Working with disability

Working with disability

The University uses the collective term ‘disabled students’ to encompass students with different conditions, impairments and differences, in categories including (but not limited to) ADHD, Autism, Hearing, Mental Health, Physical, Sight, Specific Learning Difficulty (eg Dyslexia or Dyspraxia), and Unseen Disabilities/Long-Term Health Conditions.

Many students arrive at Cambridge with a formal diagnosis of disability, and many are diagnosed while they are here. This is not surprising: we have seen many students who were able to develop their own workarounds which were effective at school, but are less so with University-level study, so need to seek help for the first time.  It is certainly not the case that disabled students are in a small minority: around 30% of the student population engage with the Accessibility and Disability Resource Centre (ADRC) at the University.

There is a wealth of help, support and guidance available for disabled students. The Wellbeing Centre is the place to start within College, while the ADRC is the place to start within the University. Some of the information on these Academic Skills pages of the Downing website will be useful to all students, but the Wellbeing Service and the ADRC will be able to give specific advice in the context of particular disabilities.