Government research highlights how DSA support can help disabled students ‘achieve their goals’

Non-medical support provided through the disabled students’ allowance (DSA) system can play an important role in the ability of young disabled people to succeed at university, according to research commissioned by the government.

Non-medical help (NMH) available through DSA offers regular, practical, study-focused support which – the report concludes – can be “impactful” for disabled students and help them “overcome barriers and achieve their academic goals”.

But the report, commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE), also concludes that there are gaps in the DSA system that can undermine the “accessibility, consistency, and effectiveness” of this support.

Among the areas of concern is the DSA application process, with a sizeable minority of those who took part in the research reporting “unclear steps, burdensome evidence requirements, and poor communication” that has led to delays in securing support, sometimes until the second half of the academic year.

And there was also concern over the support provided to students with ADHD, as there is no specific type of support targeted on their needs, and “some students with ADHD felt their needs were not fully understood or addressed through the NMH support they received”.

Many of those who receive DSA had previously struggled with heavy workloads, notetaking, reading and processing information, or with taking part in seminars, group work and presentations, while some also found it hard to access other aspects of university life, such as social events.

The research included 200 in-depth interviews with students who received NMH through the DSA system, and a survey that produced 2,879 responses.

Four-fifths (80 per cent) of disabled students who responded to the survey said NMH support helped them engage with their studies either a lot or a little, while this was higher among female students (82 per cent) than male students (76 per cent).

Some disabled students said the NMH support they had received had played a crucial role in preventing them dropping out of their course.

One first-year student, who received support from a specialist mental health mentor, told researchers: “I was thinking about quitting… but [my support worker] gave me reasons to stay on the course.

“She made me think about the long-term goals, why I wanted to do the course in the first instance… and how I should work on the feedback I had received.”

Some students said the support helped them meet deadlines and submit assignments on time, particularly autistic students and those with specific learning difficulties who had received support with study skills and strategy and had previously struggled with meeting deadlines.

One second-year undergraduate said: “Since I’ve started to get my most recent support mentor, I’ve started doing the work earlier and earlier and earlier.

“In the first two and a half years of uni, I didn’t submit an assignment without an extension. Now I’m getting to the point where I’ll submit stuff early.”

Most students felt the NMH support they received had been high quality (51-64 per cent across the seven NMH types), while between 11 and 16 per cent rated their support as low quality.

As well as specialist mentors for those with mental ill-health or autistic students, the study examined the specialist study skills and strategy support received by autistic students and students with specific learning difficulties, and the assistance provided by specialist support professionals for deaf students, and those with visual impairments and multisensory impairments.

Most students (76 per cent) received other forms of disability support alongside NMH, usually from their university, such as reasonable adjustments, pastoral guidance or counselling.

A Department for Education spokesperson told Disability News Service yesterday (Wednesday): “We are determined to break down barriers for young people, especially disabled students, to succeed in higher education by making sure the right support is in place.

“We recognise the important role support through the disabled students’ allowance can play in this and we are considering the findings of the research report and any next steps.”

Picture of the Department for Education’s offices in Westminster by Google