Well yes the medical evidence is about the DSA and required in order to
trigger that, it is a DfES requirement.  For an instituion it is not
always about the condition being long standing and first identifed at
school, etc.  As to the Medical / Social models going out with the ark,
who says?  We are not medics and sometimes DOs and Assessors can get far
too hung up on medical issues as messages to these forums can sometimes
testify.  Disability Officers and Assessors have to look at the
practical and social issues affecting the student, not trying to look
flash by talking about the dosage and what type of medication a student
is taking, as can be read in some assessment reports.    

Bryan Jones,
Manager, Disability Support Services
& North London Regional Access Centre,
Middlesex University 
Tel: 020 8411 5366
 

-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ian F.
Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2005 3:11 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Medical Evidence


Bryan - the assessment referred to in these guidelines is not the DSA
Study 
Aids/Strategies Assessment. It's a medical/diagnostic assessment of the 
disability for the purposes of establishing eligibility for DSA. Also, 
medical and social models of disability went out with the ark... didn't
they 
:-)

I think it makes sense for an institution to adopt the same policy on 
medical evidence as used by LAs. LAs require evidence that clearly
states a 
disability exists. As Bryan says, a GP letter that says the student
'claims 
to have ...'  or 'tells me he has ...' is not evidence of a disability.
The 
GP letter must clearly state that the student is diagnosed with the 
condition . For example, if the GP says the student has eyesight
problems 
he/she must say what condition is causing these problems. If the LA or
DO 
has any concerns about the potential effect of this condition on
studying 
he/she should seek further advice e.g. by contacting RNIB.

However, some flexibility is recommended in implementing these rules.
For 
example, a GP letter might describe several symptoms of a problem
without 
making a final diagnosis. The letter might say the student is being
referred 
for further specialist tests. This could mean the student is probably
going 
to be diagnosed with a condition but it can't be formally diagnosed at
this 
stage. The LA, DO or SASSA assessor needs to be able to 'read between
the 
lines' when processing this type of evidence.

Ian Francis


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bryan Jones" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, December 12, 2005 2:38 PM
Subject: Re: Medical Evidence


> The assessment referred to in these guidelines is about the full DSA 
> study aids and strategies assessment that Assessment Centres undertake

> and charge for.  But within an institution it is the Disability 
> Officers job to evaluate / assess the situation taking account of 
> available medical evidence along with a face to face discussion with 
> the student and an understanding of what is expected of the student on

> their course and the institutions regulations.  A doctor is not best 
> placed to determine how much if at all the a medical condition will 
> impact on a student's studies, because they are too remote from what 
> is expected of the student, what the institutions is able to provide 
> under their regs, or (with the DDA in mind) what would be "reasonable"

> in the given circumstances.  Also. we should be working to the Social 
> Model not Medical Model, i.e don't get too hung up on medical issues, 
> we have to address the practical issues.  That said, adequate medical 
> evidence is required and a Disability Officer could ask for better, 
> more detailed, evidence if what was available was too vague, as many 
> conditions can be on a spectrum ranging from very mild to severe and 
> debilitating and can also affect people in different ways, so a bit 
> more detail than just a medical term is preferable, required even. 
> Also a doctors note saying "John reports that he has back pain" or 
> "Jane tells me that she had flu last week" are not adequate for most 
> institutions.
>
> Bryan Jones,
> Manager, Disability Support Services
> & North London Regional Access Centre,
> Middlesex University
> Tel: 020 8411 5366
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff. 
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ian Webb
> Sent: Friday, December 09, 2005 10:30 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Medical Evidence
>
>
> I am not sure that a policy document is what is required at this 
> stage. The LEA has been given clear guidance as to what is a 
> disability for the purpose of the
> DSA. I suggest that you look at the guidance which is available on the
> DfES web
> site. Chapter 69 states:
>
> 69. For most applicants, there should be little difficulty 
> establishing their eligibility for DSAs. Their disability will have 
> been identified and documented at an
> earlier stage, in many cases while they were at school.  However, it
is
> not
> essential for an applicant's disability to have been identified at
> school in order to
> be eligible for DSAs. Nor is eligibility dependant on an applicant
being
> registered
> as disabled. Care will be needed for applicants whose disabilities
have
> not
> previously been identified. In such cases, LAs should request an
> assessment of
> the disability by a suitably qualified person or body for the purposes
> of
> establishing eligibility for DSAs.
>
> I hope this helps
>
> Ian
>
>
> Quoting Rebecca Lewis <[log in to unmask]>:
>
>> Does anyone have a medical evidence policy for students with 
>> disabilities (but not dyslexia). We do not currently have one and I 
>> am interested
> in
>> whether other universities have rules about what type of evidence 
>> they
>
>> will or won't accept. This came up most recently for us when a 
>> studnet
>
>> with an eye condition was asked for medical evidence - she provided a
> GPs
>> letter which said just that she had this condition - no other
> information
>> was given - of course the GP probably knows very little about it
> because
>> he would not be involved in any treatment for the condition. We
> normally
>> accept a GP letter but this has made me wonder whether we should
> consider
>> having a formal policy.
>>
>> Thanks
>> Rebecca
>>
>
>
> --
> Ian Webb
> Disability Adviser/assessor
> MNADO 

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