Helping Your Blind Child Take Ownership of Their University Support

For many blind students, going to university is the first time they’ve had to take full responsibility for their own support. It’s completely understandable that parents want to help, especially when they’ve been the main advocate for their child throughout school. But university is a very different process for all students, whether they’re blind or not. For blind students, there’s an expectation that they will take the lead, as they will be the ones communicating with disability services, arranging support, and dealing with any issues that arise. There are going to be frustrations and things will go wrong. I’m not suggesting for a moment that parents step away completely. However, preparing to go to university provides a great opportunity for parents to support their blind teens in developing skills they will need to use for the rest of their lives.

When writing this guide, I drew on my experiences both as a disabled student who had to organise most of my own support, and as someone who now works in the sector. I hope to offer practical tips for parents who want to help their children build these skills but aren’t sure where to start.

Support them with gathering medical evidence

Before applying for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA), your child will need to submit medical evidence. You can help by:

• Locating physical documents, such as a Certificate of Visual Impairment (CVI) or GP letters.
• Scanning them in and sending them to your child so they have access to digital copies.
• If new documents are needed, talking them through how to request them. For example, calling their GP or using an online request form.

Where possible, it’s helpful to make them take responsibility with your guidance. They are going to need to be responsible for their own medical care at university, so if they already have some familiarity with online portals, or how to phone the GP, this is a good start. It’s also important that they have copies of critical documents that they can access. If everything is in print, they will need it to be scanned in, as they are likely to need to present these documents again. If you send off all of their documents for them, they have no idea of the process behind it. The next time they need evidence for something, they’re unlikely to know where to begin, unless they’ve already had that experience with your support.

Help them request an accessible DSA application form

The DSA application form on the Student Finance website should be fully accessible, but it may not be. If this is the case, they can email to request a screen reader-friendly version. They have a legal right to access this form, and this right is protected by the Equality Act. Feel free to remind the Student Loans Company of that if necessary. You can support them by:

• Helping them draft the email, thinking about how to explain their access needs. Example: I will require a screen reader-accessible Word document, and I will sign the form electronically.
• Encouraging them to request the form themselves, rather than doing it for them.
• Acting as a reader, and supporting them with filling out the inaccessible form, however getting them to answer all of the questions.

Form filling is sadly a part of life, particularly if you’re disabled. Disability admin is a horrible task, but if they know the answers to the kinds of questions that they will be asked in future, it’s going to make things a whole lot easier for them. This is a step that you can take or leave. Sometimes you just want to fill the form in as quickly as possible and can’t be bothered to have the argument. I understand that, and think it’s reasonable for parents to act as a reader in this situation and support their child to fill the form in.

Encourage them to book their own needs assessment

Once their DSA application is approved, they will receive an email with instructions on how to book their Needs Assessment. Support them by:

• Encouraging them to take responsibility for booking it themselves.
• Helping them think through which dates and times work best for them.
• Reminding them to check their email regularly so they don’t miss important booking instructions.

Student Finance emails should be coming to their email address, rather than yours. I have very few good things to say about SFE, however the PDF they send with instructions on how to book your needs assessment is accessible when using a screen reader. It’s likely that the company responsible for conducting the assessment will reach out to them, so they need to be proactive in looking out for these messages.

Help them prepare for the needs assessment

The DSA needs assessment is an opportunity for disabled students to talk through the support they may require at university. While the assessor should have an idea of the types of support blind students can benefit from, every blind person is so different, they can’t possibly know everything. To help them prepare for the assessment, you could:

• Encourage them to think about what support they actually need and not just what they’ve used in school. Which types of support did they find really helpful, and which did they find less useful.
• Research assistive technology together. Encourage them to book demos with the tech companies, as this is an opportunity for them to get hands-on with the technology they might want to use at university. It’s also a good opportunity to make them phone someone to book an appointment!
• Encourage them to think about things like how they prefer to read and access study materials, any difficulties they have with writing, whether their course will require them to go on placement, and how they will travel around campus.
• Do a test run. Role play a few questions they might get asked, particularly if they aren’t used to discussing their access needs with others.

