So I realised yesterday that about a month ago now I actually volunteered to write another article for the Limping Chicken. But what with exams, audiology appointments and general university organisation stress I totally forgot…
I decided all that time ago that I wanted to write a post to really cheer up all those parents of deaf children, or deaf children/teens themselves, who have at some time in their life spent the inevitable millions of hours agonising over and then fighting for the correct support for their deaf child.
I do personally know how this feels…
As my deafness is progressive I didn’t reach a point where I needed any more support than a Radio Aid and regular ToD contact until the beginning of my A Levels. We were told by the County that they didn’t statement young people over 16 as this was a waste of money… We were then told in a separate meeting that they wouldn’t consider funding a note-taker unless I had a statement.
Anybody can see that that kind of policy is never going to work…
Recently, however, I began the long and complex task of applying to universities, organising interpreters for interviews which involved a group discussion task and then filling in the endless forms for Disabled Students Allowance (DSA).
At first applying for DSA seems like another horrible process where you have to prove that you’re “deaf enough” by collecting reams of medical evidence which spells out exactly what your needs are in terms of academic support. This can get a little complicated if like me you see ENT at one hospital, audiology at another and your GP in a totally different town!
After your application had been received and Student Finance have decreed that you are indeed a deaf young person and therefore entitled to support you are invited to attend an assessment – and this is where I really started to panic…
I know so far that I’ve made this whole process sound truly awful, but really it is nothing at all like the process of applying for a statement! There is paperwork but not in the same way as before, and although there is an assessment it’s more like an informal discussion about your needs and nothing to be worried about at all!
At the time though, I was really panicking about my assessment meeting. I’ve sat through too many horrible meetings with adults whilst we fought for support during sixth form and I can comfortably say that I never want a replay!
On the day of the appointment I was feeling really nervous as I had come down with an ear infection the day before and had no hearing aids in. At such short notice there was apparently no way to organise an interpreter and so I was steeling myself for the total exhaustion of having to spend an hour lip-reading a person I’d never met before.
I have to say that all my fears, worries and panic attacks were totally unnecessary! Yes, it was a pain having to lip-read a new person – but this was the most deaf aware person I’ve ever met! He spoke clearly, didn’t talk while he was writing and made sure I understood everything that was going on, even repeating himself half a million times at one point…
And as for the support, I should never have worried about it. As soon as the introductions were over I was told that as I had a Radio Aid and full time note-taker at school already these would just be continued on at university. I even got to pick the make of radio aid I wanted!
The only thing we had to discuss was whether I wanted to use an interpreter at university. In fact, I felt like the only person I had to convince about this was myself! I went on and on about how my course was mainly group work, with placements etc and how I felt I would really struggle and would definitely benefit from an interpreter. The guy needed no convincing! He just wrote it down straight away!
Talk about VIP treatment!
So, to all the parents and deaf young people who have had to fight to get the right support for you.
Carry on! Because eventually it will get so, so much easier.
I just wish someone had been around to tell me that if I stuck it out and reached university I wouldn’t have to worry about people not understanding what I needed in terms of support for learning!
Ni is a deaf teen in mainstream school. This year she was on the NDCS Youth Advisory Board and as well as this she runs a Youth Group for Worcestershire deaf teens called “Deafinity.” She started writing a blog (www.nigallant.blogspot.com) a couple of months ago about life from a deaf teenagers perspective and says that “somehow what I said resonates with other young people – so I carried on!”
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Hiccups
May 31, 2012
Good Luck for university! ….the fun part is that you have to apply for DSA every year you are at university just to make sure you are still deaf ! Then you have the challenges of finding the interpreter that suits your needs and understand the topics you are studying. Remember to stand firm if you are not happy with the service and change it if you need to.
Anonymous
May 31, 2012
Any university worth their salt should have a Disability Office/Service, which will help you through the process of applying for DSA, sort out university specific support (e.g. accommodation, coordinating with course organisers, exam timetables etc) and generally manage notetakers/interpreters. So the sooner you get in touch with them, the sooner they can help you.
Repeat applications for DSA are usually just a case of confirming what support you need that year – after all you only need a laptop once and notetaker hours change from year to year.
deafgirlz
May 31, 2012
Im in the process of applying for DSA ready for second year at uni….. Stress!! Its annoying to have to do it all over again!
Lisa Cici Fallenstar Heenan
May 31, 2012
As a parent of younger children and a leader of our local DCS, it is heartening to hear stories like this. We only seem to hear about the struggles of deaf children and young people so this is such a refreshing change it actually made me shed a tear for the joy you must have felt in having someone who could help you so effortlessly.
Thank you Ni, x
Natalya Dell
May 31, 2012
I work as a disability adviser in an English university and I had DSA when I was a student over 10 years ago with support for deafness and other disabilities.
I’d be interested as to when Ni applied for DSA as the current short form is only 6 pages long – it used to be 35! 6 pages is still too long but if you tick the box on the UCAS form saying you’re deaf/disabled it should come to you mostly completed after you’ve done your basic student loan paperwork. If you’re a full-time undergraduate which is 90% of students then you need the DSA1S short form. The long form (DSA1F) is only for part-time and postgraduate students.
As for reapplying for DSA every year, you should only need to do this if you’re a postgrad or part time. Full time undergrads should just tick a “yes I still want DSA” on your usual repeat student loan paperwork. If in doubt though, do check with SFE or your disability adviser. Also if your DSA is not SFE (so NHS or anything else) check as they’re completely different.
