Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello lovely people - can you help? I have looked at getting the DSA (Disabled Students' Allowance) to help support me next year at university. However, I have no idea what evidence needs to be submitted, as different websites all seem to say conflicting things. Do I need to send a diagnostic report, a doctor's letter, the disability evidence form or something else? Any advice would be much appreciated :D
I just sent the diagnostic report. They went 'yep that works'. I'd definitely start with that anyway because if they want more they can always ask for it.
If you don't yet have a diagnostic report then it's more complicated, you'd need a GP or possibly psychologist to write a letter explaining what your disability is, and how it affects your study.
But yeah internet advice is very conflicting but from my standpoint DSA was really quite painless when it came to autism, and the people who did the in person assessment were lovely and provided loads of good ideas of things that could help me.
Did you have to pay for the assessment yourself?
No.
You make the application to student finance England, and they then go 'yes this paperwork is fine, we agree you need help' and then you book an appointment with a local assessment Centre (there are loads of them, your uni or college may even have its own) which in my case were all book it and see us within a week to a few days. And then they bill SFE.
That's good to know thanks. I'm gonna write this down and stick it to the wall by my desk.
Ask about brain in hand when you get your assessment appointment. I haven't received it yet because it's billed for next year but it's and app that's supposed to be designed for autistic students to manage organization and anxiety and it has a very good reputation
Okay, thank you :) because my executive dysfunction has meant the application for DSA I started last year will now have to be restarted and processed for this year because I couldn't do coursework and fill out the forms, find document, book dates at the same time... actually I can't remember literally anything from the form now I try think about it... and I'm now wondering if that is in some way "documented" because it really proves how I'm so brain scrambled and need the DSA to help me afford all the things to help keep me on track and support other areas of my life so I can put more brain power to other things that also need to get done because my working memory is like....... trying to find a needle in a haystack of spaghetti, and I am not even sure if it was a needle anymore.