Hi, I am Melanie, ask me questions about being a disabled student now - Page 2 — Scope | Disability forum
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Hi, I am Melanie, ask me questions about being a disabled student now

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  • Joanne_Alumni
    Joanne_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 188 Pioneering
    Hi @ZaraR,

    You might find the link to Disability Rights UK in the post above useful.
    We also have some information about work and careers on the Scope website.

    We also have services designed to help people get the support they need to get back into employment. They may be able to give you some ideas about funding sources.

    It might also be worth speaking to your local Job Centre Plus.

    If you are on benefits and you are considering training or going to work part time then you need to be aware of how that might affect your benefits. PIP would not be affected but ESA or UC would be.

    If you would like to talk this through with someone we have a free helpline that is open 8am-8pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 6pm Saturday and Sunday. Our advisers should be able to give you information about how your benefits could be affected.

    I hope this is useful and you find the support you are looking for :)



    Joanne 
    Scope
  • AmandaandJo
    AmandaandJo Community member Posts: 2 Listener
    Hi Melanie, I am an OU student studying sociology, but the problem is - I started studying in Feb 2019, that module finished in September 2019, I started another in oct 19, which runs to oct 2020. I have no student finance for this year at all until then. I am a disabled student as well. I need some kind of finance for this year if you could possibly help, thanks ever so much.
    Amanda
  • melaniethorley
    melaniethorley Community member Posts: 138 Pioneering

    Hi Amanda and thank you for your message. You should be receiving four years funding for full time courses and up to six years for pert-time courses. There are also a number of charities and organisations which  provide bursaries for disabled students. You could look here:

    https://www.disability-grants.org/higher-education-grants.html


    good luck

  • AmandaandJo
    AmandaandJo Community member Posts: 2 Listener
    Yes, I am part time, but will be full time. The funding goes from funding year to funding year, not the 3 or 6 years you are on the degree course for, and then you choose different modules for every year. I have looked at the burseries etc but can't find anything that helps my predicament, they are mostly for the uni they are based in. . I had funding from February until October 2019. But I have no funding for 2020 until October because they say I have had it already. But I haven't, because that was 120 credits for 2018/19. It leaves me with nothing from December 2019 to October 2020. All ou could offer me was a bit of my Internet costs back and ink, but I wanted student funding. 
  • JenCo
    JenCo Community member Posts: 122 Pioneering
    edited March 2020
    Hi @melaniethorley, do you have any posts about options for going back to education for mature students? 

    I'm 32, hard of hearing, BAHA user. I want to study for a Computer Science or Computer-Human Interaction MSc but have no idea how to start. Firmly believe accessible software can improve and save lives. Now I just have to go learn enough to prove it :)
  • divine10
    divine10 Community member Posts: 2 Listener
    IAM PLANNING TO GO BACK TO UNIVERSITY 2021, IAM RECEIVING ESA INCOME RELATED AND PIP
     BUT THIS TIME IAM PLANNING TO STUDY NURSING  WILL MY BENEFITS STOPS. 
  • melaniethorley
    melaniethorley Community member Posts: 138 Pioneering
    Good morning @divine10 and thank you for the message. Funding is very complicated, and unfortunately I cannot keep up with the different rules and regulations. The good news is that my lovely colleagues at Disability Rights UK will know the answer. They also have a helpline but here is the link to their factsheets and guides:
    https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/how-we-can-help/benefits-information/factsheets

    Good luck with your studies and you are very welcome to access our Facebook page:
    (1) University of Greenwich-STAART | Facebook


  • 66Mustang
    66Mustang Community member Posts: 13,368 Disability Gamechanger

    I have a few questions about going to university as a mature student. I have autism and a few other issues.

    Academically I am up for doing a degree - it is the logistics around university life that has stopped me from being able to do it so far. Things like getting there, living independently away from home, going to lectures, social life etc.

