Hypothetically - why bother with LA officers now since they will be
extinct in the near future? We need to address the issue of the SLC
officers who will replace them..................
John
-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Penny Georgiou
Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2007 5:12 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: DSA funding
Dear Alex,
Hypotheticals require intelligence far greater than mine - I find them
impossible, generally. However, through a decade of experience with DO
work, needs asssessments, co-ordination of services for students with
dyslexia; IT training, specialist learning support and exceptionally,
notetakers, it has generally been possible to resolve most problems in
the detail of the specifics of the case, even with difficult LEAs.
Somehow, we tended to find a way to make the support that was necessary
for students available to them. So, if you have a specific student issue
that you cannot resolve, please contact me off list to discuss it and I
will be glad to assist.
Regards,
Penny
-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff. on
behalf of alex larg
Sent: Thu 07/06/2007 16:54
To: [log in to unmask]
Cc:
Subject: DSA funding
Dear Colleagues,
perhaps someone could clarify something for me.
LEAs currently pay assessment centres in excess of 400 pounds
for "professional" opinion in the form of a report on the needs of an
individual student. Assessors work within the guidelines that they have
available, they meet the student and spend some time with them
discussing their perceived needs and bring their own experience to the
table to share with the student to try and establish what will be the
best study strategies to employ at that point of the course and
hopefully for some time in the future. However I understand that LEAs
sometimes decide that the recommended strategies are not appropriate.
I accept that LEA officers are experienced individuals and
knowledgable about the financial side of DSA and support, but what is
the point of money being spent on a needs assessment if the need is then
rejected perhaps on the grounds of cost?
A hypothetical example of this might be an assessor recommending
a note taker for a severely dyslexic and dyspraxic student, but the LEA
only committing to pay for a digital recorder and software such as
Dragon so that the student can somehow transcribe their own notes. This
may be achieveable in theory, but in practise the additional time and
energy it would take such an individual would likely be too much for any
but the most remarkable of individual.
It also seems to be unfair that a reasonable adjustment is not
being made. Unfair to the student and the university. The university are
at risk of legal action because they have the responsibility for making
lectures and studying accessible, however they don't necessarily have
the resources as this (note taker support in this instance) should come
through the LEA as recommened by the needs assessor - we seem to be in a
loop somewhere which leaves the university at risk and more importantly
the student high and dry and possibly failing.
Does anyboby know if there has been any high quality and
appropraite training for LEA awards officers to help them fully
understand the difficultues faced by students with specific learning
difficulties or mental health difficulties for that matter? Has anybody
else had any similar difficulties with supporting students in terms of
funding for recommendations, and how can students and disability
officers best deal with these situation in future as they arise?
Alex larg
Former Disability Officer
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