Disability student allowance, anything we need to know?

[MoominUnderWater]

Dd is applying for this to help with the cost of a laptop.

She is diagnosed dyslexic and has a diagnosis letter.

She also has fibromyalgia and Ehler Danlos syndrome so has asked the gp to write her a letter supporting her as the form says this is needed. Gp has asked her to attend an appointment to talk about it.

so I guess she needs a laptop for lectures because of her dyslexia and slow processing. She can’t write notes and then type stuff up. Her handwriting is quite bad and she can type quicker than she can write.

she also struggles with tiredness due to the fibromyalgia and having a laptop means she could potentially use voice to typing software when doing assignments. Because if her EDS her fingers dislocate sometimes so again writing can be hard, typing is easier.

does the gp basically just need to say that her eds can cause her fingers to pop out of joint and her fibromyalgia makes her tired??!

@MoominUnderWater it is always going to take longer and be more effort for her if she has to overcome challenges others don’t have. There’s far more support (in our experience) at uni than school but none of it is fixing, more learning how to get through. Some people do get a computer so if that’s your focus then it might be possible for her. There is a form you need from school that lists the accommodations she’s had there. Extra time and software are both very helpful. She might think about having notes ahead of the lectures and annotating them rather than lugging a laptop. The earlier you contact them the easier it all is to have in place earlier.

We’ve just done this with DD. It was really good and she’s got a lot of support.

We uploaded her diagnosis letters. They didn’t ask for any further information.

The assessment was good. Not stressful or anything, the lady was lovely and she went through all the support they could offer - a laptop was one of the first things she offered as DD’s current one is a few years old (we’ve got to pay the first £200) as well as an extra screen, a printer, an ink and paper allowance and loads of assistive tech to go with it.

She made suggestions for things we had never thought about and DD’s package is actually better than her EHCP

Dd2 got the GP to write a letter confirming that she was missing her arm (hard to fake that one).
Ds (adhd and asd) he uploaded his diagnostic letters.

They then had a zoom call who discussed with them what was needed.
Dd2 got a laptop and for some odd reason an incredibly large whiteboard that she hadn't asked for and didn't fit in the car, and mentor sessions.
Ds got noise reducing headphones, and they offered a laptop, but he prefers his current one. He also will have mentor sessions, but thankfully the large whiteboard hasn't turned up this time.

Your DD is likely to be given Genio (formerly Glean) to record lectures.

It just needs to be a diagnosis letter, rather than explaining what her difficulties are.

That's all I had for when I applied. I got a laptop, software, microphone to record lectures, a laptop stand and a pillow wedge so I can do work in bed. I also got a taxi funded to take me there and back (my uni had a free bus service so my taxi was funded completely, but if she'd normally pay for transport then she'd just pay that and the rest would be covered). I have hEDS, depression and anxiety.

Another thing to be aware of is that some software given as part of DSA doesn’t run well on a Mac.

Also…
Do not buy any thing… or tell them you’ve bought anything…. Cos then you won’t get anything…,
The system is nuts, you have to wait for them to either authorise your purchase, or actually send you the goods. Don’t buy and expect reimbursement…. It won’t happen