    My first question is that I have a major university city with a lot of universities that is close to where I live. It would be ideal if I could study there because it would eliminate the biggest obstacle which is the need to stay away from home - I could travel there from home every day. Unfortunately, the city in question is Cambridge which is rather hard to get in to!!! My question is would they take into account my disability and struggles with living independently away from home and possibly give me a better chance at being able to study there, seeing as though it would make life much much easier?

    My second question is to do with finance for disabled students. I have been told that disabled students quite rightly are expected to pay for what other students have to pay for but that they can get finance for any additional cost that they incur due to disability. An example of this is with accommodation if I have to live somewhere away from home - I would be unable to live in shared accommodation and was told that I could live somewhere on my own - I’d have to pay the going rate for shared accommodation and could claim the additional extra cost of living somewhere of my own back. Is this true?

    My third question is about obsessive thoughts and being unable to sit in an exam hall with other students. Is it possible to take exams on my own if I can provide evidence as to why this would be of benefit to me?

    Many thanks!

  • melaniethorley
    melaniethorley Community member Posts: 138 Pioneering
    Good afternoon @66Mustang.

    Excellent news that you are considering university. For me, it is the second best thing I have done in my 53 years on this planet - and I did not go to university until I was 30.

    Being autistic should not be a factor when applying for university. They are, or should be, only interested in your academic ability. Simon Baron-Cohen (cousin of Sasha) is one of the world's leading autism specialists and he is based in Cambridge although I cannot remember which bit but you can Google 'Autism Centre Cambridge' and you should find it.

    A number of universities have specialist transition events for autistic students to prepare you for the realities of university life. The accommodation fees vary from university to university as most student accommodation is now run by housing associations. However, you should be able to request a disability-friendly and/or quiet accommodation. As you would be classified as a disabled student, you should receive priority choices for students accommodation. 

    I do not know much about funding but you should be able to find the answers here: How we can help | Disability Rights UK

    Finally, there are many adjustments for disabled students, including exam provision.

    I hope this is useful and good luck 
  • Tori_Scope
    Tori_Scope Scope Posts: 12,488 Disability Gamechanger
    Just to add to the great advice Melanie has given @66Mustang, you can read about the Disabled Students' Allowance here

    And yes, there are exam provisions that can be put in place. One of my friends at university had quite severe anxiety, and she was allowed to sit exams in a separate room with fewer students. Also, depending on the course you choose and the modules you select, you might not have to sit many exams. I only sat 3 exams during my whole time at university. Obviously some courses are a lot more exam-heavy though! 
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  • 66Mustang
    66Mustang Community member Posts: 13,368 Disability Gamechanger
    @melaniethorley and @Tori_Scope thank you very much for the answers. They make me feel a bit better about going to university. :) I will check out the suggested links.
  • forgoodnesssake
    forgoodnesssake Community member Posts: 500 Pioneering
    edited November 2020
    My son (athetoid CP and AAC user) certainly has a lot of reasonable adjustments made for him at his Uni (not Cambridge but a Russell group) so for example he works much slower and so his exams are done over a few days rather than a few hours and he can do them from his own room, or a designated room on his own in the library or similar.  He is in adapted student room in Uni owned halls and his cost is a bit subsidised by the uni as he cannot just share in a regular house etc.  This would be completely at the discretion of the uni though; it's not any sort of "right".  I know that there are students on benefits who have been successful in claiming housing benefit, but as is said elsewhere it is very complicated so you woudl need to get advice on that.
    Disabled Students Allowance pays for very little now except very specialist support, some equipment and some travel; universities themselves are now expected to provide most everyday support.  DSA would not pay any accommodation related costs.  (sorry if i sound a bit negative about DSA...it's just that sometimes people talk about it as if it can provide a lot of support but it's now actually very limited, in our experience anyway)
    Good luck with your studies!

  • SMezz
    SMezz Community member Posts: 4 Listener

    I write on behalf of my daughter who has ASD, anxiety, depression and selective mutism. 
    She attends college twice a week.  The rest of the week is online lessons.  She gets LSA support in class, but no help with online lessons.  We have asked if she can record these due to her slow processing as they sometimes go too fast for her to keep up.  I thought this would be a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act for personal use.  College have responded “As things stand, we cannot record lessons as this is not current college practice and it raises issues under the Data Protection Act.“
    Is this correct as I notice other colleges and Uni’s allow this?  Do you know of any case law to support this? 

