What is a disability?

The Equality Act (2010) makes it unlawful to discriminate against disabled students and places a positive duty to promote disability equality. Legally, disability is described as a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

We aim to treat every person as an individual, with needs which may differ from those of other people with a superficially similar disability. We do not therefore have standard procedures for students with dyslexia, nor standard procedures for visually impaired students: each person's needs are considered individually.

We provide support for students with a range of disabilities:

a sensory (visual / hearing / speech) impairment
a mental health issue
a mobility impairment
a dexterity impairment
a physical disability
Asperger’s Syndrome or other autistic spectrum disorders
chronic medical conditions (e.g. diabetes, epilepsy, H.I.V.)
chronic pain / chronic fatigue
specific learning difficulties (e.g. dyslexia, dyspraxia)
any other condition which has a long-term and adverse effect on studying.