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Dyslexia and SpLD support

This support enables you to develop relevant skills and strategies over the course of your time at university, and to support you in achieving your full learning potential – while you’re studying here, and throughout your future career.

Support for learning difficulties

Our Dyslexia Support team supports students with specific learning difficulties (SpLD), such as dyslexia and dyspraxia, as well as Irlen's, slow processing, and students who have previously had a Form 8 for exam arrangements at school or college.

By telling us about your SpLD as early as possible, we can identify your needs and ensure we are accommodating them from the start of your university experience. You're not obliged to declare it, but it will help us understand what support is most relevant to you.

Tell us about the support you need

Complete our Access Statement form to let us know about any support, adjustments, or exam arrangements you may need, and what support you may have had in place before that helped you.

This information will form the basis of your support plan at NTU, known as an Access Statement.

You'll need to secure a formal diagnosis before you enrol at NTU. This enables us to coordinate your support before you've started your course. If you need any help regarding the assessment required by Student Finance for an application for the Disabled Students Allowances (DSA), please visit the SASC, Patoss Tutor or DirectGov website.

If you require any further advice about your documentation, we recommend that you contact us. If you're a current student, please attend an advice session to discuss the evidence requirements.

We require evidence of your SpLD in order to put your exam adjustments or one-to-one support in place. We'll require this evidence before the start of your course. Please forward your documentation on to us, even if you're awaiting exam results.

For dyslexia, this will be a copy of a full diagnostic assessment, written by a qualified assessor who holds an approved qualification and is either:

  • a specialist teacher assessor holding a current SpLD Assessment Practising Certificate (APC)
  • a practitioner psychologist, registered with the HCPC.

Dyspraxia and other conditions may be assessed by medical professionals, in which case we will need written confirmation from them of the diagnosis, and a clear indication of the condition's impact on your studies.

you can send in your evidence to us by email dyslexia.support@ntu.ac.uk

If you are an international student with an SpLD, please provide us with a copy (in English) of a full, recent, professional assessment report - and do this as soon as possible after accepting a place on your course. We can then consider any recommendations in the assessment report.

Support sessions we offer

Advice sessions

We run one-to-one advice sessions across all our campuses, where students can ask a dyslexia specialist for advice, or ask questions about things like:

  • your support arrangements
  • exam arrangements
  • applying for a Disabled Students Allowance (DSA)
  • diagnostic evidence requirements
  • what to do if you think you may have an SpLD, such as dyslexia
  • how to access generic support within NTU, e.g. library study support
  • how to implement the reasonable adjustments recommended by your evidence (e.g. extra time in exams).

Specialist one-to-one support

Specialist one-to-one support is available to students who receive Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs), though it’s important to remember that we can’t give any subject-specific guidance.

We provide one-to-one support sessions that are tailored to your needs and can develop your skills in:

  • understanding your thinking and learning style
  • writing, planning, drafting, editing and proofreading strategies
  • time management and organisation - meeting deadlines, handing in work on time, action plans, and sorting your diary
  • reading and spelling, comprehension, note-taking, reading fluency and research
  • planning, rehearsing and delivering presentations
  • prioritising your own workloads through mind-mapping
  • revision and stress management techniques for exams and assessments
  • using assistive technologies.

Specialist DSA-funded support is provided through a mix of internal support and external agency support.

What to do if you're experiencing difficulties on your course

Sometimes the academic challenge of university can highlight difficulties that you’ve not noticed before. You may have experienced difficulties with spelling, composing assignments, or reading academic texts. However, difficulties in these areas do not necessarily mean you are dyslexic.

To support your learning, there are many self-help resources that we recommend, such as our assistive technology resources.

If you continue to experience difficulties and want further advice, please contact our Dyslexia Support team.

Get in touch

If you have any questions or require any assistance with the support available, get in touch via email at dyslexia.support@ntu.ac.uk. You can also complete the applicant support form and we will contact you.

If you have feedback on any aspect of the service you receive from our team, please let us know.