O U S A East of England Region

Help for students with a disability, a medical condition or specific learning difficulty

Help from O U S A

There are a number of avenues of support from O U S A, including the Disabled Students Link, Caroline Hands, who can be contacted on DSL or phone 07879 497604. She can also be contacted via First Class — Caroline Hands, Server 2.

Disabled Students Group

The Disabled Students Group is part of O U S A specifically set up to raise issues and concerns which Disabled Students face when studying. These issues are taken directly to the Executive Committee, and from there can be either taken up by O U S A where appropriate, or taken to the relevant department of the O U.

The Disabled Students Group also offers support and advice to disabled students who have found barriers to their full participation in studying with the O U. They can be contacted via the website: Disabled Students Group, which contains information about who is eligible. There is also a closed First Class Conference for D S G members, to which you will be given access when you join.

Group membership is free and open to students with any problem covered by the Disability Discrimination Act. If you are unsure if your condition is counted, please talk to Wendy or Sarah and they will try to help you. See below for their contact details.

Contacts details for membership application

OUSA Disabled Students Group Membership
PO Box 397
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6BE

Tel: +44 (0) 1908 652026
ask for Wendy Burrell or Sarah Lucas

Email:
Wendy Burrell at w.burrell@open.ac.uk
Sarah Lucas at s.j.lucas@open.ac.uk

You can either request a registration pack or download the application form, and either print it off, complete it and return to the above address or complete it using a word processor and email it to Wendy or Sarah.

In addition to specialist advice, there is also help through other channels, including the Study Support Link SSL and the Student Academic Link for your faculty - see “Student support” for contact details

Finally, there is a First Class Conference, “Disability”, where students exchange chat, information and support. It can be reached via your Student Home Page — go to OU Community via the link on the left hand side of the page. Then select “Open University”, “O U Student Association”, “O U S A Signpost”, then “O U S A Disability”. There are other, more specific health and disability related conferences, so it's worth looking through “Signpost” for other Conferences

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Help from the Open University

There is a great deal of help available for students with disabilities or long term illnesses. The first port of call is to the O U Regional Centre, in Cambridge. You can contact a study advisor by phone, fax, email or letter:

Tel 01223 364721
Fax 01223 355207
Email:East of England

Write to:
Cintra House,
12 Hills Road
Cambridge
CB2 1PF

You can also contact the Disabled Students Resources Team, which co-ordinates services and support for students with disabilities. The services include alternative format materials, specialist equipment, communication support and publications.

Tel: 01908 653745
Textphone: 01908 655978
Fax: 01908 655547
E-mail: disabled student resources@open.ac.uk

Or you can write to:
The Disability Resources Team
The Open University
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AR

Publications

Dyslexia Toolkit (PDF Document)
This booklet is produced by the Office for Students with Disabilities. It considers what dyslexia is, ideas for studying with dyslexia, helpful technology and resources.
Eyes open (PDF Document)
Guidance notes for blind and partially sighted students and their tutors. It is available in print and on audio cassette from your regional centre.
Hear to help (PDF Document)
Guidance notes for deaf and hard of hearing students and their tutors. It is available in print and on audio cassette from your regional centre.

Contact O U:
The Open University,
Walton Hall,
Milton Keynes MK7 6AA

Tel: +44(0)1908 653231

Email:general-enquiries@open.ac.uk

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Individual needs — services available
More information on services for disabled students.

Additional funding

If you have a disability and/or a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia you could be eligible for additional funding regardless of your financial circumstances.

For more information on what D S A is, download
D S A: Factsheet on Disabled Students’ Allowances

For information on how D S A’s work, and what you can claim for, download Applying for DSA Word Document (246kb)

You can download the D S A Application form:

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