Starting college is typically a time of great excitement in a person’s life.
Freedom and independence beckons; getting to study a course and subjects you’ve a particular interest in, rather than subjects you have to study because the Leaving Cert and all that jazz; and let’s not forget the social life and societies that await for students to find their passions and meet their tribe.
But it can also be a time of worry and anxiety, not least for students with additional needs, learning differences and disabilities as the familiar structure and supports of school are gone.
Add into the equation that students are now likely adults and so parental involvement in their education will be less, and it can all feel a tad overwhelming.
However, students are not alone in embarking on this new stage of their lives. College and university disability supports are there to support students with their learning and adjustment to college life.
Deirdre Creedon is the head of access and disability at Munster Technological University (MTU) and student affairs manager, Cork. Colleges will be aware of students who have come to college through the Dare (disability access route to education) and so will be in a position to reach out to these students. But even if a student didn’t have access to Dare it doesn’t matter, Creedon says.
“Once you’re in, if you think that you will need support from the disability service you can register with the disability services in whatever third-level college you’re going to. From there you make your link. You establish the connection. And you will be met by a disability support adviser or practitioner within the service who will then assess the situation, look at any sporting documentation that a student would present with and discuss what kind of sports the student got in their second-level [education], or if they’re mature students, whatever background they’re coming from.”
Students who are seeking disability support services at MTU are given an individual learning requirement document, she says. “That would be where their individual needs would be captured, basically. And it’ll be identified what supports they will need going forward. So whether that’s learning sport, examination support, whatever the supports that they would need is captured in that meeting.”
It is really important that students reach out and connect with the disability services at their colleges, Creedon says, adding that, ideally, this would be done as soon as possible.
“Another thing that we find is that when students come through, it’s like a new beginning for people to come through and it’s great and it’s very exciting – sometimes students can forget to to register with us, until such time as their first assignment is put in front of them.
“And I suppose we would be encouraging people to connect with us as early on as possible, just so that they have the proper supports in case and that it’s not left until the last minute. Because the academic year is short, two semesters, and very quickly – before you know it – the students who are coming in the door will have an assessment or assignment in week six or week seven and there will be time needed to process whatever supports that they need.”
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Some students, particularly those who may have ADHD, dyspraxia or other neurodivergent diagnoses may struggle with being organised enough to reach out for these supports, and in school a parent or teacher may have stepped in to help.
But with adult children, can parents play an involved role in supporting their third-level student with their education and accessing needed supports?
“Every year we would have a parents, guardians, supporters welcome day, which is happening on September 13th, before the first years start. The idea is to capture the parents and supporters when they’re dropping their first years off to their accommodation and they can come in and have a cup of tea with us and we speak to them about the supports that are available to the students.
“We also give them the message that ‘Look, you know the students that we’re dealing with are adults’. And that it’s very different to secondary school, and very different to their experience at second level.”
“We explain to them how we work. And point the parents to the supports that we have. While we can’t directly engage with a parent around their son or daughter, we can point them to the support so that they can have those conversations. And they say: ‘Okay, look, we know that there is an occupational therapist available. We know there’s a psychiatrist service available.’ So that at least they’re armed with the information, so that they can ask the questions, and support them in that way.”
For students themselves, the college organises a specific orientation day. “We bring them in over the weekend. We give them an opportunity to have a look around campus when it’s generally quieter and it’s an opportunity to get their bearings before they get potentially overwhelmed with larger groups and larger numbers around the place.”
For students who may not engage with disability services immediately, there are services in the background that “drip feed that information right the way through the semester, so that they’re not just getting it in week one. There’s also a student engagement office here which provides supports right through the first six weeks in particular and give students opportunities to ask a lot of questions and find out the information that they need.”
The supports available are tailored to the individual student’s needs, and there’s “not a one size fits all” Creedon says.
“A lot of the supports are very similar to what would have been in place in second level, like the separate centres, or maybe a shared centre, or extra time in exams, or whether it’s PA assistance, or whatever the student’s needs are.”
However, Creedon cautions that this is a new environment and some of the student’s needs may have changed. “It depends on the course that they’re studying. It depends on the assessment and the kind of examination requirement. There’s a lot of different factors but the key message really is that we have a very good strong welcome for all our students.
“And we will absolutely do our best to ensure that students not only come through the door, but also successfully compete. And that’s what we try to achieve in terms of offering our disability support service.”