My initial reflections when first opening the webpage, is that there is a video as well as written text, which is useful for those with dyslexia or another specific learning difference where reading paragraphs of text can be challenging.
The document itself is comprehensive and clear, however I feel it would be useful to have some guidelines about the length of time it would take to go through this process, something that I thing would be good for students to be aware of. Perhaps this varies considerably on a case by case basis, that its misleading to put a guideline within the document?
From my personal experience with students, there is often incredibly long wait times to get screenings – particularly when they have already started their studies. This can often have a great impact on their first few months of study when they join university. That time of adjustment and recalibration, where they would most benefit from the support of a Disability Advisor but don’t have access to one. In many cases this support doesn’t come into fruition until later into their first project, where it’s unrealistic for that student to catch up, they fail and need to resubmit. This then impacts their ability to engage in the next project and they fall into a cycle of being several steps behind – and through no fault of their own.
It would be interesting to know how the university communicates this disability information to prospective students applying to UAL, and once they are enrolled but before starting their courses. Is it advertised to them, or do they have to go hunting through UAL’s website to find it?
On my course BA(Hons) Fashion Design and Development, we make sure students are aware right at the very beginning of their arrival about the support available within the university and how to go about applying for an ISA. We will also signpost students throughout the year to our courses Disability Advisor if they are diagnosed with a disability or learning difference part way through their studies. This is sometimes the case where the student has come forward themselves for a screening or has been diagnosed by a doctor; however sometimes there are students who are obviously struggling who aren’t aware that these struggles may be because of something undiagnosed. As a tutor this is both difficult to watch as you want the student to thrive, but also challenging to navigate as you try to offer support and signposting in a caring and empathetic way.
Positionality of students can also have in impact on this process. International students may have doctors notes that are in different languages that the university requires to be professionally translated in order to be considered a valid document – which costs money. What if that student does have the money? They then wouldn’t have access to the DSA until they have be through this process.
There is little information for tutors on what they can actively do to help those students – information is not really shared in great amounts of detail – all ISA’s are virtually identical and generic, but their needs may be more specific. What can I do as a tutor to help these students – once they have had the conversation with their disability advisor. Having time to reflect on this document has made me realised that I should be doing more to actively approach those students and ask what they need rather than relying on the generic paper work. What do they think will help them day to day, and what can I do to facilitate that help? How do you manage this support on a course with such large numbers?