In terms of the medical evidence requirement for DSA. You simply need a doctor’s letter confirming you have a “hearing impairment” which has lasted or is expected to last 12 months or more – basically proving you have a legal disability. And there’s no such thing as deaf enough! I have advised students “not deaf enough” for hearing aids or with unilateral deafness get DSA support – tailored to their needs.
You should be able to get a letter like this from your GP if you don’t have current audiograms to hand although an audiogram can be helpful to have for your disability advisor or assessor as one of many pieces of information about the nature of your deafness and likely impact it has i.e higher or lower frequency or moderate or profound level of loss. It’s also helpful to your disability adviser and assessor to know what kind of hearing aids you have so we can research equipment compatibility for you.
The DSA assessment could be named better I agree – there’s a lot of argument about what to call it because it isn’t “assessment” like the WCA test for ESA (welfare benefits) which is a dreadful test from what I hear and I’ve known many people be terrified of the DSA one. Informal discussion or “consultation” is a good description, although the assessor is following some fairly standard processes as they assess your needs and it’s their skill that makes it seem friendly and informal. The standards are also why there’s more paperwork for you.
I’m glad Ni’s assessor was good despite NI’s hearing being less than expected (a useful scenario to have recommendations for if it’s at all frequent). I know this can vary but the ones who are good are usually very good and I know they often allow more time for a deaf student’s assessment to allow for repeating and so on. If you are ever not happy with your assessment, or you want more advice at any time do talk to your disability adviser – that’s one of many things we’re there for.
I think if I have another DSA assessment myself (I hope to do postgrad at some point soon) I shall either ask for an assessor I know already or ask for a speech to text reporter as my ability to follow strangers speaking while trying to think about “my needs” at the same time is limited and I tend to stop making sense while seeming to be functioning normally. 🙁
I’m glad Ni’s assessor was good about notetaking, some assessors aren’t as understanding about deafness and can get a bit obsessed with “amplification” via radio aids solves all. I also think that often people who’ve managed without notetaking at school/college suddenly struggle at university which is very different! Many courses have lecture classes of 300+ students and much less access to 1:1 support from the lecturers (although for deaf students, a disability advisor or DSA can request some extra support for you). I didn’t have notetaking at first as a student but later changed my mind.
I agree about university support via DSA and a disability advisor being on average easier than school – much less stupid bureacracy although I think mileage can vary hugely by university and even department within it. Do go back to your advisor if you have problems and you can get your DSA updated if you find you need more than requested although allow lots of time for the DSA update as it can be a bit slow at times! There is soon to be a big DSA and deafness training event which I hope will raise awareness of the variety and complexity of deaf students needs and that we’re all different.
The NDCS do some great leaflets on DSA which you can get for free by creating an account and login (which is free) off their website. I strongly recommend reading through those and thinking as Ni has done about the things you may find hard and whether there’s good solutions for them.
Another useful thing you can do contact the disability service and ask to have a conversation with someone about your support, your course, your needs and what might be useful.
SFE do have a facebook presence which is pretty frequent and friendly, they can’t answer personal queries but they can direct you to information in general sense.
Good luck with your DSA forms folk!
Ni Gallant
June 1, 2012
hi everyone and thank you for your lovely comments 🙂 especially lisa!! thats exactly why i wanted to write about DSA, i know how tough things can be when youre younger.
Natalya, I applied this year! im only 19 and just finishing my a levels. The form is about 6 pages yeh but its more the evidence. we were told that a simple drs letter wouldnt get you support. we had to have letters from the consultant, 2 previous audiograms, a letter from the dr etc.
i did put on UCAS that i was deaf but we didnt get a form!! hadnt even heard that!
for anonymous!! my disability adviser has been fantastic with his recommendations 🙂 birmingham city have a dedicated deaf advisor and hes very good!! 🙂
Natalya Dell
June 7, 2012
Hi Ni. Who advised you about all those medical letters being needed? I definitely don’t advise that many for my students but I know SFE do change their minds sometimes so I’ll definitely check with them just in case as I’m doing a deaf event next week! Any excuse to annoy them with TextRelay 🙂
It’s annoying that ticking the “I’m disabled” and saying you were deaf on UCAS didn’t get you sent the right forms, it’s frustrating when we advisers follow their advice and it doesn’t work for students 🙁 The Direct Gov website has the forms though and if you haven’t had one from SFE by say February then it’s worth completing one and sending it off.
Sadly there’s never such a thing as completing “too many forms” 🙂
Diane Churchill
June 6, 2012
I found applying for DSA to be pretty straightforward, but would advise anyone applying to make sure they apply in plenty of time. I had to borrow an fm system and other equipment until well after Christmas, when I finally got the DSA stuff.
Diane Churchill
June 6, 2012
Natalya, I’ve just realised that you were my disability advisor at the University of Birmingham a few years ago. So I just wanted to say thanks for all the help you gave me.
Natalya Dell
June 7, 2012
Oh hello Diane, good to see you here. You’re welcome – one thing I don’t lack for is job satisfaction. I hope all’s going well with you now you’ve graduated.
Ni Gallant
June 29, 2012
Hi Natalya, only just seen this! it was my disabled students advice person at uni who said I needed the medical evidence… ill be annoyed if it turns out i didnt as it was a total hassle to get!!