Institute of Psychological Sciences

Equality and Diversity

At Leeds University there are students with a wide range of disabilities including dyslexia, visual or hearing impairments, mobility difficulties, mental health needs, respiratory conditions, etc. Many of them have benefited from the advice and support from the University's Equality and Diversity, Disability Services, the RNIB and The University of Leeds Transcription Centre. They aim to provide information, guidance and support to disabled people who study at the University and to those who aspire to do so.

The University has a team of staff who support disabled students. The Equality and Diversity, Disability Services Centre is located in the ground floor of the Economic and Social Studies Building. The Centre is a member of the National Federation of Access Centres and, along with the RNIB/University transcription centre provides a range of guidance to disabled and dyslexic students. All students are offered an assessment of their requirements for support and, where appropriate, assistance with an application for disabled students allowances. Students are advised to contact the Equality Services as soon as possible, before the commencement of their studies (email: equality@leeds.ac.uk or disability@leeds.ac.uk). Information for students with disabilities is available from the University's Equality and Diversity, Disability Services and from their website at: www.equality.leeds.ac.uk. This includes information on support for deaf and hearing impaired students, blind and visually impaired students, physically impaired students and dyslexic students.

The Institute of Psychological Sciences has a Tutor for Disabled Students (Dr Pam Blundell). If you have a disability, we recommend that you contact Pam (email: p.blundell@leeds.ac.uk) as soon as possible, preferably even before the commencement of your course. Pam is the first point of contact for students experiencing difficulties and requiring support from the Institute. Mature students who experienced problems at school are often unaware that these problems may result from being dyslexic. Whilst dyslexia cannot be cured, you can learn strategies which make studying significantly easier. If you think you may be dyslexic, the Disabilities Officer in the Institute will point you in the right direction to arrange a dyslexia screening or assessment.

Students with disabilities and dyslexia may be eligible for special arrangements for examinations, for example, extra time, use of a word processor, enlarged examination papers, etc. To ensure your needs can be taken into consideration you are advised to contact the Equality and Diversity, Disability Services early on in the course and not later than 8 weeks before your examinations.