Hiya! Welcome to TSR! You've come to the right place
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
). 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!
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
Hope this helps give you an idea of what DSA is about