A Study Needs Assessment is an important part of the process of claiming Disabled Students Allowance and getting support at university. This activity will explain what the Study Needs Assessment is, how it works and how to prepare for your appointment.

The Study Needs Assessment tends to be a structured but fairly informal one-to-one discussion with a Study Needs Assessor which will usually last between 1.5 and 2 hours. The Study  Needs Assessor will have specific questions they need to ask, but it will feel like a chat rather than an interrogation.

Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) is useful for all autistic students to explore, even if you haven’t accessed any study support in the past. The DSA Study Needs Assessment is not just an essential part of that process, but an opportunity to talk to somebody in depth about:

• the positive and negative aspects of studying in the past
• the positive and negative aspects of any support you have received in the past at home/school/college
• any worries you might have about going to uni
• what you’re excited about and think you will do well at
• what you think might help you achieve that success

You will also get to learn a bit more about the kind of help that is available to you – many students don’t really know much about this and are amazed to find out what is out there and how it may work for them.

Here are the steps you’ll need to follow prior to your Needs Assessment:

1. Apply for DSA – take a look at Disability Rights UK guide to DSA for support
2. Prepare for your Needs Assessment – think about the type of support you may need on your course
3. Attend your Needs Assessment appointment. Often these are online via Zoom or Teams

1. How do you feel about making notes in lectures, where most of what is said does not end up on a whiteboard or the PowerPoint slides? It is also not possible to write down every word that is said.
2. Would being able to record lectures help you?
3. How do you make and organise your notes when reading or revising?
4. What are you most excited about when it comes to your course?
5. What would you like to know more about or might need support to do?
6. How do you feel about group work?
7. How do you manage your free time?
8. Are you always on time for appointments without help from someone else?
9. Do you like to be in busy, lively places or quiet places?
10. How do you find out about new topics?
11. Do you find it easy to organise your ideas and structure them in writing?
12. Do you find academic writing easy? How about spelling, punctuation and grammar?
13. Would you like somebody to talk to about your autism who has a good understanding of both autism and university?
14. Do you have any other aspects to your learning profile, like dyslexia, dyspraxia or ADHD?
15. Does it help you to read information from the internet if you can print it out?
16. Who supported you with your work during previous studies, and what did they do that was helpful?
17. What helps you when you’re stressed? Music, exercise, art, reading, playing games, talking to others?
18. Did you use any tools like visual schedules, social stories, coloured overlays, coloured paper or alarms to help you at school or college?
19. How do you feel about talking to people about your autism, including tutors and other students?

To book an appointment with a Disability Adviser at University of the Built Environment contact:

Telephone: Student Advice Team 0118 921 4696
Email: disabilitysupport@ube.ac.uk 
Website: https://www.ube.ac.uk/support/disability-support-team/