Support Information

We’ve an excellent range of professional support and advice available to disabled applicants and students via our service.

What support is available?

 Support can include:

• Information and advice before you arrive at Durham
• Contact with a disability adviser to determine what support is appropriate for you on your chosen course
• Development of your individual support plan called a ‘Disability Support Notification’ (DSN), which documents your agreed support and “reasonable adjustments”
• Examination arrangements such as extra time or rest breaks
• Liaison and/or meetings with your department, tutors and college support staff upon request
• Help and advice about applying for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) or other appropriate funding
• A referral for library support, including extended loans, access to reserved study rooms and assistive software in the University Library
• A referral for specialist support and advice from qualified Mental Health Advisors and/or Durham’s Counselling Service
• Specialist Study Skills Support (if applicable) for students who aren’t in receipt of external funding
• Assistive Technology support

How do I set up support?

It’s important to note if you’ve previously had academic adjustments at school or college support doesn’t automatically roll over to university. Similarly, disclosing a disability on your university application form isn’t enough by itself to get the support you need in place. Thankfully, setting up support at Durham can be done in three simple steps:

Step 1: Complete our ‘Tell us More’ form

If you disclose a disability on your university application, we will contact you and ask you to complete our Tell Us More form. This form gives you the opportunity to: tell us about your condition; the support you think you’ll need, and any support you’ve had in place before.

Step 2: Send us medical evidence of your condition

We’ll need you to provide a medical letter or psychological diagnostic assessment report detailing your diagnosis and the impact your condition has on your ability to study. We’ve provided guidance on acceptable medical evidence but encourage you to contact us if you’re not sure about anything. You can upload your documents when you complete the Tell Us More form or email it to us.

Step 3: Set up an appointment with an Adviser

When you arrive in Durham, you’ll need to contact us to request an appointment with a Disability Adviser. We’ll have a chat about your condition and the impact on your studies. We’ll then look at the most appropriate academic adjustments to support you throughout your course and draw up your Disability Support Notification (DSN)

So, if you’re preparing to come to Durham and want to set up support, remember support doesn’t automatically roll over from school/college. You need to:

1. Complete our Tell Us More form
2. Organise your medical evidence 
3. Set up an appointment with a Disability Adviser on your arrival.

What do I need?

You will need suitable medical evidence of your condition. Medical evidence must meet certain criteria. For example, we expect that any letters are on official hospital or GP practice headed notepaper and signed by the practitioner. Evidence needs to be written in English or translated into English by a certified translator.

For ongoing medical conditions, the evidence you’ll need to provide is:

A letter from your GP or consultant that includes:

• your diagnosis (or working diagnosis)
• that your condition is long-term, or is likely to be ongoing for a period of twelve months or more
• that your condition has a substantial impact upon your day-to-day life.
• a description of how your condition may affect your studies

For mental health conditions, the evidence you’ll need to provide is:

A letter from your GP, psychiatrist or clinical psychologist, written within the last two years, that includes:

• your diagnosis (or working diagnosis)
• that your condition is long-term, or is likely to be ongoing for a period of twelve months or more
• that your condition has a substantial impact upon your day-to-day life.
• a description of how your condition may affect your studies

For specific learning differences (such as dyslexia), the evidence you’ll need to provide is:

A full diagnostic assessment report, written by an educational psychologist or a suitably qualified specialist teacher, that includes:

• the Assessment Practicing Certificate number of the author, indicated on the front of the report
• the formatting and tests recommended by the SpLD Assessment Standards Committee
• a clear diagnosis of a specific learning difference

If you are awaiting an assessment for Autism or ADHD:

We recognise that getting a diagnosis of Autism or ADHD can take a long time. If you need support for suspected Autism or ADHD, we may be able to accept an interim report or referral letter which confirms the indicators of these conditions and the support you’ll need for your studies. Please contact us to discuss this further.