Sample questions

Here are some questions you might want to ask them:

• How do you currently access reading materials in school?
• Can you read text on your computer screen? Is there any software you use to help you with this?
• How confident do you feel about using the software?
• Do you have any experience searching the Internet for information?
• Will you need to research using hard copy textbooks, or will most things be electronic.
• Do you read braille? Do you find it helpful to use braille when proofreading your work?
• How do you write your essays. Are you confident typing on your computer?
• How confident are you at taking notes in class?
• Do you prefer to write your notes in braille, or by typing on a laptop.
• Do you think it takes you longer to complete your work? Think about needing to adapt inaccessible resources, for example.
• Does your course involve any practical work or placements? Do you have any concerns about these?
• Have you had any exam adjustments in the past?
• Does it take you longer to read and process exam questions?
• Do you need access to exam papers in an alternative format? What format works best for you.
• Do you experience eye strain when reading for extended periods of time? Do the lighting conditions affect your ability to read?
• Do you feel comfortable working with other students in groups? Why or why not.
• Have you had to deliver presentations before? What methods did you use to access your notes.
• How do you currently travel. Do you use a mobility aid such as a cane or guide dog?
• Would you need orientation and mobility training so that you can learn your way around the campus?
• Would you find it helpful to have someone guide you to and from your lectures? If so, do you want this support to continue, or just to be in place while you also receive mobility training.
• Does the lighting affect your ability to navigate safely?
• Are you able to use public transport? Will you need to use this to get from your accommodation to campus?

I definitely don’t recommend asking these all in one sitting! A needs assessment won’t follow this exact format, and as it’s a conversation, all of these topics can be brought up quite naturally. However if your teen has the confidence to explain their needs, they are likely to find the process a lot easier and will come out of it with the support they really need.
If your teen finds this whole situation extremely cringey, you could give them the questions and suggest they make some written notes for each of them, so at least they will have thought about their answers!

Help them understand the steps after their needs assessment

After the assessment, your child will receive an email from Student Finance with their DSA2 letter, confirming what support has been approved. This will include:

• Equipment they need to order
• Training they may require (e.g., assistive technology or mobility training)
• Contact details for arranging human support (e.g., notetakers or sighted guides)

The needs assessment is very important, but it is the responsibility of the student to engage with support providers and ensure everything they need is in place. I can’t stress enough how critical it is that they do not sit back and assume that everything will now be put in place for them. It won’t, and I know so many blind students who are shocked they have no support because they did not engage with the process and follow up on the recommendations made at the assessment.
Nothing happens automatically. No equipment will arrive and no support will be in place unless they contact the providers. You can support them by:

• Reminding them to look out for the email so they don’t miss it.
• Helping them break down the document step by step, identifying who they need to contact for each service.
• Encouraging them to schedule time to make the necessary calls or emails, so things don’t get left until the last minute.
• Putting these calls in a logical order, for example only booking in technology training once their technology has arrived!

Encourage them to contact university disability services

Although blind students should be applying for DSA, they will also need to arrange support from the university. This is because some support is the responsibility of the higher education provider, whereas other support is funded through the DSA. Although your needs assessor will ask about things like exams, it is university responsibility to make exam adjustments such as extra time and use of a laptop. You can support your teen by:

• Suggest drafting an email together if they’re nervous about making contact, but have them send it from their email address.
• Helping them to look up the contact information for student services or disability support at the university they’re planning on attending.
• Offer to be there for moral support on the phone, but let them speak to staff directly.
• Remind them that university staff expect to communicate with them, not you, so they need to build that relationship from the start.
• Help them to draft a list of topics they might want to discuss, such as housing, exams, and informing their lecturers they will need information in alternative formats.

Disability advisors are wonderful people who do want to help. They are often the one person that is on your side when things go wrong. Disability advisors have fought for me when other staff were being extremely challenging. They aren’t mind-readers though, and they won’t know that a blind student is starting in September unless the student makes contact with them. This goes back to my point about nothing happening automatically. It also takes time to put things in place. You can’t call the university in August and expect to be given accommodation within easy walking distance of the campus. It is far too late! You definitely don’t have to wait until you’ve got your results before you make contact. It’s reasonable to reach out and explain that the university is your first choice, even if you don’t yet know if you’ve got the grades you need. This won’t be a surprise to the disability advisors, as they know how long everything can take.

This all sounds like a lot, and it is. The process of arranging support doesn’t happen over night. But it is something that a blind person needs to be able to do because it happens again and again, whether you do a second degree, or get a job. You will always be communicating what you need. So it’s essential that you begin to build those skills as soon as possible.

I know that some people will read all of this and say “but my child shouldn’t have to do this.” Maybe you’re the blind person reading this and thinking “this shouldn’t be my responsibility.” That may be true. But it’s also true that this is the system we have. We can campaign to change it, but in the meantime, we need to know how it works so that we can get the best from it, even if it isn’t working as well as we want it to.

I hope that this was helpful, and I’m always happy to answer questions or chat to prospective university students and their parents.

Further resources

• The Thomas Pocklington Trust student support service has been set up to support blind and visually impaired students. They can offer advice regarding legal rights and getting support in place.
• Look has a university mentoring project which connects those who are planning on going to university or are in their first year with an older blind mentor.
• This blog by Look mentor Megan explains what it was like when she went to university as someone who is partially sighted.
• The UK government website provides information about Disabled Students Allowance including how to apply.