Disabled Student Allowance (DSA)

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What is Disabled Student Allowance?

Lipspeaker UK can provide you with Lipspeakers, BSL interpreters, Speech-to-Text Reporters and Notetakers to support your studies.

You can apply for Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) if you have a disability that affects your ability to study, such as a: learning difficulty, such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, or ADHD. mental health condition, such as anxiety or depression.

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You may claim the DSA in addition to your student finance loans and grants to cover any extra study-related costs you incur due to an impairment, mental health condition, or learning difficulty. It is neither a benefit nor a loan, so it doesn’t need repaying.

You don’t have to have a confirmed place at a university before you apply for your DSA. We recommend you apply early so this is in place before your course starts, but you can apply at any point during your studies.

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The DSA for students in England is made of up four parts:

  1. Non-medical helper allowance– an annual payment to help cover the costs of academic support (e.g. a British Sign Language interpreter or Lipspeaker)
  2. Specialist equipment allowance– a one-off payment to cover items required for you to study (e.g. assistive technology software). If you require a computer, you will need to pay the first £200.
  3. Travel allowance– reasonable spending on additional costs incurred as a result of a disability (this does not cover everyday costs you would expect to pay for).
  4. General allowance– an annual payment to cover any other disability-related expenses not mentioned (e.g. braille books and photocopying).
 

Apply for Student Finance, and let them know you wish to apply for the DSA – you’ll then receive a DSA application form. Send photocopies of your evidence with the DSA application form – remember to keep your original copies, as you may need them later.

Need to book a Lipspeaker, BSL Interpreter, Speech-to-Text Reporter or Notetakers to support your studies?

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