My experience of the DSA process

For the taxi allowance, what is the process. Do you pay for your own and give them receipts? Or do they give you a monthly allowance?

For any future DSA applicants, I know its a struggle finding personal experiences of how it goes so I decided to share.
I just had my DSA actual interview today. Its just a process where they see what you actually need for uni. They don't challenge your disability in any way, matter fact I found they were more empathetic and understanding of my disability than any health professional has ever been. They truly recognise all the effects of your disability. I have hypermobility (affects the joints) and they were even aware of the minor overlooked symptoms such as fatigue and brain fog that occur from the pain. They are so nice and it is truly an informal process.
You don't need to do any research on what you think you may need cause they already have a list prepared of what they think you may need. I got offered items that I had no idea existed! Originally, I found little point applying for DSA but after all the items offered today I truly am appreciative I pushed myself to apply. Here is what I was offered with my hypermobility:
WCR Notebook (laptop)
Wireless stereo headset with noise-cancelling mic for dictation
DSA Multifunction Printer/Scanner
Read&Write (reads text aloud, corrects spelling, proofs written word and more)
Dragon Professional (speech recognition so I can speak aloud anywhere instead of typing it)
Glean Notes Mobile Bundle (transcribes the lecture, summarises notes etc)
Software installation & configuration
Printing allowance (for paper & ink of up to £188 a year)
Assistive Technology Training (so I understand how to use all this tech LOL)
Ergonomic Assessment (for an adjustable chair + table)
Taxi from external accom to uni (30 per year)
!! It is important to note SFE has the final say for all items. I know some apply for DSA for mental health issues. The lady told me today it is harder to get things approved for mental health than physical health. For example, taxis are now impossible to get on the basis of mental health. She also said only those w/ ADHD & Autism now receive noise cancelling headphones, all others will be denied. They will tell you at the end of the meeting what may be rejected. For me personally, I have nothing on the list that is likely to be rejected by SFE.
I am currently undergoing the process so I will continue to update. If you guys have any questions, please feel free to ask me !

I have my DSA assessment tomorrow and I just want to say thank you so much for this thread! 😁
I am definitely feeling less nervous about it now. I already have a good laptop, what I think would benefit me most is mentoring and possibly noise cancelling earplugs (I am autistic.) I've never had any support at school so I don't really know what would help me. I don't want to take anything that I don't need but I also know that I'm going to need support at uni!
I will also update after tomorrow as I know this thread is going to be so useful for future applicants.

I went into the assessment thinking that anything that sounds even the slightest bit helpful I'll say yes to the offer! You'll never know when such things will come in handy. They may even come up with things you may not have thought about yet! I'm also autistic and so so much of it was incredibly helpful to me and I know it'll all be a big help in uni.
Good luck with your assessment tomorrow!!!

Hi, I have a question - for DSA they give you support for like software and equipment you need, but by any chance do they give you any money directly…..

No, they don’t. The only time they’ll give you money is if you have to buy something which is already agreed that you should receive, for example ink and paper for a printer. If you send the receipts/proof of your purchase, they should reimburse you.

right I see, also have another question - would DSA help you with accommodation say you have specific needs and find it hard to share accommodation, but quieter not shared accommodations are very pricey, would they be able to provide some financial help??

hey love,
they would not help you accommodation wise as they deem this as a thing all students are impacted by as there are neurotypical, non disabled students who also desire quieter non shared accom x

right I see, also have another question - would DSA help you with accommodation say you have specific needs and find it hard to share accommodation, but quieter not shared accommodations are very pricey, would they be able to provide some financial help??

For any future DSA applicants, I know its a struggle finding personal experiences of how it goes so I decided to share.
I just had my DSA actual interview today. Its just a process where they see what you actually need for uni. They don't challenge your disability in any way, matter fact I found they were more empathetic and understanding of my disability than any health professional has ever been. They truly recognise all the effects of your disability. I have hypermobility (affects the joints) and they were even aware of the minor overlooked symptoms such as fatigue and brain fog that occur from the pain. They are so nice and it is truly an informal process.
You don't need to do any research on what you think you may need cause they already have a list prepared of what they think you may need. I got offered items that I had no idea existed! Originally, I found little point applying for DSA but after all the items offered today I truly am appreciative I pushed myself to apply. Here is what I was offered with my hypermobility:
WCR Notebook (laptop)
Wireless stereo headset with noise-cancelling mic for dictation
DSA Multifunction Printer/Scanner
Read&Write (reads text aloud, corrects spelling, proofs written word and more)
Dragon Professional (speech recognition so I can speak aloud anywhere instead of typing it)
Glean Notes Mobile Bundle (transcribes the lecture, summarises notes etc)
Software installation & configuration
Printing allowance (for paper & ink of up to £188 a year)
Assistive Technology Training (so I understand how to use all this tech LOL)
Ergonomic Assessment (for an adjustable chair + table)
Taxi from external accom to uni (30 per year)
!! It is important to note SFE has the final say for all items. I know some apply for DSA for mental health issues. The lady told me today it is harder to get things approved for mental health than physical health. For example, taxis are now impossible to get on the basis of mental health. She also said only those w/ ADHD & Autism now receive noise cancelling headphones, all others will be denied. They will tell you at the end of the meeting what may be rejected. For me personally, I have nothing on the list that is likely to be rejected by SFE.
I am currently undergoing the process so I will continue to update. If you guys have any questions, please feel free to ask me !

So I've just had my DSA appointment (for ASD) and here is what I was offered:
The assessor was really lovely. She already had a list of things autistic students can struggle with and we went through it seeing which of the things affected me. This list will be included to the report which is sent to the uni so that hopefully they can use the list to help put accommodations in place. I also mentioned some other difficulties I have which she wrote down with some suggestions to the university of what could help me.
So all in all, it was a really positive experience and I really hope that the things offered in the DSA along with accommodations from the university will make my uni experience a much less stressful one. I would definitely recommend to students who are unsure of whether to apply to the DSA or not to do it as you won't lose anything but you could potentially gain things which will improve and facilitate your time at university, and you deserve that!

Good evening, thanks for your post, I applied for the first time this year and I find it all a bit stressful. Would you please be ok telling me how long it took from sending you DSA form ? Because they have not even send an acknowledgment to the email sending mine my brain is imagine all sort of worst case scenarios.

Thanks all for posting experiences of your DSA assessment - honestly so helpful!