Community supports and services
- Think about what type of help you might need on a daily basis while studying at uni. For example, the types of help you may need could be:
- personal care to get ready in the mornings, or going to the toilet or having a meal while attending uni
- coaching and counselling to help you to cope with the effect of uni pressures and stress
- community transport to and from uni and/or
- help to learn how to catch a train or bus to uni or how to get around the uni campus.
- You may already have these arrangements in place to help with school life. These arrangements will probably need to be adjusted to fit uni life. You may also need different types of assistance. Talk to your community service provider(s) about whether and how these changes can be negotiated and put in place.
- If there are other types of help that you are not currently getting but think you may need while studying at uni, find out where you can get this assistance.
- Investigate these new arrangements and supports as early as possible because they often involve long waiting lists, complicated processes of assessments and/or applications for funding.
- Talk to your Support Teacher Transition, Disability Liaison Officer, case worker or any community service already involved about where to find additional services needed and how to get help coordinating these services.
- For further information and tips for dealing with community support services, see FAQ Sheet 6: How do I find and organise community support services for when I go to university? section of this resource.
- This website also talks about how to arrange help with your uni work. See 'Investigating disability support services available' and 'Planning your disability support services' for more information.