Case study 5: Alan
Alan was a first year student with a specific learning difficulty. He had been diagnosed in his second semester at university and had experienced difficulties coming to terms with the diagnosis as he felt that he had managed well in previous studies. He was also
disappointed that this had not been picked up sooner. He had just started attending disability services for regular one-to-one support from a specialist adviser and had recently received a range of adaptive technology (including a laptop, specialist software
and dictaphone) funded through the Disabled Student's Allowance. He was about to start his first placement with a voluntary agency working with young homeless people.
A number of issues were identified for Alan's support on placement. He was anxious about the paperwork he would be required to complete as he had difficulties with notetaking as well as organising written material. He was reluctant at first to disclose his specific learning difficulty to the agency because he felt that staff there might not understand his learning needs. Alan met with a member of disability support services and they discussed at length the advantages and disadvantages of disclosure to the placement.
Alan disclosed his specific learning difficulty on his placement application form and discussed the impact of this on his learning style at the pre-placement interview.
Adjustments negotiated :
The following adjustments were discussed with Alan first, then a member of disability services staff discussed these with the university department and the placement:
- It was agreed that Alan could use his laptop and specialist software at the placement agency. However, confidential material could not be removed from the office on his laptop and any information that was removed would need to be anonymised. As an additional precaution, Alan 'password protected' every document he worked on.
- It was agreed that Alan could use his dictaphone whilst with the agency to supplement any written notes after working with service users. It was understood that service users' names should not be used. He was given the time after interviews to write up all his notes immediately so that digital voice files could then be deleted.
- The practice assessor/teacher agreed that she would proof read any letters/documents that Alan had to send out.
- Alan took responsibility for communicating any additional needs or concerns to his practice assessor/teacher.
- The adjustments were reviewed at the end of the third week of the placement by the practice assessor/teacher and Alan. Both were asked to contact the disability tutor in social work or disability support staff in the university if there were any further support issues.
All the agreed adjustments were formalised in a letter to Alan, the practice assessor/teacher and the department placement co-ordinator by the member of staff from the disability support service. The letter also stated that it might be necessary for these support arrangements to be adjusted slightly to meet the requirements of the placement learning experience.
Outcome:
Alan successfully completed his placement. He made use of additional support available to him from the university disability services whilst on placement. This included proofreading of his assessed work by the specialist advisor and attending group sessions on developing strategies for organising written and verbal material.
