Disability Support

The Equality Act (2010) defines a disabled person as someone who has a mental or physical impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Examples include:

• An autistic spectrum condition

• Visual impairment

• Hearing impairment

• Long standing illness or health condition, e.g. diabetes or chronic fatigue

• Mental health conditions

• Specific learning difficulties, e.g. dyslexia, dyspraxia, or ADHD

• Physical/mobility difficulties

This will vary depending on the university but usually some form of support plan will be put in place which might cover aspects such as study space requirements, library access support, supervision, assessment adjustments such as viva and thesis arrangements, and more. For more detail please consult your university webpage:

• York

• QMUL

• Goldsmith's

IGGI students who are in receipt of an EPSRC funded studentship are eligible for additional support where, because of disability, they are obliged to incur additional expenditure in undertaking their training. Application and payment arrangements will be as specified by the RCUK Disabled Students’ Allowances Framework Document and associated information (see RCUK website: http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/skills/training)

The links above will provide more detail on how to access the support available at your university.

Generally you will need to declare your condition (with supporting evidence) to Disability Services and meet with an advisor to discuss what adjustments may be appropriate. The University is required to provide adjustments and appropriate support for students with conditions covered by the Disability Act but this must be formally recognised through your contact with Disability Services.

Often people will not want to disclose disabilities due to fear of discrimination or stigma surrounding their disability. People often struggle with labelling themselves as disabled and in some cases it might seem that your disability does not affect your studies. It is important to remember that this is a very personal topic and you are under no obligation to disclose your disability.

However, your university will not be able to make reasonable adjustments if you choose not to declare any disabilities you may have. We would therefore encourage you to discuss your circumstances with the relevant disability services to see what support might be available to you.