Disabled Student's Allowance -- worth applying for mental health?

Indie_Kid

Amethyst_ice wrote: »

Btw, the do not offer desktops because laptops are better...they can go with you to hospital etc.

I think the majority of people do get offered desktops and have to pay for the upgrade?

abide by the same book loan rules.

I am a slow reader, I have a reading age of a 15 year old, I can't read in big chunks due to tiredness. Therefore, if I had the same rules as you did, I wouldn't finish the book in time.

The_One_Who

Amethyst_ice wrote: »

There seems to be alot of cocentration on laptops ....dsa is so much more than that!

TOW, you seem to be forgetting the points about those of us who would not be able to get into uni- like i said, i have to go to hospital at times and here i have managed to access my lectures through my laptop.

Its not all about freeking laptops!!!!

ps. if you are in scotland can i have your halved tuition fees please? in the long run i will still be owing more than you most probably.

I'm well aware that it is not all about equipment. Like I have said (time and again) I have no problems with DSA providing help, only when that help gives an advantage or gives equipment that other students need but have to buy themselves. If I was doing a graphics course (or similar) I know that I would need to get a computer that could handle it. I know that before I even start the course. That computer will be coming out of my loan.

I would gladly pay tuition fees, especially if I got the same maintenance loan as I have heard is common down south. That way I could afford to move out and my health would be much better.

I am a slow reader, I have a reading age of a 15 year old, I can't read in big chunks due to tiredness. Therefore, if I had the same rules as you did, I wouldn't finish the book in time.

I know plenty of slow readers, and I know plenty more who cannot sit and read a book for hours on end. We all get the same amount of time with the book. If you know you may need more time then you get in early.

Indie_Kid

The_One_Who wrote: »

I know plenty of slow readers, and I know plenty more who cannot sit and read a book for hours on end. We all get the same amount of time with the book. If you know you may need more time then you get in early.

I can't always do that. It's not my fault my body functions the way it does - why should I penalised for that?

The_One_Who

sh1305 wrote: »

I can't always do that. It's not my fault my body functions the way it does - why should I penalised for that?

You're not being penalised. You are being treated equally. Surely that's better? You get the same amount of time with the book as anyone else. In my library, this is between four hours and four weeks. If you need more than one chapter, there is no chance anyone can read it in the four hours.

It's not the fault of non-disabled slow readers that they aren't super-human. They get the same amount of time with the book as the person who can read it in a few hours. We are not all fast readers, and we cannot all read the entire book in one sitting.

I can't always get up to the library in time to get out a book or to take it back. If someone gets there before me, well, then they get there before me. I'm disadvantaged because I live far away from the library, so I don't get as much time with it and need to leave a couple of hours before anyone else to get there at the same time. If I don't get it back in time, I pay the fine.

Amethyst_ice

Im midlands...the maintenance loan more for south due to increased costs...my friends down in london have to pay rent for a week that i pay a month.

I still dont see how giving this help to disabled students puts them at an advantage though.

oh and i was offered a laptop, i guess because i am bedridden most the time. I dont know about paying an upgrade.

I do know lots of students turn verious items down because most of us feel guilty taking the 'freebies' but sadly deep down we have to admit that we need that help. It is not an advantage by far.

Indie_Kid

The_One_Who wrote: »

I can't always get up to the library in time to get out a book or to take it back. If someone gets there before me, well, then they get there before me. I'm disadvantaged because I live far away from the library, so I don't get as much time with it and need to leave a couple of hours before anyone else to get there at the same time. If I don't get it back in time, I pay the fine.

Wasn't that a choice though?

The_One_Who

sh1305 wrote: »

Wasn't that a choice though?

A choice for me to live far away from the library? No. Definitely not. It's financial constraint. The maintenance loan simply is not enough (by far) for me to live away from home. Here the maximum is £4,500ish. I know of no one who can live on that without needing to take on a lot of part-time work alongside.

Indie_Kid

The_One_Who wrote: »

A choice for me to live far away from the library? No. Definitely not. It's financial constraint. The maintenance loan simply is not enough (by far) for me to live away from home. Here the maximum is £4,500ish. I know of no one who can live on that without needing to take on a lot of part-time work alongside.

I live in London and live on about £1k more than that per year.

There must be other libraries around too.

The_One_Who

Using figures from SFE, I would be eligible for almost £8,000. Bit of a difference. I would gladly pay tuition fees if I meant I could move out.

Yes, there are other libraries. But these are small, local ones. Not academic.

bitsandpieces

The_One_Who wrote: »

You're not being penalised. You are being treated equally. Surely that's better?

Treating people equally isn't necessarily fair. If all lectures on a course are held up a couple of flights of stairs, this could exclude many wheelchair users - even if they are treated entirely equally. If exams are required to be handwritten, equal treatment would prevent those who can't write by hand from completing a course. In order to achieve a fairer outcome, it can be necessary to acknowledge some differences between people and make appropriate adjustments.

I also think there's a danger of confusing 'need' and 'would find much preferable'. While many people prefer to work at particular times, healthy people this can be got to work to different schedules with appropriate motivation - many people who aren't keen on mornings join the military, for example, and they do adjust. I'm not a morning person - but when needs-be I will participate well in a 9am meeting or even (*shudder*) a 'working breakfast'. This is very different from - for example - taking strong painkillers which make one sleep for 15hrs/day. Likewise, I'm really struggling to see why typical students need a laptop - it wasn't that long ago when they were too costly for most to afford but students still coped. Many students today don't have laptops and still do very well.

The One Who - have you tried asking local libraries what books they can order in? This can often give you surprisingly good access to texts, though it isn't a substitute for a proper university library.