DSA Needs Assessment

Sorry if this question has been asked before.

I have my DSA Needs Assessment in 2 days, and all I've been told really is that it will take around 2 hours. What exactly happens? I'm bringing my daddy with me since we have to go to Belfast (and that triggers me - last time I was in Belfast I had a bad experience) but I really don't know what to expect? Help, anyone?

I have a personality disorder, dysthymia, and dissociative symptoms by the way.

its more like a conversation than an assessment, they basically ask you where you feel that you d like help academically and then they suggest things that might help you, for example you can get 1:1 support in things like study skills and using a library and i think you can have some sort of mentor, although some universities do have their own mentoring systems anyway.
I d been recommended pc software and a dictaphone and a study skills tutor but it all depends on what you feel you might need and what could be helpful for you personally really.

its more like a conversation than an assessment, they basically ask you where you feel that you d like help academically and then they suggest things that might help you, for example you can get 1:1 support in things like study skills and using a library and i think you can have some sort of mentor, although some universities do have their own mentoring systems anyway.
I d been recommended pc software and a dictaphone and a study skills tutor but it all depends on what you feel you might need and what could be helpful for you personally really.

Yeah, it does generally take up to 2 hours. I can't remember the exact structure but it's a very through consideration of how your disabilites impinge upon a number of different aspects that are key for university students, e.g. time management, concentration, etc. For each aspect/section thingy, you will be asked questions to ascertain how exactly you are affected by your disabilities, and to what extent. Then the assessor will most likely say they would like to recommend X (though some people leave it all to the very end) and maybe give a quick demo, before moving on to the next aspect/section thingy.

Sorry that's not hugely specific or helpful Rest assured you can take your dad into the assessment room if that would make you feel more comfortable. I was allowed to take my friend into the room for my Masters course's DSA assessment Also they're not trying to catch you out like other needs-based assessments (e.g. for government benefits), so there is no need to worry at all

Ok, thank you so much! So you van male suggestions yourself? Because I had rest breaks during my A2 exams and they helped me a lot - I would like to still have it

You can definetly ask for things yourself if its something you ve had before or have tried out before and its something DSA can pay for
you have to ask the uni itself rather than your needs assessment for rest breaks, but for me it was a simple as just asking the student support people and they gave me them, if you get rest breaks they ll probably give you a comfortable room separate from the main group and probably just with people who also get rest breaks or extra time which i found is much more calm than being in with a big group of people

Sorry if this question has been asked before.

I have my DSA Needs Assessment in 2 days, and all I've been told really is that it will take around 2 hours. What exactly happens? I'm bringing my daddy with me since we have to go to Belfast (and that triggers me - last time I was in Belfast I had a bad experience) but I really don't know what to expect? Help, anyone?

I have a personality disorder, dysthymia, and dissociative symptoms by the way.

Mine was even less that 2 hours actually, more like one and a half. It literally is just a discussion about what kind of needs you have and also a chance for them to explain to you what kind of support you can get. For instance, I never even realised that they offer tools to help you with your organisation (I hadn't even thought about that) but I've now got some really useful things in addition to what I thought I needed before which will hopefully really help you next year. There were also other things they offered that I didn't feel would help me, so you're not under an obligation to accept absolutely everything. You're also allowed to ask questions yourself.

I also didn't really know what to expect but it went really well, the "assessor" was very good and professional. It's definitely not some kind of grilling or exam to test if you're lying about your disability or anything like that, it really is purely a discussion, to give them the information they need to write a needs assessment report to get the funding you need from SFE (or whatever body you're getting funding from). Hope it goes well!

I hope it doesn't last two hours, I'm not very good at talking about my issues. But that is good that I get to have a say in what I receive and all. Thank you.

I ve had two needs assessments, the original was only an hour then the update was only half an hour, i think they give 2 hours just to make sure that there's plenty of time. I have SPLD's so could be a bit different, but the questions weren't too detailed into my issues, literally things like can you write without being in pain, whats your concentration like, can you use a library okay?, both assessors i ve had were lovely and didnt ask anything that made me uncomfortable

That's good! My uni has already emailed me to tell me to drop by their disability student services when I arrive there, so I hope I get help from them.

if your uni is anything like mine then they should hopefully be pretty supportive i have an allocated advisor so always see the same person

That's so nice to have. If you get equipment, when do you usually receive it?

this year my dsa is with the nhs, so not sure its the same as other funding bodies, i have to call up the suppliers in september then should get it before october apparently

Mine is funded by the Student Finance NI

i dont know how student finance NI does it personally, but since you ve got it sorted pretty early then hopefully it would be realisitic to get it around when you start your course.