An overview of the funding and funded support available to you in your studies. Advice about how and when to apply for this support.

General Student Finance (e.g. tuition fees and loans)

Students are often eligible to apply for a loan to help to pay for tuition fees and living costs. Funding differs depending on personal circumstances and the chosen course. Applying for funding can take a long time so we recommend applying early, to give you the best possible chance of having funding in place at start of your course.

You can find information for undergraduates on the government website.

If you have any questions or concerns about this our Money Advice team may be able to help.

Disabled Students’ Allowances

Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) is government funding intended to cover the extra costs of having a disability, long-term medical condition, mental health condition, sensory impairment, autism or specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia, dyspraxia or ADHD. You can apply to your funding body (e.g. Student Finance Wales) for Disabled Students’ Allowance. Disability Rights UK provide information about the DSA, and the government website explains the application process.

NB: We recognise that not everyone who has an autistic spectrum condition would use the word ‘disabled’ about themselves. This includes a lot of the students we spoke to in our surveys. However, Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) is the main way to access support for your study needs at the start of your course and beyond, so it is important to know all about it.

Most autistic students who have been officially diagnosed with an autistic spectrum condition, or have a formal letter confirming they are on the waiting list for an autism assessment, and who are studying on an eligible course, are entitled to DSA – it is not related to any other benefits (even PIP) nor is it means-tested.

DSA can help with the cost of additional support you might require whilst studying, such as:

• One-to-one support (such as a specialist mentor)
• Specialist equipment (including useful software, such as mind mapping to help you make sense of a topic)
• Travel (like getting taxis when public transport is challenging)

DSA won’t cover costs that all students would have to pay for, like buying textbooks or tickets for the bus to and from university.

DSA is not paid directly to the student. Instead, the funding pays the providers of the equipment and support directly.

Autistic students who claim DSA are less likely to drop out of university and more likely to achieve their full potential.

Whether or not you received, or felt you needed support during school or college, university life is very different from the type of study you have been used to and getting the right support in place can make your life a lot easier. DSA is intended to level the playing field for students who have disabilities, long-term conditions, mental health conditions, autism and specific learning difficulties like dyslexia and ADHD.

Students in our Autism&Uni surveys who told the university about their autism and got support early in their course were more likely to enjoy their time at uni and graduate with good grades than those who didn’t get any support.

The timing of the support is important too – students who had all their support in place before the end of the first semester had a much better experience than those students who did not access support. This means applying for DSA as early as you can is a very good idea – it doesn’t matter if the university you end up going to changes.

You can also choose to access support at any point throughout your studies, even if you haven’t previously told the university about your autism, or you receive a diagnosis of autism following commencement of your studies.

Your support can also be reviewed and amended at any time if you find your needs have changed during your course or the support you have in place is not really working for you. Your Disability Adviser is available for you to contact at any point.

You can apply to your funding body (e.g. Student Finance Wales, NHS Wales, Student Finance England) for Disabled Students’ Allowance. Disability Rights UK provide information about the DSA, and the government website explains the application process.

For students funded by Student Finance (e.g. SFW), once you have been deemed eligible a supplier, either Study Tech or Capita, will contact you to arrange a study needs assessment. You do not need to contact them first.

The study needs assessment tends to be a structured but fairly informal one-to-one discussion which will lasts about two hours. You won’t be tested or have to complete any assessment yourself, but the study needs assessor will ask questions in order to explore your support needs.

The study needs assessment is an opportunity to talk to somebody in depth about:

• the positive and negative aspects of studying in the past
• the positive and negative aspects of any previous support at home/school/college
• any worries you might have about going to uni
• what you’re excited about and think you will do well at
• what you think might help you achieve that success

You will also get to learn a bit more about the kind of help that is available to you – many students don’t really know much about this and are amazed to find out what is out there and how it may work for them.

After your assessment, you’ll get:

• a report with the recommendations made by your assessor based on your assessment
• an entitlement letter explaining what support you can get

For students funded by Student Finance (e.g. SFW) Study Tech or Capita will contact you to discuss your equipment and arrange any assistive technology training you need. Your entitlement letter will also tell you if you need to contact any suppliers yourself.

Note: If you are funded by another funding body (e.g. NHS Wales) the process of booking your needs assessment and setting up the recommended support will be slightly different; please contact Disability Service for advice tailored to your circumstances.

• How do you feel about making notes in lectures?
• Would being able to record lectures help you?
• How do you make and organise your notes when reading or revising?
• Do you find academic writing easy? How about spelling, punctuation and grammar?
• Do you find it easy to organise your ideas and structure them in writing?
• How do you feel about group work?
• How do you manage your free time?
• Did you use any tools like visual schedules, social stories, coloured overlays, coloured paper or alarms to help you at school or college?
• Are you always on time for appointments without help from someone else?
• Do you have any other conditions like dyslexia, dyspraxia or ADHD?
• What helps you when you’re stressed? Music, exercise, art, reading, playing games, talking to others?
• What are you most excited about when it comes to your course?