We are far more aware of dyslexia these days, what it is and what it means for people at school and in the workplace. Public perception has changed drastically in the last few decades and people with dyslexia are no longer held back thanks to the reasonable adjustments made in education and at work. There is a lot more help for dyslexic university students – and many students who have the condition are not aware of what benefits and assistance to which they are entitled or do not find out until much later.
What benefits are you entitled to? What should you do to get them? What support and help is there in the course of your academic study?
University Support
Help for dyslexic university students at the beginning is moral support and legally required assistance from the student body, the school and the university. Most universities have a system in place to support their students with learning difficulties, physical disability and mental illness. There is no single set of legal requirements, though they are required to make reasonable adjustments for your dyslexia so it is best to make enquiries about what sort of assistance you can expect to receive and how the university accommodates reasonable adjustments. You will not be entitled to this until you have been assessed. If you are diagnosed after you begin the course, or suspect you may be and wish to take a screening, contact the relevant disability support team. It’s important you do this as quickly as possible so they can arrange to give you assistance should you need it. If you need a full medical assessment, they can arrange this too. Then and only then can you apply for DSA.
Disabled Students Allowance
You may not consider yourself as having a disability, but under UK law when it comes to benefits, learning difficulties such as dyslexia are classified alongside deafness, blindness, wheelchair use and other disabilities, including mental illness. This means you are entitled to financial help and support from the DSA fund. Neither you nor your parents will be means-tested in the assessment, so income will not be a factor in how much you get. This help for dyslexic university students will be on top of and aside from your other student finance packages. The gov.uk website has more information about your entitlements.
Needs Assessment
When you have been cleared for DSA, Student Finance will contact you to arrange a meeting between yourself and a Needs Assessor. This is where help for dyslexic university students is most critical and you will be told of all the help you will get. You will discuss your needs in detail with the Assessor who will summarise their findings and identify potential problems and solutions. The meeting will conclude with a list of equipment that you will need and for which you will be entitled to reimbursement. It is vital that you do not purchase any equipment until the Assessor has authorised purchase. Adjustment could include extra time to finish project work, more time in exams, funding of a laptop with software (phonic spellcheckers etc), text readers and much more.