Planning your disability support services
You will need to plan your disability support arrangements before you start classes at uni. One difference at uni compared to school is that it is your responsibility, not the uni staff's, to identify that you need support and to ask for arrangements to be put in place. It is up to you to take whatever steps are necessary to keep up with your course work. Starting uni is a stressful time for most students. If you have good support arrangements in place when you begin your first semester this will make the adjustment to uni much easier.
Planning your disability support arrangements involves working with the disability support services team at your uni and progressing through the necessary processes with your DLO to create the arrangements you need.
Working with the disability support services team to plan your arrangements
- Decide whether you want to disclose your disability. There are pros and cons to disclosure and using this type of service requires you to commit to being open about your disability. For more information about disclosure see FAQ Sheet 18: What are my rights against disability discrimination? What are my rights to privacy about my disability at university?.
- Make an appointment to meet with the DLO as early as possible after being made an offer into uni.
- Check out the uni's student handbook for information about the rules and procedures involved in accessing disability support services. This will help you to anticipate what will be involved and to understand yours and the uni's responsibilities in the process. This information can often be found on the uni website.
- Ask lots of questions and be clear about the type of support you believe you need.
- Give as much information as possible, including documentation, to the DLO about your disability and how it affects your ability to study.
- Participate in the appropriate assessment processes by being open and honest about your disability and how it impacts on you.
- Work with the DLO to develop a written plan about the support the uni will put in place to accommodate your disability-related study needs.
- Find out from the DLO what to do if the arrangements do not work well for you.