Support For Disabled Students

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Support for disabled Students

This information is specfically about what support there is for disabled students at the University of Leeds. There is additional information in different sections of the website if you are also:

-Support for New Students,

-Support for Part – Time Students,

-Support for Postgraduate Students,

-Support for families,

Use this information in conjunction with the other pages.

If you’re an international student the information on this page may not be relevant. Please see the Equality Service information page for international disabled students.

Disabled Students Allowance (DSA)

Financial assistance is available for disabled students to help with additional costs incurred in attending your course as a direct result of your disability. This can cover equipment, travel and cost of non medical helpers. DSA is available for full and part time students. It is not means tested and does not have to be repaid. If you are coming to the University of Leeds, you are strongly advised to contact the Disability team in the Equality Service team well in advance of the start of your studies. They can assist with your application for DSA.

Financial assistance is available for:

· Items of specialist equipment.

· Travel costs as a result of a disability.

· Assistance towards the cost of a non-medical personal helper.

· General disability related costs if as a result of attending University.

You should contact Student Finance England for more information.

The University of Leeds has an Assessment Centre with more information about how to apply for DSA and assessments: http://www.equality.leeds.ac.uk/for-students/leeds-assessment-centre/

Information for new disabled students can be found here:

Benefits and Tax Credits.

There are various benefits and tax credit elements you may wish to consider claiming if you have a disability. These include Employment and Support Allowance and Disability Living Allowance. There are varying rules in relation to eligibility to claim and the rate of pay. The Student Advice Centre can give specialist advice concerning benefits and tax credits.

There is some information on disability benefits on the governments website here.

Funding from educational bodies and charitable trusts

There are many of these offering small amounts of funding to students. It is a good idea to try to access some funds from these whether or not you have a loan. A bit of extra help is always nice and you will not generally have to pay the money back. However you are unlikely to find complete funding via this route. Look at our page about Funding from educational bodies and charitable trusts.