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If a disabled student applied to the LSE, which is something that happens very commonly
- we have a lots of disabled students here -
the first piece of advice I would give them is that they are exceptionally welcome.
We are delighted that they are going to be coming here.
Our role, apart from being really welcoming towards students,
is just to work with them so we can work out what sorts of adjustments
which are going to help them to access everything that is on offer here.
Living in the centre of London was quite initially a shock,
coming from Northern Ireland. We don’t really have a busy metropolis.
Social life for students at the LSE is great.
Particularly there are so many different societies and they all organise different events.
There are things you can go to and meet-up with people with likeminded interests.
As a part-time student I find the LSE great because I have a lot more time to process things.
I work alongside and I can go to public lectures which I have time for on top of my classes.
It is very academically rigorous and everybody is really enthusiastic, particularly at master's level.
The professors are people who at the top of their field and at the forefront of the research that they are doing,
and the students are the people that are poised to become those people in the future.
I am here at the LSE as the community service volunteer
which means that I am here as volunteer and I help in the Disability and Well-being Office.
As a CSV a sometimes take people to the airport or collect them from the airport
because they are newly arrived here in London and it might be hard for them to get around.
As a student and a member of staff you just have so much interaction
with so many different types of people, culturally, and just different mindsets.
What makes the LSE special I think are the environments like the library.
The library is not just a library. It is a place where people find their peace during the day.
Well there are two kinds of study support.
There is general offering which is on areas of how to complete your studies,
whether on the quantitative or qualitative discipline side
- how to write essays, dissertations, do particular kinds of analysis, statistical regression and so on,
and we offer those on a large scale.
We do that on the course and programme level, and also one-to-one.
This is open to all students at the school.
There are very specific things that we can do, for example, the neurodiversity team
works closely with students on study strategies, on accessing assistive technologies,
so there is also peer support going on.
We have a co-coordinator for mental health and well- being who works very closely with the counselling service,
and can offer students 1-2-1 appointments to address issues to do with their mental health and well-being,
and all sort of things really, and it is very, very individual and so we do not think:
“This is the package for deaf students”, we think: "What do you, as a student with a hearing impairment,
need specifically."
The DWO have a range of services for disabled students,
but also works within the context of Teaching and Learning Centre
and with the understanding that disability equality is a shared responsibility across the whole of the LSE.
So effectively the DWO coordinates all sorts of things that happen across the whole of the LSE. For example,
if a student needs exam arrangements which are disability related, the DWO will work with the exams service.
LSE has been extremely helpful in all of the services they offer for students with mental health disabilities,
in terms of counselling, in terms of academic support, and in terms of the agreements they have with students.
So they have been extremely helpful in providing me with very useful counselling, and also with
the student support agreement that allows me to have more flexibility about deadlines,
and about the exact parameters of the work I am expected to do for my studies.
All of these are available for everybody, so please don't be afraid to ask, and don't be afraid to look
for support, because there is a lot of stuff available which you might not expect.
Just talk to us early. Ask us any questions you like. Talk to us as often as you like.
And just be proactive in that way, so that we can get things in place as quickly as possible.