The Student Room Group

Applying for Disability Student Allowance

I've just joined this website as I'm in need of some advice/guidance/help because I don't really know many people who claim DSA. Last month I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and my psychiatrist suggested that I apply for DSA. I've researched online and found a few bits but wanted to hear from other students more about it. I'm currently waiting for my forms in the post from Student Finance. What is the usual process? What am I entitled to? What equipment? etc.

I also wanted to know if I should tell my lecturers that I suffer with bipolar disorder? I want to but I'm really anxious about it at the same time, it would explain to them why I was absent a lot over the past 2 years though. This goes for my uni friends as well, we're now quite distant (I can be someone's best friend for weeks and then suddenly isolate myself) and I know that they've been talking about me negatively so I want them to understand why the way I was over the past 2 years. Although I'm worried they won't understand. Plus I really struggled last year and I pretty much suffered in silence. Explaining my condition and emotions/feelings is a really hard one for me and I also know that I have to do this with an assessor at my uni if my application is accepted.

Little bit about myself: I'm studying a Joint Honours degree in Fine Art and Education Studies, I'm entering my third year and I commute by bus (it can take upto 1 hour, such a pain!). I also hope to study an MA afterwards and I'm an aspiring art lecturer :smile:

Any (positive) comments would be really appreciated, thankyou! :tongue:
Hiya! Welcome to TSR! You've come to the right place :biggrin:

Try not to stress about the assessor at uni. Is that for the DSA application or is it protocol at your uni to see someone separately there too? If it's the former, they are trained to be really nice, patient and understanding. It's a very non-threatening environment and very different to applying for government benefits. They're not trying to catch you out - they're trying to help you out!

You mention an hour-long bus journey: one of the things DSA could provide you with would be the monetary difference between the bus fare and a taxi fare for days when the bus journey may prove too much (as in daunting-wise, rather than expense-wise :tongue: ). I was awarded a taxi allowance (which I never actually needed to use, but it was good to know it was there) for schizoaffective disorder (which has mood disorder elements of bipolar thrown into the mix).

What equipment you might get really depends on your specific needs and how any government changes to DSA pan out. There's talk of reducing computer equipment, as I understand it, but it is not necessarily set in stone yet.

Things I got for schizoaffective disorder included:

- Aforementioned taxi allowance
- A Macbook Pro complete with all the software I needed for my courses (so I could work from home if too psychotic to travel in)
- A printer-scanner (so I could work from home if too psychotic to travel in)
- A library mentor/notetaker (for if I was unwell and could not attend a lecture)
- A mental health/study mentor (which was by far the most useful thing)
- A dictaphone (to record lectures in case I'm hearing voices and can't concentrate on what's being said)
- Allowance for non-essential books, printing costs, etc.

My university at the time also arranged extended library loans for me, which was a Godsend! :biggrin:

As for telling your lecturers about your bipolar disorder: your Disability Office is there to act on your behalf and as an advocate for you. So if you find that you are reluctant to tell your lecturers yourself, you can ask someone at your uni's Disability Office to send round a discreet memo to relevant tutors :yes:

Hope this helps give you an idea of what DSA is about :h:
Reply 2
Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd
Hiya! Welcome to TSR! You've come to the right place :biggrin:

Try not to stress about the assessor at uni. Is that for the DSA application or is it protocol at your uni to see someone separately there too? If it's the former, they are trained to be really nice, patient and understanding. It's a very non-threatening environment and very different to applying for government benefits. They're not trying to catch you out - they're trying to help you out!

You mention an hour-long bus journey: one of the things DSA could provide you with would be the monetary difference between the bus fare and a taxi fare for days when the bus journey may prove too much (as in daunting-wise, rather than expense-wise :tongue: ). I was awarded a taxi allowance (which I never actually needed to use, but it was good to know it was there) for schizoaffective disorder (which has mood disorder elements of bipolar thrown into the mix).

What equipment you might get really depends on your specific needs and how any government changes to DSA pan out. There's talk of reducing computer equipment, as I understand it, but it is not necessarily set in stone yet.

Things I got for schizoaffective disorder included:

- Aforementioned taxi allowance
- A Macbook Pro complete with all the software I needed for my courses (so I could work from home if too psychotic to travel in)
- A printer-scanner (so I could work from home if too psychotic to travel in)
- A library mentor/notetaker (for if I was unwell and could not attend a lecture)
- A mental health/study mentor (which was by far the most useful thing)
- A dictaphone (to record lectures in case I'm hearing voices and can't concentrate on what's being said)
- Allowance for non-essential books, printing costs, etc.

My university at the time also arranged extended library loans for me, which was a Godsend! :biggrin:

As for telling your lecturers about your bipolar disorder: your Disability Office is there to act on your behalf and as an advocate for you. So if you find that you are reluctant to tell your lecturers yourself, you can ask someone at your uni's Disability Office to send round a discreet memo to relevant tutors :yes:

Hope this helps give you an idea of what DSA is about :h:


Thankyou so much! Your reply was quick, informative and just what I needed to hear :smile:
I don't think it's a standard procedure but I haven't informed my Universit yet as I pre-enrolled just before I was diagnosed. I'm not sure if I have to email somebody to let them know? I was just going to send my forms in and see what happens, although maybe emailing first would be a good idea. Thankyou I'll try my best not to stress, talking about my condition makes me uncomfortable.
Wow, it's amazing how supportive DSA is! Funnily enough my laptop is broken so I'm doing this on my boyfriend's ipad lol. I've never owned a printer, scanner or anything like that and the price of printing at my uni is ridiculous. I hate having to go to the library to print as well, it's always so noisy and busy that I get really paranoid and uncomfortable so I can't concentrate. I tend to go to the quiet mac computer room. Yeah certain bus journeys tend to set me off for the day because they're extremely overcrowded, always late which makes me late for my 9am lectures (when I have to get up at 5am just to get the bus on time!) and I'm constantly anxious on them. Oh wow a support worker would just be incredible, anything would be so helpful right now. I'm overwhelmed by all of this :eek:

Oh right okay, thankyou that makes things much easier! I think I'd rather have them let my lecturers know then :smile:
You don't have to tell anyone. But unless you tell them, they won't be able to make any adjustments you need.

The DSA assessment is an informal chat.
Original post by metcj
Thankyou so much! Your reply was quick, informative and just what I needed to hear :smile:
I don't think it's a standard procedure but I haven't informed my Universit yet as I pre-enrolled just before I was diagnosed. I'm not sure if I have to email somebody to let them know?


No worries :h:

Ah I see! Sorry I hadn't picked up on the fact that you pre-enrolled before being diagnosed. Though all you would have to do is see if your Disability Office has a drop-in clinic, or just rock up there and see if you can get an appointment or hand over any forms and evidence to them :smile:
Reply 5
Thankyou both, I'm not feeling so worried for them to know now! I know it's something I shouldn't be embarrassed about but my parents didn't handle it too well (which isn't their fault ofc!) but it worries me how other people will be. I really do need some adjustments, support and help in as many ways as possible though, it's been very hard and now that I'm diagnosed I'm hoping uni can make it a little easier for me.

Sorry I should have said about pre-enrolling first haha, I just didn't think! Oh I see, thankyou very much! :smile:
Mental health problems at uni are more common than you might think. Universities should be used to dealing with people who need a helping hand, and there is certainly no shame in asking for/accepting help :nah:

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