Disabled Students' Allowance
Students undertaking full-time or part-time undergraduate or postgraduate courses, who have a disability, ongoing health condition, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty (SpLD) such as dyslexia, dyspraxia/developmental co-ordination disorder, dyscalculia, or attention deficit disorder can apply for extra financial help through the Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs).
The DSAs are grants available on top of the standard student finance, they are not means tested and do not need to be repaid. They aim to help students meet the extra costs they may encounter as a result of their disability or SpLD, and enables them to study on an equal par with other students. If your students have a SpLD they will need to take a relevant psychometric assessment and provide evidence about their:
- Attainments in Literacy
- Underlying Ability
- Cognitive Processing
- Attainments in Numeracy and
- Motor control and Visual Perceptual Skills.
Please note that since February 2019, students can provide a diagnostic assessment report from any age as evidence of their disability, but are still free to take a post-16 assessment should they need one.
Further information on the DSAs can be found at www.sasc.org.uk.
Tests suitable as evidence for DSA
Please view the SASC paper, 'Evaluations of Need by Remote Video Platform' for further details on use of our SACS approved products via remote online test administration
Beery VMI | |
Reading |
|
Single Word Recognition | |
Continuous Text Reading - oral reading | |
Continuous Text Reading - silent reading | |
Non-word Reading | |
Listening Comprehension | |
Spelling |
|
Single Word | |
Writing | |
Writing | |
Underlying Ability | |
Cognitive Processing | |
Working Memory | |
Phonological Processing | |
Speed of Processing | |
Other Relevant Information | |
Attainments in Numeracy | |
Motor control and visual perceptual skills | X |
GORT-5 | KTEA-3** | TOMAL-2 | |
Reading |
|||
Single Word Recognition | X | ||
Continuous Text Reading - oral reading | X | X | |
Continuous Text Reading - silent reading | |||
Non-word Reading | X | ||
Listening Comprehension | X | ||
Spelling |
X | ||
Single Word | |||
Writing | |||
Writing | |||
Underlying Ability | |||
Cognitive Processing | |||
Working Memory | Only when an attention / concentration index is obtained from all 5 subtests | ||
Phonological Processing | |||
Speed of Processing | |||
Other Relevant Information | |||
Attainments in Numeracy | |||
Motor control and visual perceptual skills |
TOWRE-2 | *WAIS-IV UK | *WASI-II |
|
Reading |
|||
Single Word Recognition | X | ||
Continuous Text Reading - oral reading | |||
Continuous Text Reading - silent reading | |||
Non-word Reading | X | ||
Listening Comprehension | |||
Spelling |
|||
Single Word | |||
Writing | |||
Writing | |||
Underlying Ability | X | X | |
Cognitive Processing | |||
Working Memory | X | ||
Phonological Processing | |||
Speed of Processing | X | ||
Other Relevant Information | |||
Attainments in Numeracy | |||
Motor control and visual perceptual skills |
*WIAT-II UK |
WIAT-III UK for Teachers |
*WIAT-III UK | |
Reading |
See guidance issued on WIAT-III UK |
||
Single Word Recognition | X | X | |
Continuous Text Reading - oral reading | |||
Continuous Text Reading - silent reading | X | X | |
Non-word Reading | X |
||
Listening Comprehension | |||
Spelling |
|||
Single Word | X | X | |
Writing | |||
Writing | |||
Underlying Ability | |||
Cognitive Processing | |||
Working Memory | |||
Phonological Processing | |||
Speed of Processing | |||
Other Relevant Information | |||
Attainments in Numeracy | X | ||
Motor control and visual perceptual skills |
*WMS-IV UK |
WRAT-5 |
WRAML-2 |
|
Reading |
See guidance issued on WRAT5 |
||
Single Word Recognition | X |
||
Continuous Text Reading - oral reading | |||
Continuous Text Reading - silent reading | X |
||
Non-word Reading | |||
Listening Comprehension | |||
Spelling |
|||
Single Word | X |
||
Writing | |||
Writing | |||
Underlying Ability | |||
Cognitive Processing | |||
Working Memory | X |
X |
|
Phonological Processing | |||
Speed of Processing | |||
Other Relevant Information | |||
Attainments in Numeracy | X |
||
Motor control and visual perceptual skills |
WRIT |
WRMT-III | |
Reading |
||
Single Word Recognition | X |
|
Continuous Text Reading - oral reading | X | |
Continuous Text Reading - silent reading | X |
|
Non-word Reading | X | |
Listening Comprehension | X | |
Spelling |
||
Single Word | X |
|
Writing | ||
Writing | ||
Underlying Ability | X | |
Cognitive Processing | ||
Working Memory | ||
Phonological Processing | ||
Speed of Processing | ||
Other Relevant Information | ||
Attainments in Numeracy | ||
Motor control and visual perceptual skills |
See Additional Guidance on the use of the KTEA-3 September 2018 at sasc.org.uk
These tests are C and only available to chartered psychologists