Anxiety about uni.

[Mumof4Monsters]

Hi there, reading thru some of the posts on here a lot of you look like your really clued up on it all so im hoping someone will be able to help me. My eldest son is almost 17 & has just finished his 1st yr at college so we are starting to look at uni options now. As, like most people these days, we have to count every penny, he keeps saying we cant afford for him to go. I am looking into all the financial help he could get to persuade him we will manage but there is one i cant find much info on. The Disabled Students Allowance says it is to help all disabled students including mental health but does that include anxiety? He has been suffering with this for a few yrs now but it came on alot worse last yr when he was due to start college, from about mid Aug until Oct half term he was physically ill every day! He is on medication to help him thru the worst days, which includes during exams, but doesnt like taking it all the time. I have already spoken to the uni he is hoping to go to (near home because it would be too much to cope with leaving home at the same time as starting a new place) & they have said he can have support during exams but does anyone know if he will be entitled to the extra financial support as well? Sorry for dragging on so long, any advice will be greatfully received, thank you.

I'm not an authority, but I don't think he would get extra financial help for having anxiety. I think the only financial support disabled students get is the disability support from the govt, but you have to be registered disabled, e.g. blind, in a wheelchair.

I would be surprised if he got extra financial help because of anxiety but the best thing to do would be to speak to the relevant contact at the university.

However, he is a year or two (if he has a gap year) away from going up so his health may hopefully improve by then.

If I were you I would just encourage him to focus on his studies,what courses he is interested in and getting the best treatment so he gets better / manages his condition.

I tell my DS its his responsibility to study, get in and do well & mine to pay for it. Maybe by talking about Disabled Students Grants you are making the problem worse and encouraging him to think of himself as long term disabled rather than having something he can recover from.

Thank you both for your thoughts. I haven't actually mentioned that funding to him yet, i wanted to check out the details first. I do think it's unlikely he would get it but am a little of the mind 'you dont know if you dont ask' so thought id ask. Thanks again.

This is off the directgov website :

What can DSAs be used for?
They can help pay for:

?specialist equipment you need for studying - for example, computer software
?non-medical helpers, such as a note-taker or reader
?extra travel costs you have to pay because of your disability
?other costs - for example, tapes or Braille paper

Universities ususally have very good support and counselling services. But I'm not sure your son would need any of the above support.

If his anxiety level is high enough to be incapacitating and affect his exam performance you should get a note from his doctor and apply for special consideration to the examining boards through the school/college. You can also inform the universities he applies to so that if he misses a grade by a small amount due to this, they may overlook it.

Good Luck!