Disability services

Disability Services provide support and advice to students with a range of impairments including; medical conditions, autism spectrum disorders, mental health conditions and people with specific learning difficulties (for example, dyslexia). This list is not exhaustive, you will find more information on these pages and we recommend early contact with Disability Services in order to set up support.

We provide a service to students who are visually impaired, hearing impaired, wheelchair users or people with mobility difficulties, those with long-standing medical conditions, autism spectrum disorders, mental health conditions and people with specific learning difficulties (for example, dyslexia). This list is not exhaustive. Early contact with Disability Services prior to your arrival is advised in order to set up support.

How can we help?

Disability Services has a team of advisers. We can provide you with information, advice and guidance, to assist you with:

• Obtaining evidence of your disability - students are eligible for disability funding and support if they meet the definition of disability in line with the Equality Act 2010. Therefore funding bodies and the University require clear and auditable evidence that a student has a long-term condition (at least 12 months), which has a substantial impact on their day-to-day activity (including education). Doctor's letters should therefore clearly indicate this.
• If you have a Specific Learning Difficulty such as Dyslexia, a report is required as evidence of your disability. To apply for support from your funding body, a full diagnostic report is required which has been carried out by an Educational Psychologist and it must have been completed post-16. We can help you apply for funding for this assessment if you do not have one already. For more information, please visit https://libguides.tees.ac.uk/dyslexia 

• Implementing support and reasonable adjustments for your course through a Student Support Plan
• Arranging one-to-one support, for example specialist study skills tuition, mentoring, note taking support, and mobility assistance - more about one-to-one support
• Applying for funding for your support for example Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs) and supporting you to arrange a Study Needs Assessment. This can be arranged through an external Assessment Centre or through our Assessment Centre on Teesside. More about DSA's

​If you normally live in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales, your application for student finance will be dealt with by the authorities in your own region.

• Northern Ireland
• Scotland
• Wales

If you would like to notify Disability Services about a disability or health condition, please complete the Disability and Health Notification Form (DHN) below and send it back to us with your evidence. 

You will then be assigned an Adviser who can talk to you about the appropriate support that may be available to you. Please see the link ‘Accessing disability support’ for more information.​

Students who have registered with Disability Services and have provided sufficient evidence will be assigned an Adviser who can talk to them about specific needs relates to their disability and discuss how this might impact the different activities that may be requested as a student. These ares may include:

• Travelling to and from campus
• Reading and research
• Producing written work
• Organisation and time management
• Presentations and group work
• Access to IT

The Adviser will then discuss options for reasonable adjustments and support to help in these areas so that the student is not at a disadvantage. Some examples of this may be:

• A slip for dyslexic students to attach to assignments and exam papers to assist with marking
• Exam adjustments
• Specific adjustments for presentations, group work, practical sessions, communication
• One to one support within or outside of the classroom
• Recommendation to apply for DSAs to explore DSA funded support such as recording lectures, travel allowances and one to one specialist support such as mentoring and study skills tuition