Mentioning difficulties in personal statement

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Hi,
My DS has had to overcome lots of difficulties in his journey through school/life such as having to have occupational therapy as a young child for coordination problems - learning to walk , get dressed etc. He is now in Y12 and is applying for uni to study psychology. Is it appropriate for him to talk about these difficulties to show how hard he has worked and then maybe link it in with something from psychology such as motivation?

If it explains something? I had anorexia and missed loads of lower sixth so that was mentioned because it explained lower grades.

I think your instinct is right - your DS could very briefly mention his understanding of psychology, particularly child/adolescent psychology, by referring to his experiences but certainly in a positive light - the difficulties he's overcome, the wider understanding they've given him, perhaps even that some of his motivation springs from them. But perhaps not the detail eg the OT - he'll have much else to write about by now.

Is there someone at school or college, apart from you, of course, who he could run his statement past?

But when he's accepted by a uni, that's the time probably to let the support services know if there is any continuing support he may need. Would of course not count against him - but it would mean that the ball could be rolling before he gets there.

Good luck.

Thanks Sioned. I am hoping that he will be able to get some guidance from school. I suppose that I just thought that admissions tutors would want to know when things haven't been straightforward and that someone has shown perseverance and has had to work at things.

DS has had to overcome lots of difficulties in his journey through school/life

Anyone could write "I had xyz problem": the information needs to come from a professional to carry weight. Can he speak to his tutor and find the best way to get it incorporated into the reference.
So problem mentioned in reference, overcoming problem and lessons-learned in PS. But keep it relevant i.e. recent.

I used to write student references on UCAS references. In my experience, this would be something the school should mention on their reference. I certainly have done in the past when student's overcame significant difficulties in their school career. I would check with his tutor or head of sixth form.

we're getting the school to include stuff like that in their reference - DDs PS will be strictly about "why I love the subject and what extra stuff I've done that shows that". A couple of her uni choices interview, so she may talk about some relevant personal experiences then if it seems appropriate.

I wouldn't write that, unless he has an ed psych report & /or statemented SN or the like. Most people have struggles in life ... Are his struggles worse than those of a young girl raped at 14, or from a home where her father beats her mother? Or a young boy whose family exist on benefits, or is the first in his family to do A Levels, let alone go to University (and I've students who've come from all these kinds of backgrounds).

If he has a documented learning disability or chronic health problem which has impeded his progress or had an effect on his achievement levels, then he'll be asked to note that on his UCAS form. We'll see that there's a disability (although we won't see what it is.

I'm not an academc psychologist, but as an academic, I'd be a bit wary of a PS which argued that a reason for studying psychology was that the applicant had struggled him/herself and so had empathy with the neurally/psychologically atypical.

I think they are all too long ago .On eadmissions tutor told us 'we are interested in nothing that happens before secondary school'

Recent difficulties that have been successfully overcome should be part of his reference, if at all possible.