As a student with mental health problems, is applying for DSA really worth applying for?

As a student with mental health problems, is applying for DSA really worth applying for?

I'm starting university in September, and as someone with a major anxiety disorder, this can be a very daunting time. Not only am I going to have to get used to a brand new routine in my life, I'm going to have to get used to a new environment, meet new people, have a much larger workload than I've ever had and heck, it's even going to be even more travelling than I've ever had to do to get to my place of education. So what do I do if it's too much for my brain to cope with, I end up having too many panic attacks that I cannot make it in and I end up having to drop out of university.

That's where DSA (Disabled Students' Allowance) come in. The sad thing I think is that I didn't find out about this until a speaker came to my college to talk about student finance and even then only spent around 30 seconds on the subject. DSA is basically when as a student with disabilities you are given access to different equipment and software that will help you in your education depending on what your disability is. 

You see, under the Equality Act of 2010 a long term mental health condition is considered as a disability on the same level as those with physical disabilities as both can hugely impact people's abilities to get just simple tasks such as just leaving the house more difficult at times. Once I had found this out, I then filled out my claim form which honestly, didn't take as long as I imagined (but it did help I had already applied for my general student finance so my personal information such as address and birth date) and then send it through the post. The hardest part for me was probably having to fill in exactly what my disability is and how it can affect my education as I ended up having to bring up a lot of thoughts and feelings I've often tried to ignore but it was all okay in the end.

After I sent it off, I had an email through around 2-3 weeks later letting me know that I was eligible for DSA and I was ecstatic, but then I read on and saw that I had to have an interview/assessment to see what it was I needed help with and what exactly I can be given to help me while at university. This scared the living daylights out of me as it meant that I had to see a stranger and basically tell them everything that is wrong with me and my brain. 

I had to set up the assessment myself and it had to be done at an approved centre which actually put me a little at ease as it gave me a sense of control as I could decide where I was going to go and when. In the end, I went with a charity called AbilityNet (whom if you are having to have a DSA assessment I HIGHLY RECCOMEND) where you go online, give your details and then they will phone you up (in my case only 15 minutes later) and we set up a date and time for the appointment. 

Then I just had to wait for the appointment to come around. 

The day of the appointment came around this Wednesday (6th July) and as soon as I got into the building and then the room, a lot of my worries and anxieties were to put to rest. My assessor (who also happened to be called Abigail, small word lol) was very friendly, very good at putting me at ease and didn't even have a problem with me having my parents in there with in case I were to start panicking (but my dad still struggles to talk about this sort of thing so he left half-way through, but me and my mum expected that to me honest). After around 2 hours my assessor and I had come up with a list of different equipment, software and things my university can do as a way of helping me achieve everything I can in University (I will go into detail about what I have in a later post, I just have to wait to hear if it's been approved by student finance). The report is being written up as we speak, and in around 3 weeks I should hear back as to whether or not everything has been approved. 

So now I just have to play the waiting game. If there are any students out there who have mental health problems which are ongoing and are starting university in September, I would really recommend applying for DSA to see if there is any help that you can get to get over any issues that you may experience while at your university. 

And that's my story with applying for DSA. I'll be sure to do a follow-up post once I've found out what I am getting. If you have any questions then be sure to leave them down in the comments below, and maybe share this with any students you know with a mental health condition to see if this could be of any help.

Stay happy, stay healthy, from Abbie xx