A disability is 'a physical or mental condition which has a substantial and long-term impact on your ability to do normal day to day activities.' This includes but is not limited to visual impairments, hearing difficulties, physical/mobility issues, neurodivergence, and learning difficulties such as dyslexia - as well as mental health problems and other hidden disabilities.
Olivia Davies
VP Wellbeing and Diversity
Around 17% of Royal Holloway students have self-identified as having a disability.
A disability is 'a physical or mental condition which has a substantial and long-term impact on your ability to do normal day to day activities.' This includes but is not limited to visual impairments, hearing difficulties, physical/mobility issues, neurodivergence, and learning difficulties such as dyslexia - as well as mental health problems and other hidden disabilities.
This is a big community on campus and Royal Holloway has a variety of areas of support, services and communities surrounding this!
Disability and Neurodiversity team:
The Disability and Neurodiversity team sit within the Wellbeing team. They are there to support all students who have disclosed a disability, long-standing medical condition, specific learning difficulty or mental health condition.
They are a friendly and welcoming team who provide advice and guidance to students.
The advisers will help organise the right support for you including liaising with your academic department, external providers or specialist support services.
To access their support, you will need to declare your disability and register with the team. They will then work with you to implement appropriate support as soon as possible.
What can they do?
- Exam Access Arrangements
- Reasonable adjustments
- Diagnostic Assessments
- Disabled Students' Allowance
- Accommodation
Financial concerns:
The Disability & Neurodiversity team can also provide financial support such as the Disabled Student Allowance (DSA).
The DSA covers the study-related costs you have because of a mental health problem, long-term illness or any other disability.
You can claim DSA in addition to your Student Finance loans and grants to cover any extra study-related costs. It is neither a benefit nor a loan, so it doesn’t need repaying and is not means-tested. The amount you’ll receive depends on your individual needs not on your income or that of your parents or partner. The DSA is available to both full-time and part-time students studying undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
Please note that only students who have lived in the UK for three years prior to the start of their course are eligible.
You can find out more about DSA and how to apply on the Disabled Students’ Allowance website. If you have any questions surrounding this, you can reach out to the Disability and Neurodiversity team (information below 😊)
Contact them:
During term time they offer a one-to-one drop-in service from 11am to 2pm each day.
They offer face-to-face and online sessions. Online sessions are available on both Mondays and Fridays. Their face-to-face sessions take place in Founder’s East 153 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between the hours of 11am and 2pm. There is a possibility that an individual might have to wait on the day for either the in-person or online session. Therefore, a Disability Adviser will let you into the drop-in as soon as possible.
You can also email them at disability@royalholloway.ac.uk with any questions or phone them at 01784 414621.
Library:
The library is also able to provide you with further support if you feel like this is something that you might need.
They offer:
- Extended book loans
- Book retrieval service
- Disabled Students Allowance - help to claim back printing costs from DSA, if applicable
- Alternative formats service - these include audio, braille, electronic or large print versions of standard print such as educational material, textbooks and information leaflets.
- Appointments to meet with a Library Information Consultant
- Access to an Assistive Technology Suite for registered students
- Robobraille software to convert documents into alternative formats.
Departmental Support:
It is important to note that your department can also provide support if you wish to disclose information surrounding your disability to them. They can provide support and put measures in place including:
- Reasonable Adjustments
- Recording Lectures
- Course Material
- Seating
- Additional Time
- Marking Guidelines
- Reading out loud in class
- Work Placements
Disabled Students Community:
The Students Union also have the Communities to bring together students from underrepresented groups on campus. The Communities are led by an elected Community Officer, including the Disabled Students Community.
Your Disabled Students Community Officer for 2024/25 is Julian (JJ) Littleton (He/They). JJ’s job is to improve the experiences of disabled students through awareness-raising events and activities to promote, defend and extend the rights of disabled students, and to promote diversity, inclusion and equity. Throughout JJ’s time aim to create and curate a resource that enhances accessibility for all students and staff. This resource will allow everyone to look up the accessibility of buildings, rooms and routes on campus in advance. This will address short- to mid-term needs and I hope will inform future decisions for campus accessibility. JJ also plans to establish and support infrastructure for a Neurodiversity Diagnostic Fund to assist students seeking private diagnosis and related healthcare.
Neurodivergent society:
We also have the Neurodivergent Society here on campus.
Their aim is to make life better for Neurodivergent people at RHUL, build a support system and allow people to make friends in our safe inclusive environment. They are open to ALL neurodivergent students as well as allies and will be dedicated to raising awareness and creating a community for like-minded people.
What do they offer:
- Support and support systems
- Signposting to resources at RHUL and around the area
- FRIENDSHIP AND FUN
How to contact them:
You can contact them via email at neurodivergent@royalholloway.su or on Instagram (rhul_neurodivergentsoc). They also have a discord, and this link can be found either on their SU page or their Instagram.
If anyone would like any more information I would recommend emailing disability@royalholloway.ac.uk but you are also more than welcome to email or message me and I can signpost you accordingly 😊