DSA issue

Hey, basically i've been award my student loan, sent of the paper work etc

During this time i've been looking into getting tested for dyslexia, which i've always thought i might suffer from.

Now if it turns out that i do indeed have dyslexia and am entitled to DSA would i be able to get what ever i'm entitled to even though i've already applied for my regular student loan? Or will i have to wait until year two?

Hope that makes sense.

Thanks in advance.

If you find out you have Dyslexia then get in contact with your Student Disability Team or the Student Advice, and they will sort out you getting a needs assessment and help you with the process.

Does anyone know roughly the sort of help the DSA give financially to a dyslexic individual?

I'm keen to get the test done but at 350-450 pounds i'm sure you can understand my un-ease with part with such a large lump sum in the summer before i go off to uni...

My thinking it that over the length of the course it would pay for it's self?

Extra time in exams is nothing to with DSA. It is between you and the uni.

It can however be recommended by the access centre along with your other DSA support.

Think it depends on the uni. At my undergrad uni, all DSA recipients were automatically given more time in exams. I had a real argument with them as my problem's physical rather than cognitive - dislocated thumb makes hand-writing legibly for three hours at speed, impossible. Using a word processor for exams resolved the issue and meant I could work at a normal speed, so I felt that having extra time would give me an unfair advantage. I really had to push to get them to remove my extra time allowance and let me complete the exams in the same amount of time as non-DSA people.

Depends on each individual organisation, so when in doubt, check with their Student Support folks for advice. DSA does seem to be the benchmark of proof for providing any kind of help, unless you have something sudden and obvious like a broken wrist.

I've been told i'll have to pay £100 towards it which is fine and i'm doing a 4 year extended degree as it is so i'll still get 3 years DSA support...

Thanks for your help!

You should get 4 years support for DSA.

aaa really? I thought as i'd not be tested until September (ish) i'd have missed the cut off to apply for DSA?

Good news if not!

Na, it will take about 1-3 months for the claim to be processed, and to have the assessment centre, and so on; but you will get funding during your first year. Only if you didn't apply until about April to apply (in your first year, so 2014) you might have to wait until September 2014 before you get your stuff.

What a weird uni policy. Not every disabled student needs extra time. Normally if you use a word processor for exams, you undergo a test to see how fast you can type. This is so they can decide whether you need any extra time.