Am I eligible for support?

• Specific learning difficulties (SpLDs), including dyslexia, dyspraxia, and attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder;
• Developmental disorders, such as Asperger Syndrome and other Autism Spectrum Disorders;
• Mental health difficulties, such as depression, psychotic illnesses, eating disorders, bipolar affective disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders, as well as personality disorders and some self-harming behaviour;
• A range of health conditions, such as respiratory conditions (including asthma), cardiovascular diseases (including thrombosis, stroke and heart disease), rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, myalgic encephalitis (ME)/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), fibromyalgia, and epilepsy;
• Progressive conditions, such as cancer, HIV, multiple sclerosis; motor neurone disease, muscular dystrophy, forms of dementia and lupus (SLE);
• Sensory impairments, such as those affecting sight or hearing;
• Mobility difficulties.

This is not an exhaustive list. However, people in these circumstances and some others (such as people with a facial disfigurement) are likely to have rights under the Equality Act to protect them from discrimination.

Contact the Disability Advisory Service if you are not sure whether you have a disability.

If you have a SpLD you will need to provide a diagnostic assessment report carried out by an educational psychologist or specialist teacher with a valid practising certificate.  Your assessment must have been conducted after your sixteenth birthday and within three years (for undergraduates) or five years (for postgraduates) of the date that you are due to start your course at Oxford.  It must also have been conducted on an individual basis – not as part of a group assessment – and have used adult tests, not tests designed for use with children.  Students continuing directly from undergraduate to postgraduate study will not normally require a new diagnostic assessment but should contact the Disability Advisory Service for guidance on how to proceed.

For any other type of disability you need to provide a recent letter from a medical professional which must specify:

• What your disability is (including any diagnosis);
• How long you have had the disability;
• Any treatment or support you are currently in receipt of (or that is recommended);
• If you are likely to require any alternative examination arrangements, your medical evidence should state what they should be (e.g. extra time, a separate room, rest breaks, etc) and why they are necessary.