Young person with MH off to uni support thread?

[MidLifeWoman]

Hi, I have had a little look around and couldn’t find a thread for parents of young people with mental health issues who are off to uni in September.
I feel like we have unlocked a whole new level of challenge, anybody in the same boat or any wise words from those who have already gone through this?

Get in contact with university Disability services and also apply for DSA on student finance website. You can have a virtual meeting with a disability advisor from the University before you go and sort out a learning support plan with detailed support for accommodations and also so if needed they give you a mentor to talk to every week. A specialist mentor one for university/study issues and another one for mental health and non-related academic stuff - ask for this. They can also refer you to university mental health therapy services.

I'd also recommend changing GPs (pre register so let a new uni GP know you're coming and let them know all your details and issues in advance), and then ask your home GP to prescirbe a 1 month supply of any meds just before you go so you don't run out. If your dc isn't on meds, see about getting on them for stability reasons and the stress of moving to a new city with uni at the same time . Also ask about moving any therapy to be accessible near the university or whether the university GP should refer you somewhere else (whatever systems they have the GP will know specifics)

Search up X uni Disability Sevices most unis have a page with links for how to registers, detailing all the support and processes, key emails of staff, and forms to do etc. Just a page signposting you to everything which will likely be helpful to make sure everything is done in advance. Your dc needs to have a meeting with one of the universities' Disabilities Advisors first to make a new LSP - if there's a website page with all the details, I'd look on there first to email them and ask. You should join the meeting/assesment with the Disability Advisor, if you don't think your dc will go depth on his issues.

Disabiltiy Services are very good with this adding exam arrangements (extra time, rest breaks, scribe, separate room - ask for all the possible exam arrangements, as universities have lower thresholds), tools so recording lectures, and your dc should also have get some assistive technology from DSA which can help.

In the meeting with the uni disability advisor (separate from DSA) they can go through everything the uni can offer including telling all lecture staff (as they change about him in advance). Then then can create after it a Leanring Support Plan (share it with all staff, who come in contact with him, including personal tutor and lecutre staff as they change). They will send him the copy of the LSP before they approve it asking if the wants anything changed etc ( so check for those emails).

Your DC needs to go to office hours, and have sessions with his personal tutor (should be subject specific). Talk to his lectures, his Disability Advisor regularly, his DLO. For most of these he needs to reach out first and then they will offer more support. DLOs are Disability Liason Officer - they tend to be lectures and people in the school your dc is studying in (so school of history and philosophy, school of geography). You contact them for info on extensions, exam issues etc and Disability Advisor for more general things (this is their whole job unlike DLOs who are often teaching staff).

During the DSA Needs Assessment, at the end they ask you if you want to consent to it being sent to the univeristy (normally in advance of you starting) so they know what support they are recommending your uni disability service implement (academic mentor 1-1, mental health services etc) and then the student doesn't have to chase all of it themselves. Make sure you say yes to this.

That's the detailed stuff, but don't worry, your dc will be able to call you (don't call too much, a little more for the first week then slow it down - they need to make friends and get better at being independent). So whilst you will be there, let them grow slightly and I'm sure you'll see them lots during the holidays as well. Also make sure they sort out all I mentioned above, so they can thrive with all the best support in place.

How far away is their university from where you are?

Thank you so much, @TheLivelyViper ! Uni is about 3 hours away.
I have been really impressed with all the support they are offering, but obviously I am worried, it’s a massive step.

Not sure if this is doable, but, would your child give prior consent to the Uni to contact you if they are in MH crisis?

You normally cannot do that. You can get your child to give you consent to access forms and details with the Disability Service, personal tutors but that wouldn't be done 'in advance'. OP's DC would either give her consent for the whole term (or until they revoke it) or not - they'd have to wait till a potential mental health crisis. Also they will have an emergency contact so if an emergency happens, OP will be contacted regardless.

@MidLifeWoman I don't recommend initially doing this if they're stable (which they likely are if they're going to uni 3 hours away). Let them be independent, book their own appointments, run their own calenders (with advice and check-ins from you). It's hard for all parents when this happens and yes even more for when it's a child whose has mental health issues. But let them try first and see how it goes, obviously syport them (naked sure they do the things I mentioned above and all the forms before they go). They can and should put you as an emergency contact for the university (so make sure they've done that) and also maybe get a hidden disabilities lanyard specific to their mental health issues.

At some point they need to try (whilst they can still access support from services) - so they have experience before work and life in general, let them make their own calender, go to meeting themselves, meet with their personal tutor regularly and be honest and do the DSA Needs Assessment themselves (but prepare with you beforehand and have you there if they need you) and the same for the meeting with their Disability Advisor at university. Let them try and then if they need your support get the access (for as short a time as possible before you let them try again by themselves, with you their in case). Don't start that way, as they need to grow and they likely won't if you start Y1 doing it all for them. The start of Y1 is hard, give it time, encourage them, don't put your worries onto them and give it time and make sure they're honest and get support from the services around them.

Plus even if you did this and they gave you access to all the forms, email, correspondence and meetings - the therapist from the GP/Adult mental health services and the university Disability services cannot break confidentiality unless risk to self or others (in which case you'll already need contacted as emergency contact) - anything else won't be disclosed as its therapy and they are 18 or over.