Disability Support FAQs

The department can only see your SSP if you’ve given Disability Services permission to share it with us.  If you have given this permission then the following people in the psychology department can see your SSP.

If you’re a first or second year student, the people who will be able to see your SSP are:

• your personal supervisor

• the Disability Champion (currently Amanda Hickey)

• the Academic and Student Services Manager (currently Louise Ward).  

If you’re a third or fourth year student, in addition to the people detailed above, your SSP is also shared with:

• your advanced module leaders

• literature survey supervisor

• project supervisor 

Other departmental members of staff can request to see your SSP on a need to know basis and you are welcome to share your SSP with staff.  

Where possible, staff members your SSP is shared with will initially check your SSP for anything they need to consider beyond regular teaching and supervision practice.  However, if there is anything in particular about your SSP you would like to discuss you can contact the relevant member of staff to organise this, particularly in Years 1 and 2 where module leaders are not automatically sent your SSP. 

Your exam timetable should include your extra time. For example, if you have a 3 hour exam from 1-4pm, and you have 25% extra time, your exam will be timetabled to end at 4:45pm. 

If the exam relies on VLE submissions, it will seem on the portal as if you have submitted it late as the submission portal does not factor in extra time for individual students.  However, all ‘late’ submissions are checked by the department before late penalties are implemented.  If you have given permission for your SSP to be shared with the department, then the department will be aware of your extra time and your submission time will be considered in line with this. 

The University has a website page about applying for DSA, that is updated to reflect any changes to the application process, as they happen. If you have any questions about the process of applying for DSA, book an appointment with disability services, at disabilityservices@york.ac.uk, or attend one of the drop-in sessions they run on campus. 

If you have successfully submitted your DSA application, you then need to get in contact with disability services, and book a needs assessment meeting. These meetings are typically conducted online. You will begin to receive support from DSA after your needs assessment. 

There are some general practices that happen across the University and within the department aimed at making teaching more accessible for all students as well as disabled students.  For example: 

• resources are shared at least 24 hours before in-person sessions 

• lectures are recorded

• staff have been trained on accessible resource creation

• staff wear microphones for induction loops

• readings are typically tagged as either ‘essential’ or ‘additional’ on the VLE Reading List

Regardless of SSP status, students are able to contact module leaders about the content of modules, and staff are expected to provide assistance. 

The department also provides support through the Psychology Disability Committee who run events and campaigns to help support and connect disabled students in the department.  Take a look around this website to see what's on and how you can get involved.

You can also visit our IT Support and Support Group pages to see what other support is available to you.    

The accommodations that are offered are based on your needs and are considered in conversation between yourself and Disability Services.  As such, it’s difficult to state broadly what provisions come with an SSP. However, certain supports are typically offered, such as: 

• extra time on exams 

• exams in separate rooms 

• occassional coursework extensions

• exam deferrals

• additional staff support surrounding group work.

Staff have access to training modules about disability and autism spectrum disorder - these courses aren’t mandatory but there is a high uptake in the Psychology department. 

The Disability Champion (Amanda Hickey) has had extensive training surrounding disability. If you have any concerns related to disability, Amanda Hickey is a useful contact. 

Yes! If you have received any new diagnoses, or anything has changed about your pre-existing conditions, contact the disability services practitioner you previously saw, or email the main disability services email address (disabilityservices@york.ac.uk), and arrange a meeting. 

See also the 'I have a Student Support Plan but it needs updating' section of our 'How to access University support' page.