Satellite navigation and dyscalculia: reasonable adjustment under the DSA

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Satellite navigation and dyscalculia reasonable
adjustment under the DSA?  

• Dyscalculia and Dyslexia in Higher Education
• Forging the Future
• Wednesday 5th April 2006
• Edward Herbert Building, Loughborough University

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Introduction

• Case study
• To protect confidentiality no names or locations
  will be given
• Support was provided following the assessment in
  line with the DfES (DSA) guidelines
• Subsequently a Global Positioning System (GPS)
  was recommended
• The recommendation was approved by the Local
  Education Authority (LEA)
• Student has been successful in using GPS to
  support her to gain her degree

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What is the Disabled Students Allowance?

• An allowance to meet the additional costs arising
  from the combination of impairment and demands of
  the course
• Who qualifies?
• A student taking a recognised course eligibility
  confirmed by their LEA or Funding body, such as
  the NHS
• The disability has been diagnosed by a recognised
  practitioner
• SpLD disabilities include dyslexia, dyspraxia,
  AD(H)D, dyscalculia
• New regulations from 2007 to ensure
  standardisation of recognised practitioners
  qualifications, tests administered and report
  style and content.

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What does the DSA provide (05/06)?

• There are four kinds of financial help
• Specialist equipment allowance of up to 4,680
  for the whole course.
• Non medical helper allowance (up to 11,840 for
  full time study up to 8,885 for part time
  study).
• A general disabled student allowance (up to
  1,565 for full time study up to 1,170 for part
  time study).
• Extra travel costs allowance.

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DSA Access Assessment

• Assessments arranged through recognised centres
• Assessor reviews evidence, course information and
  student details in advance of assessment
• Assessment takes the form of an interview, with
  an exchange of information
• Strategies are discussed during the interview
• There will be a demonstration of equipment and
  software, as appropriate

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History and current problems experienced by the
student
Details of the course requirements
Evidence provides justification for
recommendations in report
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Following the interview

• Liaison with other agencies LEA/Disability
  officers/suppliers/course leaders
• A report is written based on the interview
• It is a consultative document for the LEA
  administering the DSA
• The report will make specific recommendations
  from the 4 categories of funding
• A copy of the report is sent to the student
  before it is sent to the LEA

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Reasonable adjustment

• All students can expect to spend money on
• books, photocopying, transport, paper etc.
• The DfES (DSA) guidelines provides for
• Additional expenses the student incurs , due to
  their disability, by attending their course
• Any recommendations must be supported by evidence
  of need
• LEAs have a duty to gate-keep the allowance
• If the LEA feel the recommendation is not related
  to both disability and course, they may decline
  to accept the recommendations

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Case study student

• Female, mature student
• Year 2 of 3-year degree BA Social Care
• Degree involves 2 long-term placements of 100
  days each
• During placement she must visit care-users in
  their home or at day centres
• Diagnosis of Irlen syndrome
• Diabetic

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Student reports

• Not dyslexic reading, writing and spelling not a
  problem
• Main difficulty so far passing level 2 Basic
  Skills Mathematics
• Life long difficulties with number, space, time,
  distance, money, left/right confusion
• Cannot use a watch
• Does not handle money- hands her purse over in
  shops
• Has one PIN number for all cards
• Gets very stressed and confused when map-reading
• Impossible to map-read and drive

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Educational psychologist reports

• Diagnosis of dyscalculia
• Ed. Psy. report notes difficulties with
  map-reading, left/right confusion, numbers and
  sequencing
• Performance subtests scores depressed, not in
  line with verbal skills,16 point difference
• WRAT-3 Written Arithmetic at 3rd percentile

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Educational psychologist reports (cont)

• Lowest indexical score was in Perceptual
  Organization Scaled Score of 0. Confirms
  difficulties with ability to identify fine
  details and with identifying patterns and
  sequences
• Short-term auditory memory a strength index
  score 14, 91st percentile 
• This relative strength in auditory memory would
  suggest that the task of driving a car whilst
  using a GPS would not overload the auditory
  working memory

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Course details

• Course leader confirmed that two one-hundred-day
  placements are compulsory
• During these placements the student must attend
  team meetings at a variety of locations
• Student must visit service-users in their homes
• In order to attend the team meetings and visit
  the service-users the student must navigate to
  many, varied locations

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Why recommend a GPS?

• The student contacted CELT concerned about not
  being able to find her way to clients
• The key factor is that she has to navigate a
  large number of routes on each placement, which
  does not allow for familiarity or routine to be
  established
• She had tried alternative support sharing a car
  with another student/her tutor travelling with
  her/map-reading herself
• She asked CELT to consider supplying a GPS system

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How GPS met the needs of this student with
dyscalculia

• Simple to use and understand
• Route is established by postcode
• Student does not need to make any decisions about
  route
• Directions given by neutral, calm voice
• Clear, visual ,mapping with 3D images and arrows
  confirming aural instructions
• If driver goes off route then GPS quickly advises
  how to reposition
• Reduces stress levels

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Is it Reasonable Adjustment under the DfES
guidelines?

• Is it an additional expense incurred due to her
  being a student?
• Is the support justified due to her disability?
• Is the support needed due to her course?
• Is it reasonable to expect her to be able to use
  the GPS efficiently?
• Will the provision of this support meet her
  particular, individual needs under the DfES
  guidelines?

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Without the GPS?

• How would the student's academic progression
  suffer
• without the GPS?
• She would take longer getting to people's homes
  and care team meetings (time others could use for
  preparation/private study)
• She would arrive in an anxious state and been
  less able to perform well on her placements
• In some instances, she might have been unable to
  arrive at all and would have had to extend her
  placements or miss out on cases that would have
  been relevant to her coursework.

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Recommendation made from Specialist equipment
allowance

• In November 2004,after serious consideration,
  CELT recommended the provision of a GPS system to
  meet this students needs
• In December 2004 the LEA agreed this was a
  reasonable recommendation and agreed to supply
  this equipment
• TomTom Go 300 recommended , todays price 280.00
  approx.

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Questions we asked at CELT

• Will this start an avalanche of requests for GPS
  systems?
• Will this undermine the perception of the DSA in
  the mind of the LEA/public?
• Is this a unique set of circumstances? A nursing
  student, for example, would be likely to
  undertake each of his or her placements on a
  single site and so it would be expected that
  familiarity with the route would soon develop.
  Not so in this case.

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Positive factors

• Student was keen and pro-active to get the
  support
• Student liaised closely with the Disability
  Officer at university to discuss the request
• The Ed. Psy report gave clear, specific test
  results to justify the recommendations
• The officer at the LEA agreed to the
  recommendation, after considering the evidence.
  He did not dismiss it out of hand.

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What the student says today

• Fantastic! It has transformed my life
• Taken away the stress of driving
• Gives me peace of mind it talks to me
• Took me some time to be confident that it would
  get me there but now I trust it 100
• The best bit of equipment I got!
• I have passed all parts of my course

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• References
• Disabled Students Allowance www.dfes.gov.uk/stud
  entsupport
• DfES Working Party Report on Assessment in Higher
  Education
• www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/dfesreport
• Forum and review of GPS
• www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk/tomtom-go-30
  0-reviews.html

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Questions Answers
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Sue McKennaSM9_at_soton.ac.uk

• Centre for Enabling and
• Learning Technologies (CELT),
• University of Southampton, Highfield
• Southampton SO17 1BJ
• Celt_at_soton.ac.uk
• Tel [phone]