Is it always wrong for parents to contact university on behalf of students?

[stripycats]

Just after some advice as I am sitting on my hands and it is becoming difficult. I also don't want to go into too much detail, but if a student has a bit of an issue with the university (not related to grades/marks awarded, discipline or attendance) and struggle to get a resolution themselves, with emails not being replied to, when, if ever would you get involved. There is a financial element to this dispute, which means it does affect me directly. Would it be wrong for me to get involved?

I can't kick myself any harder about it being last minute and if I had a time machine I'd be straight in it with dc.

No real info has been given about how to proceed other than seeing the GP and dc has filled in their online form and not heard back yet. Other than that it has been a case of 'practise your handwriting,' which is not helpful to say the least.

It's not a case of us not labelling it as a disability - I don't think it is one? Definitely not a temporary illness so, yes, seems to fall through a lot of cracks.

If it's a condition that impairs everyday life and is likely to last longer than 2 years that's the definition of a disability.

Thank you - I was looking up the definition as per the Equality Act and wasn't sure whether it's a big enough impairment as if it weren't for exams they wouldn't have to write!

I agree and I, too, think that it might be dyspraxia (otherwise known as DCD) which comes under the SpLD umbrella.

Dyspraxia has many symptoms but a sufferer does not necessarily display all of them. The poor handwriting was the stand-out symptom here (hence my armchair diagnosis) but also the poor organisation.
Dyspraxia

If there's a physical condition that is affecting their life to this degree then yes... it's a disability. An inability to write legibly as an adult is absolutely going to affect their life so I'd go straight to disability services or whatever it is called.

It's not a case of us not labelling it as a disability - I don't think it is one? Definitely not a temporary illness so, yes, seems to fall through a lot of cracks.

This is the problem and it's partly your problem. You haven't fully understood the issues around learning disabilities.

It is a learning disability if it means that your DC cannot participate fully in their education.

Some people have execrable hand writing and they can practice to improve. Your DC has tried to do this, and cannot. Illegibility of hand writing in an exam can be a reason for failing a piece of work. Therefore, learning disability for the purposes of the DDA and the university's administrative - and fairness - processes. (remember your DC is one of maybe 20,000 students).

Surely an amanuensis or use of a suitable computer (university owned, no internet etc etc) is what is needed? This is what your DC needs to request, with evidence.

But you need to approach this in the correct way, and you haven't I'm afraid.

Thanks all - dyspraxia was that they screened for and came back as not at all likely. Reading the list of symptoms it's a definite no to all except handwriting. Educational psychologists I have spoken to have asked questions and said they are highly unlikely to diagnose him with anything.

I do take on board what you say and am grateful for the advice. And, yes, it looks like I haven't fully understood the disability definition. However, I'm unsure how we/I haven't gone about it the right way. DC has been in touch with the disability service at uni and they have turned them away after screening. I do think I will ring them.

Then surely, if you’ve exhausted all avenues, and there’s no prospect of a diagnosis of dyspraxia or similar in the next three weeks, your child is stuck with having to practice writing legibly between now and his/her exams.

Surely part of the issue is that, if they’ve had a concession that allowed them to use a PC all through school, they haven’t had to write in years? I know I’d struggle to handwrite essays now, because it’s so long since I’ve had to, but if I were taking a degree course where I had to handwrite exams, then I’d have to get myself used to it by practising. (And ChatGPT cheating means that many departments who had skewed towards entirely coursework assessment during Covid, have now moved back to trad exams.)

You may be taking too much responsibility, OP. If DC’s handwriting cannot be read, the fact that he cannot be assessed should not mean that he fails or discontinues, but that RA must be found.

I agree that in the imperfect classification system at hand, pursuing the LD route may have the best chance of success.

DC need not wait for one path to peter out before trying another. He can contact his School Student Support Officer, or similar, now. He needs to think about how to convey the gravity of the situation. Thankfully a solution is easily available.

