disabled students allowance

nniccij

hi, i am hoping to go to university next year, if my health is up to it. i have mental health problems, and to cut a long story short, i am unable to use public transport so need to use my car. this means that as the university is a 50+ round trip each day, it is going to cost me approx £45 - £50 petrol per week. so, my question is, i have already been advised about the disabled students allowance for equipment etc, but i was wondering about the travelling expenses part. would i be able to claim help with the petrol costs, as if i did not have a disability and used public transport, it would only cost £17 - a difference of at least £18 per week.
any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Ted_Hutchinson

Call or email SKILL free helpline at 0800 328 5050
But also read the information booklet

Applying for Disabled Students' Allowances
where it says This allowance is for additional travel costs related to your disability. You may have to meet a set amount of your travel costs yourself from a student loan or grant. For full-time students with LEA awards the set amount is £265 and is part of the student loan. For SAAS students the set amount is £155. The Disabled Students' Allowance can pay for the difference between this amount (or travel costs you would have if you were not disabled) and your actual travel costs. There is no maximum limit.

wilf55

what sort of things can i claim/get with a disabled students allowance

just been accepted but what does it mean

thanks guys

patwa_2

There is a dedicated medical expenses part of the Disabled Student's Allowance which you can use to claim your travel expenses. i wouldn't be worried about them covering it, as they are very understanding about this sort of thing. I have neuralgia in my toes, plus being partially sighted, which means I take taxi transport for approx, 5 months of the year, making the total bill £2500+. They have covered that for the last two years, only thing is I have to send them the invoices after I've paid the drivers, so it leaves us out of pocket a bit, but I'm grateful for what I can get.

The section for medical expenses is a different section on the form from your Small Itemsof Equipment and Larger Items of Equipment.

Cheers and take care.

Hussein.

freebie_junkie

i get the DSA for both learning difficulties and OCD, i cant 'do' librrbay books (cant get teh image of soemone reading it on teh loo outta my head!) so i get a book allowance, you have to buy it first and submit reciepts which can mean you waiting a long time for your money sometimes, it depends on how on teh ball your LEA is. i also get a photocopying allowance, a computer, a scanner, an allowance for computyer consumables, money towards my internet connection (i cant use communal computers- all those dirty keys yuck!), a digital recorder and an ipaq. its also handy coz your tutors are told in advance of any problems so you dont have to explain yourself whoch can be very embarrasing! (i have a 10 page document all my tutors have to read- haha!)

Savvy_Sue

One thing you might need to check is whether you'll be able to get a parking permit for the university campus, and if not whether you'll be able to park nearby ...