Contact Disability Support to register with the service and discuss any adjustments or support that you may need during your studies and exams/assessments. You can visit Disability Support prior to starting your course in order to be familiar with the location and discuss the support that you may need during your studies.

The Disability Support Team is your main point of contact for any disability related queries throughout your studies. The team of Disability Advisers is responsible for recommending and coordinating your support or adjustments. There are two Disability Advisers who work specifically with autistic students.

Under the Equality Act 2010, Universities have a duty to make reasonable adjustments where disabled students may be placed at a disadvantage in comparison with non-disabled students. Reasonable adjustments enable you to access and participate in learning, assessment, university facilities and services.

The Disability Support Team can provide:

• Advice before you arrive at Durham University
• Contact with a Disability Adviser to determine appropriate support arrangements
• Individual Student Support Plans
• Liaison with departments, tutors and colleges.
• Help with applying for the Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA) or other financial support
• Referral for regular Study Skills support, in accordance with funded recommendations
• Assistive Technology support
• Loans of equipment, including digital voice recorders, if unavailable from other sources
• Library support, including extended loans and access to assistive software in the library
• Support with examinations, such as extra time if recommended

It is recommended that you contact the team before you begin your studies to ensure that appropriate support is planned and for any help needed in applying for Disability Support Allowance, which funds some aspects of the support and assistive technologies.

You are able to contact the Disability Support Team at any point during your studies and support plans can be reviewed and amended. The team are happy to help and want to support you to be successful in your studies and to enjoy your time at Durham University.

A transition event is offered to autistic students prior to the beginning of the first term. This is arranged over two days, where students can stay in college and attend a choice of sessions and orientation events. This gives time for students to settle in before the busy start to the term. If you have declared your autism to Durham University we will contact you to invite you. If you have not yet declared but would like to find out more then please do contact us.

The Disability Support team is responsible for recommending and coordinating your support or adjustments. Adjustments are tailored on an individual basis so your involvement in this process is essential.

If you decide not to contact the team prior to starting your course you are still welcome to contact us at any point throughout your studies.

It can take time to arrange and implement any support you may require so we would encourage you to contact us in good time prior to your arrival so that we can ensure you have everything in place at the earliest possible opportunity.

Please contact us:

Email: disability.support@durham.ac.uk

Tel: 0191 334 8115

Web: http://www.durham.ac.uk/disability.support

• key buildings and rooms, ideally with photographs or link to the Location/Direction section
• key people, ideally with photographs

It might be useful to think about:

• how you would like to describe your autism and anything you think would be useful to share with your tutors
• any support you have received in the past, what has worked well and what hasn’t worked for you
• how you plan to travel to university
• your experience of teaching sessions, what helps you to gain an understanding of a new topic or task
• how you have found note taking and researching for assignments
• how you have found assessments in the past, e.g. exams, essays, presentations, etc.
• how you feel about group work, placement and practical tasks

If you decide that you are going to attend a different University we would recommend that you contact the Disability Advice team at your chosen university.