Has DC done any handwritten assessments thus far? If so, what happened?

your child is stuck with having to practice writing legibly between now and his/her exams.

That's going to get them precisely nowhere. Tried that for years. Also their course is incredibly intensive and there is no time to be doing such a fruitless task, especially when some similar courses are all assessed on computers already!

Thanks @poetryandwine . No handwritten assessments at all - all essays so far done on laptop.

Thanks all - dyspraxia was that they screened for and came back as not at all likely. Reading the list of symptoms it's a definite no to all except handwriting.
Was this the online screening that you talked about last night? It sounds like DC needs a f2f assessment so somebody can actually see how bad the handwriting is.

Why doesn't practice improve the handwriting? Is that an avenue to explore.

Bluntly, OP, if the university requires a diagnosis in order for your child to access exam concessions that will allow him or her to use a PC, and they can’t get one, then it’s not a ‘fruitless task’ for them to practice handwriting.

It’s what they’re going to have to do in every exam needed for the rest of their degree, so it’s as necessary as revision — that or drop out, or transfer to one of the courses you mention that use PCs for all assessments.

At school, if they were allowed to use PCs for exams, they had no particular reason to take handwriting practice seriously — why would they? They didn’t need to. Now it’s either that, drop out or transfer to another course or institution with different practices.

No handwritten assessments at all - all essays so far done on laptop.

So that's been OK so far.

My best advice now is Student (or Guild) Union advice.

But can you see the difficulty? Your DC has been screened for all the things which university-staff PPs know (as do I) would be seen as learning disabilities at our own institutions. From what you say here, it doesn't look as though there's been lack of due process. The university can't just hand out reasonable accommodations willy nilly on a student's say-so.

If you do ring the Student Disability service, don't do it as intervention for your DC. Ask for advice, and explain the problem. Don't try to get them to do something - just ask for advice about possible next steps.

• Your DC knows that they have illegible hand writing
• They have made genuine attempts all through school to improve, to no avail.
• There have been ed psych interventions, but no firm diagnosis of specific SpLDs has emerged
• The school made simple adjustments (use of computer in what would have been hand-written exams, I'm assuming?)

The lack of a specific diagnosis seems to be the issue. Are there other avenues to get towards what is a quite simple accommodation (amanuensis or computer for exams) ?

Ask about next steps. Don't demand action.

Look at it from the university'sPoV. They deal with 20,000 students. Things have to be fair, transparent & by the book. (As I said upthread, at my place, we ask for evidence of family deaths if that's the reason for mitigation).

So this request will need evidence. You need to find out what evidence the university needs.

This is actually an academic or quasi-academic issue.

If working with the SSO does not get DS further forward within a week, I suggest he contact his Director of Studies, Senior Tutor, or someone in a similar role. Again he will need to put a lot of thought into conveying the gravity of the situation. This may potentially be embarrassing - describing the vast amount of practice he has done, offering samples of his handwriting, offering to provide documentation from earlier investigations you had done, etc.

All evidence will be held in confidence on a need to know basis, and these are the staff members who oversee RA anyway, so while this may not be the easiest thing it isn’t changing anything material. (Besides, there is nothing for DS to be ashamed of, and this problem is very small and relatively pleasant to deal with - the frustration is that it’s taking more than 5 minutes)

This person ought to be able to get things moving quickly. But it would be wrong not to give the system a chance, first.

I have known one university request from a candidate that they paid to have their written scripts typed, while they dictated, at the point it was decided the assessor was unable to read the writing. It was not exactly terrible, but small and cramped. However, that was a long time ago when it was much less usual to have accommodation for typing by any candidate, so decided after there were a lot of scripts submitted that turned out to be 'unreadable'.

It would be worth thinking through whether this could be an offer to suggest, or to pay a scribe for the exams if the university can find you one. They may not accept this, as they would almost always need evidence to put reasonable adjustments in place in advance. But it would then mean that you have the right amount of time - i.e. as much as you need - to get proper advice and assessment ready for the most important exams.

