Difficulty Securing Accommodations in Education

ProfessorWorm

Active member
It’s nearly impossible to get accommodations for disabilities, especially ND ones. It took me till my sophomore year of high school to get a waiver for writing on tests, my handwriting is illegible and it’s extremely difficult for me. I was just expected to tolerate sensory issues, waste all of my spoons trying to coordinate my body enough to do PE, immediately and innately understand confusing verbal instructions (I don’t process quickly). My issues are apparent to all of my teachers but I couldn’t get the most basic assistance until I had multiple chronic illnesses and a formal dx and I was lucky to get that.

This shouldn’t be the way education works. No one should have to wait until their health has been wrecked or they burn out to be offered support. It should not be acceptable to have disability services coordinators shrug their shoulders and say ‘Oh, we don’t ever see people with autism so we can’t really help’. No one should have to perform disability to ‘earn’ supports. A piece of paper or lack thereof shouldn’t prevent someone from being able to access education.

Does anyone have any suggestions for how to make education improve? Currently I’ve only managed to do the bureaucratic equivalent of screaming into the void.
 

ProfessorWorm

Active member
I’m in the states at the moment, which doesn’t really do much for disabled students, I have English citizenship but don’t qualify as a resident in England currently so I don’t think I qualify when I do move over in the fall either.
 
I’m in the states at the moment, which doesn’t really do much for disabled students, I have English citizenship but don’t qualify as a resident in England currently so I don’t think I qualify when I do move over in the fall either.
Hi ProfessorWorm, it seems you might be correct unfortunately,I have just asked my support staff this as they did All sorts of degrees in university and they said it says on the student finance forms/DSA stuff you have to be living here/UK to get it.i don’t know anyone to ask who has been to uni other than my non disabed family.

I don’t know how long you need to be living here in the UK to apply but seeing as you have citizenship,what about PIP and ESA OR a community care assessment from social services when you move over here,they May award you a certain amount of hours which you can use for a PA of your choice,it can technically pay for a friend of yours if you wanted,from what I know.
 

ProfessorWorm

Active member
Thank you so much fluffymainecoons. I need to have lived in England continuously for three years prior to application. I’m not really in need of a PA, more adjustments to teaching and tutoring/a bit of extra time in labs and tests/scribing and such. I will look into what you suggested though and see if that will work for me.