What counts as a disability?
Understand the definition and how we can support you.
Who is the Disability Advisory Service for?
The Disability Advisory Service supports students with a wide range of disabilities, long term medical conditions or specific learning difficulties which have a substantial and long term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day to day activities.
This can include physical or sensory disabilities, long term medical conditions (including medically recognised mental health difficulties such as depression or anxiety disorder), specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia, dyspraxia or ADD as well as developmental conditions such as Autistic Spectrum Disorder or Asperger’s Syndrome.
If you have any questions about our service or would like to make an appointment with a Disability Adviser, you can contact us on 0118 378 4202 or via disability@reading.ac.uk.
How can the University and Disability Advisory Service support students with disabilities?
We can support you in a variety of ways, but the package of support you receive will depend on your disability and how it affects you. In order to allow us to make appropriate adjustments, it is important that you do get in touch with us as soon as possible to discuss how your disability affects you. It is essential that you send us your medical evidence (for example, a doctor’s letter or psychologist’s assessment). We will not share information about your disability unless you sign a consent form, telling us you are happy for us to do so. We will ask for your signed consent to share information about your needs and limited information about your disability. This will be your choice and we are happy to discuss this with you if you have any concerns.
You can let us know more about your disability in a number of ways, including completing the questionnaire we send applicants or by making an appointment to discuss your needs with a Disability Adviser.
If you would like to contact us to tell us more about your disability or to disclose a disability for the first time, please get in touch. See our contact details above.