I would like the universe to STOP SUCKING now, thank you.

[baratron]

Dear Miss Helen [0] $My_lastname,

Thank you for your recent application for the Disabled Students' Allowances (DSAs) to assist you with your graduate Diploma in Chemistry.

It would appear from your doctor's letter that your condition [1] is stable with medication [2]. Furthermore, physiotherapy if necessary, is available through the National Health Service with your doctor's referral [3] and asthma and allergies are very common in everyday life [4]. Therefore, it is not clear what you are hoping to get with the Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs) [5].

Please be aware that DSAs are not intended to assist with disability-related expenditure which the student would continue to incur if s/he were not attending her/his course.

Yours sincerely
[elided]
Student Support Manager

[0] There is no person of that name in this house.
[1] Note the singular. Apparently I only have one thing wrong with me?
[2] Or rather, my mental health was stable before I incurred the stress of going back to university. Since then I have done rather more crying in the toilets/in people at college's offices than I would like.
[3] WTF? Physiotherapy? This makes NO SENSE. I have a congenital spinal malformation, the best physiotherapy can do is stop it getting worse.
[4] And even more common in a chemistry lab full of allergens.
[5] Oh, you know, things like:
* A specialist mental health counsellor/mentor to help with my academic study organisation and stress levels.
* A personal assistant to help me in the library and to carry heavy books to and from college for me.
* Additional photocopying expenses needed due to difficulty in handling heavy books.
* A decent back-supporting chair and desk - as the type of chair you need for hours of study is not the same as a comfortable chair for sitting in at home.
* Occasional taxi fares, for when I am too exhausted to manage public transport yet well enough to concentrate on the lecture.
* Additional photocopying expenses needed due to the fact I will miss more lectures than the average person because of illness, and will need to make copies of other people's notes.
...and I haven't even started thinking yet.

What the hell are these morons on?

Yes, I am going to set the college Disability Services Manager on the council (I've spoken to him already), and he is going to KICK RIGHTEOUS ARSE. Nonetheless, I Do Not Need This. Not on top of being sick and stressed and behind with my course. I just don't.

Comments

[barakta]

Drugs, evidently. Or they've decided you're one of those students who think DSA pays for non academic expenses or even the course fees!! This is actually very very common.

Definitely appeal with exactly those reasons you list in this post.

Your asthma is severe, and results in your having poor physical stamina yadda yadda and requires that 'reasonable adjustment' or equipment is purchased to enable you to complete labs. e.g a mask to filter out stuff? A support worker (altho there's issues about what YOU do and what THEY do etc etc).

Physiotherapy is just rude if you never requested it on your original DSA. Sounds like they're talking shite and should be told that.

It doesn't matter re mental health stability or otherwise as you have to work to maintain that and as a result of it need mentoring support to ensure you're keeping track. IIRC you have a diagnosis of bipolar which will suffice and as I asked MH_caseworker colleague earlier student who've had 1 episode of psychosis are DSA-eligible and he has several of them.

Am happy to try and catch you on IRC some time to help break this down.

The d

[baratron.livejournal.com]

Your asthma is severe, and results in your having poor physical stamina yadda yadda

This is, no doubt, another of the major problems/miscommunications.

In doctor speak, my asthma is "mild". This means it can be controlled with reasonably low doses of inhaled steroids and lifestyle changes. (People always forget the lifestyle changes - the inability to go to the pub or to a nightclub for 6 years, etc.) Doctors only call asthma "severe" when you're at the point of needing constant steroid tablets and regular spells in hospital.

Likewise, my scoliosis is "mild". This means that I can walk most of the time, only need small doses of painkillers regularly, and only spend a few days each year completely flat on my back going "argh".

A non-medical person can read a letter from the doctor and think you have no serious problems because of the language that's been used. I'm not sure my doctor was adequately clued-in to what was required here. (I'm not sure I was adequately clued-in to what was required here. I figured it was just a case of proving that I have the medical condition and then up to the Access Centre to determine how bad it was.)

[barakta]

The council are idiots given you have more than one diagnosis which should automatically entitle you to have an assessment. Once you've had your needs assessment from the ACCESS centre and got recommendations the council may refuse some of it but have to have some basis or you could appeal then DDA them.

DSA has changed a lot since I knew it so I've been picking colleague's brains like mad this week to learn fast.

[barakta]

I can also recommend a JISC mailing list "Dis Forum" for disabled students and staff. It's mostly staff but they are the people who would understand what to do next if you needed it.

http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=dis-forum