willingness of universities
to make reasonable adjustments for students,
there really is a lot of support available,
so yeah, I just encourage students to come forward
and use the support that’s there for them.
It allows you to be at the same level as non-disabled people.
Not just a disabled person but someone with a degree,
someone with job prospects.
The simplest way a student can apply
for Disabled Students Allowance, is at the same time they would apply
for their main finance application for their support for the tuition fees
and maintenance allowance.
It’s really simple.
They literally go on to the Direct.gov website
and key in ‘Student Finance’ which will bring them to this page here.
They could choose whether to apply as a full-time student
or a part-time student.
It’ll take them into the application.
It will give them an option to tick if they want to apply
for Disabled Students Allowance,
which is literally just a little radio button they would tick.
We will send them an application form,
and all they need to do is send it back to us and sign it,
and send along the relevant disability evidence with it as well.
Medical evidence would just be confirmation from your GP
that there was a medical condition.
Or they can submit a diagnostic report,
which has been done by your psychologist,
for example, where the student has got dyslexia.
Good afternoon, Response Team,
Kevin speaking. How can I help?
If students have any issues at all,
we’d encourage them to contact us here,
so we can help them along with the process
and reassure them on what they need to do,
and the next steps they need to take throughout the process,
just to make sure they get their support in place
as quickly as possible.
It’s best if a student applies really early on
because it means that the process will be done
before the student gets to university.
But if that hasn’t been done, if the student didn’t know about DSA,
or was unsure whether they could apply,
then they can come and see us
and apply at any time during their course.
Then we talk to the student about any difficulties they might be having,
and we would explain the process and look at the kind of support
that the university can provide in terms of reasonable adjustment
and also the kind of support they would be eligible for through the DSA.
All they would need to do is search the Direct.gov website for DSA,
click on the link, and it will bring up a little bit of information
about the Disabled Students Allowance,
what they’re entitled to, how the process works,
and all they would need to do is click on the application form.
I think it’s important that students realise it’s never too late to apply
for the Disabled Students Allowance.
You could be in your third year,
and be hearing this and thinking I can’t do that, it’s too late.
It’s not too late.
You may become disabled whilst you’re at university.
You can apply and I would encourage all students to apply
for the funding that’s available.
Step two, would be receiving a letter from ourselves
saying we’ve accepted your application
and to contact a Needs Assessor.
Step three, would be going to see your Needs Assessor
to have your Needs Report done, so we know what sort of things
can be put in place for your application.
Needs Assessment is not any kind of test.
It’s a chance for the students to talk about their disability
and any impact that has on their studies.
What we’re going to talk about today is...
The purpose of a DSA Needs Assessment
is to identify how a student has developed strategies
over the course of their education,
and to try and identify either human support
or hardware or software,
to help them study at a Degree or Higher Education level.
I must emphasise we’re not going to have any testing,
there’s no diagnostic testing like you’ve done previously.
It’s an informal chat...
The actual Needs Assessment is about an hour and a half, two hours,
going through what strategies they use to understand information
and how they go about proof reading their work
and understanding what’s said during lectures.
Each assessment is for the individual student’s needs.
We try and make the assessment as welcoming
and informal and pleasant as possible.
The gentleman that did the assessment was really welcoming
and made me feel really relaxed.
It was mainly someone observing you and just seeing how you do things
and how they can help.
So it’s not like a typical test
where it’s strenuous and you’re under pressure.
It was more just someone really, sort of qualifying how they can help you.
What would you say your main difficulties of studying are?
I really explained what my particular needs are,
what would make my study effective throughout my term
and throughout my university life, really.
Students can take breaks at any time during the Needs Assessment
for any medical reasons or energy levels.
If they want to cut the assessment short,
we can either finish it off over the phone
or invite them back to cover the outstanding areas
of the report template.
We have thousands of students each year that are actually eligible
for the Disabled Student Allowances
and they don’t end up going through the Needs Assessment process.
So that’s the main thing that a student needs to take on board.
They need to do that as soon as they possibly can
and there is full instructions on the letter we send them
on how they go about doing that.
Step 4, you would receive your entitlement notification,
telling you what support’s going to be put in place.
Step 5, we’d tell you to order your equipment and arrange your support.
After their assessment, the student receives confirmation of the funding.
We try and keep the process as simple as possible for students.
All that needs to happen,
is the proof of entitlement gets sent in to a supplier,
the goods are checked and then a delivery date is arranged.
On delivery of the equipment,
an engineer will set up all of the ergonomics
and all of the assistive hardware and software supplied,
and they’ll work with the students through basic familiarisation
and tailor on-going training around their specific course and their needs.
From the student submitting an application,
for them to get their support in place,
can actually take 14 weeks on average.
It’s very important that they look to apply as soon as they possibly can,
so we can get the ball rolling with the application process.
Once the student has the equipment and software,
then someone like myself can help and support them.
It could be done either within the university itself,
or often as many students prefer, within their home,
in their own environment, on their own equipment as well,
and carry that training out.
Can you think of a subject we can create a Mindmap about?
It’s not just about going through the motions with the software.
There has to be a lot of empathy,
and using the software in context with the student,
knowing the sort of difficulties and challenges
that they’re likely to face,
so that the training can be tailored exactly for that person.
It certainly does improve their confidence and their abilities,
and more importantly, allow them to, hopefully,
work on a level playing field with other students on the course.
The DSA does really help to bridge the gap between education and work.
All of the skills that the student will learn through their DSA process
and through the training that they get
and the support that they get will help them to qualify,
which is obviously going to be important for them to be getting a job
but also is going to give them skills and tools
they can then translate into their working life as well.
All the evidence points to the fact that disabled students
in receipt of Disabled Students Allowance tend to stay the course.
It helped me perform to the best of my ability.
I think I wouldn’t have been really able to show what I am strong at.
I don’t think I’d have been able to get the qualification that I did.