Change in needs after submitting your Disability Support Form

If your health or circumstances change and you no longer need certain services or require different ones, or you feel you may benefit from additional support you hadn't anticipated when completing your existing support plan (your disability support profile), you can use the 'Update your disability profile' form to let us know.

The form is available to those students who already have a disability profile. You'll find a link to the form in the Profile section on StudentHome. You should see your original disability profile here which will help you tell us what has changed. You can also use the form to tell us if you no longer need the support we've previously provided or about any additional support that's impacting your studies.

If you have any difficulty with completing the form, you can contact the Disability Support Team.

Once your update form has been received, an adviser will contact you to discuss how we can make the necessary adjustments for you.

The form can also be used to securely send us any new or additional supporting evidence if you need to access specialist support such as alternative formats, a non-medical helper or equipment loans.

If you don’t feel you’ll benefit from specialist support at this time, you can still tell us about any changes to your support profile without supplying evidence.

Preparing for the conversation with the adviser

Be clear what your immediate problem is but also identify any underlying issues. The headings in your profile can help here.

For example, you might want an extension to the deadline for your assignment. Is this because of a one-off emergency? Or is it because you're struggling to keep on top of your studies, in which case you might also need a long-term solution to help you keep on track.

Making a list of what you want to discuss as a basic plan can help you get the most of your time with the adviser. If you have more than a few items to discuss, put them in order and ask about the most important ones first.

You'll need the following to hand for the adviser.

• Your Personal Identifier (PI) number.
• All relevant information about your disability in relation to study - have a copy of your profile in front of you. Information about a disability isn’t needed if it doesn’t impact on a study issue.
• Details of how well your existing support strategies are supporting your studies.
• Be ready to discuss any changes to your existing disability support plan that you are requesting. 

Know what your support requirements are related to

Think about whether your support needs are related to your disability or whether it's perhaps a requirement any student could have.

For example, you might not be able to access some information you need for an assignment. Is it just a question of not knowing where to find it, or needing some further help from your tutor in understanding something? Or is it because the information isn’t in the right format for you to use (e.g. your screen reader isn’t reading it out to you or you have dyslexia and you need it in a different font or with a different background colour)?

Provide full information about how you've tried to resolve the problem.

Other resources to look at

We also recommend having a look at your module website. In the Resources Download section you'll find details of all the resources you can download and accessibility guides, library resources and other support services appropriate for your module.

You might also wish to: 

• Find out about some new study habits to help you study modules online .
• Learn some techniques for studying on screen.
• Browse our disability support pages.