There is one more thing to be aware of. It depends on university systems, and it varies, but it's worth bearing in mind. With some learning differences or health conditions, declaring them to one area of a university does not mean that they are automatically shared to all of them and translated into an adjustment - so it is a very good idea to ensure that all departments that will need to be aware are contacted directly (e.g. the exams office) to make sure it is all consistent. This is, again, partly due to GDPR expectations and the systems they have to fit with.

Examples can be that some will declare a health condition on enrolling, right at the start of their courses, but that this data is not necessarily transferred through Student Support and on to the Exams officers. If someone moves course or university, even if records are transferred, this other personal information very rarely is. Better to ensure that you have flagged it up, when there is a decision on specific support in exam conditions.

Thanks everyone and especially @poetryandwine and @ParmaVioletTea - will be following this advice and have no intention whatsoever of being rude or demanding. I just want it to be resolved but I do appreciate there is a process to go through. We don't have documentation of investigations though as ed psychs are those I have spoken to on the phone and they have said they wouldn't want to take our money as it seems like more of a health problem and better suited to an occ therapist. This is going to be £400ish by the sounds of it, which is a lot of money and if they then didn't accept it...

@Ormally University have actually stated that they could transcribe their response but they can't read their own writing (which is basically just lines and dashes!) so it wouldn't work. Definitely doesn't want a scribe - just a computer for exams.

@Wapentake That is so unhelpful and would be a massive waste of dc's talent and ability. And it's not different courses that use laptops, it's different modules within the same course, so it just makes it ridiculous as if they were doing English, it would be like do the Bronte module and be assessed on computer but do Romantic Poetry and have to handwrite! It's just not logical, but I won't say that if I ring.

It's not 'unhelpful'. I'm simply stating what appears to be the university's position -- no diagnosis, no concession. If a diagnosis is not forthcoming, your child has the option of practicing legibility ahead of the summer exam season, or dropping out of the degree. (Or, as the university have offered, the option to transcribe their own written exam, but you say your child can't even read their own handwriting!)

On your modules point, surely that's a matter of some modules being assessed by coursework (ie word-processed and submitted online) and others being assessed by exam, not that the Bronte exam is on a PC and the Romantics exam is handwritten?

You need to find an OH who has an interest in dysgraphia. DS1 has that too, with a couple of other vague, non-specific sensory processing issues (e.g. difficulty distinguishing foreground from background). I did a lot of research to find an OT with an interest in dysgraphia and she wrote the report with recommendations for typing exams, extra time etc. He got the concessions for his leaving cert (A level equivalent) and then, as the report was sufficiently recent, also got them for university from the original report.

We had to travel 2 hours to the OT but absolutely worth it.

Edited to add this definitely comes under the remit of disability services.

No, all modules are assessed by exam.

I’d ask him to complete a 3rd party consent form. They would then talk to you. I have one for my 19yo “adult child” because he’s autistic. I’ve never used it though.

If the dc has dysgraphia, practicising handwriting will get them precisely nowhere.

DS1 had a teacher in primary who was hot on handwriting. She told me she had stopped giving out to him about his writing as she could see he was trying but getting nowhere. He was sent to remedial handwriting classes for a full year with a teacher training student who was on placement. No improvement. It was only when I did some research myself in secondary that I suspected dysgraphia and found an OT with an interest that he got a diagnosis.

But can your child not then choose the modules which use a PC for exams as much as possible, minimise those which require a handwritten exam, and arrange to transcribe their handwriting as the university have offered for the handwritten exams they can't avoid? I mean, presumably, even if they struggle to read their own handwriting, they still will be able to read it more easily than someone else.

Exactly like my ds. He played hurling (a sport that involves catching a small ball and hitting it with a stick) to a high level so dyspraxia ruled out. Lots of the OTs have no clue about dysgraphia.

This is what I should have done 🙄