    Another student asked to record part of a lesson and the teacher said yes, but my daughter isn’t able to ask. 
  • melaniethorley
    melaniethorley Community member Posts: 138 Pioneering
    Good afternoon @SMezz and sorry to hear your daughter is having  such a difficult time.

    Legally, what is offered in class should also be available online. It is also good practice to record lessons, regardless of disability. I am not sure what happens in schools and colleges, but all the universities I know of, both in the UK and abroad record the majority of sessions. The only exceptions are counselling/social work when there is sensitive data.  There should also be a function which allows your daughter to write her questions/answers.

    The college is severely failing your daughter and adding to her frustration and anxiety. I am not aware of any case law as yet (although I am sure there will be a great many cases in the pipeline) . Sorry not to have any definitive suggestions, maybe contact the National Autistic Society or Disability Rights UK. Good luck 
  • Ems81
    Ems81 Community member Posts: 20 Connected
    Hi Melanie
    I'm thinking about furthering my education through the Open University. I think an Access module would suit me to begin with. I'm disabled due to mobility issues and receive PIP. 
    I'm trying to find out if I would be eligible for a free Access module. The prospectus states the different criteria needed for this and says you can study for free if 'you receive qualifying benefits'. 
     But I can't find what these qualifying benefits are. I've looked everywhere and been googling for an hour now ?
    I was wondering whether you knew? 
    I have emailed the Open University disability team but they're closed until tomorrow.
    Many thanks.

  • melaniethorley
    melaniethorley Community member Posts: 138 Pioneering
    edited December 2020
    @Ems81
    Good morning and many apologies for the delay in replying - work has been ridiculously busy.
    Excellent news that you are considering returning to education, I did an Access course myself and would definitely recommend this route. Alternatively you can study a Foundation year/Year 0.
    I am not sure about the benefits as it very complicated. JobCentrePlus have specialist disability employment officers (available if you are working or not) and they are the best people to ask as they will be aware of local education providers as well as the OU. Good luck 
  • Ross_Alumni
    Ross_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,652 Disability Gamechanger
    Thanks for the response @melaniethorley

    Hopefully work calms down soon and you get a nice break over Christmas :) 
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  • littleacorn
    littleacorn Community member Posts: 367 Pioneering
    I am studying to be a teacher and just been diagnosed with dyslexia. I am not entitled to any benefits but how much DSA will I receive?
  • Waylay
    Waylay Community member, Scope Member Posts: 973 Pioneering
    @66Mustang Don't know if it's too long since you posted for this to be useful, but figured I'd answer just in case.

    There's another university in Cambridge called Anglia Ruskin. Not Russell Group, but pretty good, apparently.

    I was at Cambridge as a postgraduate in 2006-2009, became disabled while I was there, and received almost no support. In the end I was kicked out because they didn't believe I was disabled. 

    That was a long time ago, postgraduate is very different from undergrad, and things may have changed. Regardless, just in case, I'd ask around before applying. There's a Disability Resource Centre that might be helpful, I hear there's now a disabled students organisation. 

    One important thing to know about Cambridge is that it doesn't work like most other unis. Accommodation and lot of teaching, food, and a lot of socialising is done in your College. The uni is kind of like the organisation that holds all the colleges together. Collegesare very different from each other, so if you want to know about accommodation, you probably need to ask the individual colleges.
  • melaniethorley
    melaniethorley Community member Posts: 138 Pioneering
    @littleacorn thank you for your message. There is not a set allowance for dyslexic students. It depends on what comes up during your Assessment of Need. You will also need to have a post-16 diagnosis to access the Disabled Students' Allowances. I can recommend some free learning technology if you do not have a diagnosis but the university you are attending may allow you extra time in exams for example. 

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