Don't Cut Us Out

  In April 2014 the Universities and Science Minister David Willets announced cuts to the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA), including cuts to basic equipment needed to study at university and funding cuts for specialist accommodation. These changes would take place from 1 September 2015 and will affect all full-time, full-time distance learning, part-time and postgraduate students in England applying for DSA.This blog is here for students to share their stories of how DSA has helped them during their time at university and how the cuts could impact their continued studies.  These stories will be used to spread the campaign message through the media and through Parliament .   

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I AM A DYSLEXIC STUDENT…

I am a Dyslexic student who has struggled with reading, writing and spelling all my life. I struggled through school with very little help and recognition of the problems that I was facing. At university I was very scared of the amount of reading and writing I was going to have to be doing under pressure, but I found out quickly that the first time in my life the difficulties I was facing were being recognised. After filling out many impossible forms with lots of help from my mum, I had a disability needs assessment where I talked through all the ways that the university and disabled students allowance could help me. It covered the costs of specialist software and equipment that would help me take notes and organise myself at University, something I’ve always struggled with. It also pays the one-to-one tuition with a specific learning difficulties tutor. She was able to talk through essays, readings and other parts of my course that with my dyslexia was near impossible for me.

  I finish my degree in June with a high 2:1 and I’m absolutely delighted to be embarking on a masters at Cambridge in the coming academic year. However, this is overshadowed by the fear of not receiving the same help that I have done through my undergraduate degree. With the current threat to Disabled Students’ Allowance, someone in the same situation as me will not be able to get the assistance that was invaluable in completion of my degree. If I were to not receive the same support while doing my masters I’m sure that my dyslexia would hold me back significantly. The problems I face are particularly relevant to studying an academic degree and while working in the student union I have had none of the same problems, and have been able to progress through the year without being held back by the difficulties. It’s obvious that supporting students who have specific learning difficulties is vital for them to achieve what they are capable of.

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"Don't exclude people because they are different..."

I am dyslexic. To me, this means that I think about and approach some things differently to others. I read significantly slower than most. I am rubbish with facts, but fantastic with concept and imagination. I can't spell very well. Some words always trip me up like 'cousin' and 'dyslexia' (*ironic).

I thought I would give you an insight into how I spell: I can't remember whether you spell the word positive & negative with a A or an I. But I do know that one is with one, and one is with the other... I have written them out in lines, I have spelt them out load over and over again. I have also put them on Post It's around my room so that morning, noon and night, I can see how they are spelt. All of these have failed.

But this is a method that does work: My name begins with Alice. I am very bad at spelling. Being bad at something is negative. So Alice is negative at spelling. So as my name begins with A and I am taking about the word negative; negative must be spelt with an A. That must therefore mean that positive is spelt with an I, as that is the other option.

This process takes place when spelling both words. If I want to spell positive, I have to go through the whole process to reach stage 6 - I can't just jump there. To others this seems crazy, to me this seems normal. I have 100's of these stories, rhymes, poems that help me remember how to spell. Just think of my memory capacity huh!

But I started to struggle when I reached university as the amount of factual information I had to remember increased significantly. In my third year, I was diagnosed with dyslexia while (again ironically) studying dyslexia as a dissertation topic. My tutor could not believe that I had not been diagnosed before. Subsequently, I was given extra time in my exams and equipment to record my lectures so that I could sit, listen and soak up their words. I was then able to play it back, chop it up and digest it in chunks. I also received an IT programme which helps me visually plot information in a way I can understand, instead of trying to read in lines with words jumping all over the page. Lastly I was given someone to talk to. To discuss what it meant to be dyslexic and to help with the shock (it was a shock) of being diagnosed.

Without the support, I would have failed my university finals. These cuts will cause others to fail through no fault of their own. Don't exclude people because they are different, everyone is different and that is why our society is beautiful.