Disabled international students

The University welcomes disabled international students. Our Disability team can support you to make the most of your time in Leeds. 

Welcome to our University

Disability Services is here is to make sure that disabled students like you have full and equal access to their studies. We do this by recommending academic adjustments for your course. As a disabled international student, you are entitled to receive support from our Service and we strongly encourage you to register with us. 

What does “disabled” mean?

The term “disabled” in the UK is a broad one and covers a variety of conditions, illnesses and impairments. You may not have previously considered yourself disabled in your home country.  But if you feel that your condition may affect your learning at Leeds, you may be able to access support from us. 

This includes people who: 

  • are D/deaf or hearing impaired
  • are blind or visually impaired
  • have a physical disability, and/or mobility difficulties
  • have a specific learning difficulty (for example, dyslexia or dyspraxia)
  • have a neurodevelopmental condition (for example, AD(H)D)
  • have a neurological condition (for example, MS, epilepsy, Tourette Syndrome, stammer)
  • are autistic
  • have a mental health condition
  • have a long-term medical condition (e.g. chronic fatigue syndrome, asthma, diabetes, cancer, HIV)
  • have a combination of these

This list is not exhaustive. If you want to check whether you are entitled to access support please contact us for advice.

Visit our support page to find out more.

Applying for support

Once you have your offer from Leeds, you must register with Disability Services to access support. Visit our sign-up page to find out more.

Available support

Disabled international students can receive a range of support in their learning. The kind of support you will receive is based on your disability and your requirements.   

You can find out more about the assistance you may be able to access on these pages.

Funding

Disabled students can sometimes access extra funded support, such as specialist equipment or one-to-one help. As an international student, you should talk to your sponsor about extra funding for these items. If you do not have a sponsor, please contact us when you apply to Leeds so that we can talk with you about support the that may be available.  It can take several months to arrange support so it is important that you contact us as early as possible.

Likely costs

These are the approximate government allowances for undergraduate UK disabled students. You and your sponsor may use them as a guide to calculate the amount of disability-related financial assistance you might require: 

  • equipment per course: £5,000 
  • non-medical helpers per year: £20,000 
  • general allowance per year: £1,700

Financial help

Other sources of funding available for you as an international disabled student are: 

Disabled Students Access Fund

The access fund provides a one-off financial support for activities where no other funding is available, up to a total of £100. You can find out more about the fund here.

Support with day-to-day living

In addition to academic support, you will need to think about the informal support you usually receive from friends and family, and who will provide this for you when you come to Leeds. We’re unable to provide support with daily living tasks so think carefully about any non-academic, disability-related support needs you may have, such as: 

  • shopping 
  • cooking 
  • cleaning 
  • laundry 
  • personal care 

Disability Services can give you information about agencies that provide care assistants but you will have to pay for this yourself. Support with day-to-day living can be very expensive. 

Medical care

You may qualify for NHS treatment if your course lasts more than six months. If you're on a course which is shorter than six months, and unless your country has a reciprocal healthcare agreement with England, you will be seen as a private fee-paying patient. 

Leeds Student Medical Practice is accessible to disabled people and offers key documents in: 

  • Chinese 
  • Japanese 
  • Greek 
  • Arabic 
  • Spanish

You should read the advice Leeds Student Medical Practice gives to international students to ensure you are aware of your access to healthcare and medication.

 

 

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