Registration Process

Follow the 6 step guide below when registering with the Disability Service:

• Step 1- What evidence of my disability do I need to provide to the Disabiliy Service ?
• Step 2 - Making an appointment to meet with your disability officer
• Step 3- Things to do before meeting your Disability officer for the first time
• Step 4- At your intial meeting with the Disability Service.
• Step 5- Signing the LENS report
• Step 6- Signing the Code of Practice report

Step 1 - What evidence of my disability do I need to provide to the Disabiliy Service ?

Trinity College Dublin requires evidence of a disability to support the provision of any reasonable accommodations in College.

Students who do not have appropriate evidence of their disability should forward the 'Evidence of Disability Form' to their Medical Consultant / Specialist to be completed. General Practitioner (GP) letters will not be accepted as suitable medical evidence.

Students with Specific Learning Difficulties (e.g. dyslexia) should provide a copy of their most recent Educational Psychology Report clearly stating that the student has a Specific Learning Difficulty. This report must contain the age equivalent of intellectual functioning and reading age, age-related percentile point, or adult norm in the case of mature students.

For more information of Evidence of Disability please click this link to download the booklet (.doc 94KB).

Staff referring students to the Disability Service, should complete the staff referal form. Please click this link to download the form (.doc 157kb).

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Step 2 - Making an appointment to meet with your disability officer.

Making an appointment

The Disability Service (DS) operates an appointment system to ensure that student queries and assessment interviews are handled in an efficient and effective manner.

You can make an appointment:

Appointment Schedule

NB: Appointments are on the hour and in the office. Please note that the office is now open between 1 and 2pm.

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Step 3 - Things to do before meeting your Disability officer for the first time.

To prepare for your first appointment with your Disability Officer, you should first of all read the Code of Practice which will be sent to you together with the student handbook.

This Code of Practice is intended to outline to students with disabilities their rights and responsibilities in receiving reasonable accommodations.

Please also review the clip below which discusses the student code of practice here in Trinity College Dublin:

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Self Evaluation

To prepare further for your first appointment with your Disability Officer, you need to think about the following issues:

• What do you find easy to do?
• What do you find difficult?
• What do you do well?
• How might your disability / specific learning difficulty affect your study?

People have different ways of learning, thinking and taking in and processing information. Reflecting on the way in which you learn best is a way of finding out about your strengths.

• Do you think in words?
• Do you think in pictures and images?
• Do you find it easier to remember information that you have listened to?
• Do you need to move around or physically do something when you are learning?

Assessment and Examinations

• What is the assessment structure of your course?
• What type of exams will you have? (i.e. essays, lab work, practicals, multiple choice etc.)
• How might these be difficult for you, and what could be done to address this?
• What supports and exam accommodations did you have at second level?

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Step 4 - At your intial meeting with the Disability Service.

If you are a new student registering with the Disability Service, your Disability Officer will contact you to make an appointment for your Needs Assessment.

This meeting will take about an hour, and will involve:

• Checking your personal details
• Gathering some background information about yourself as a learner
• Talking about the demands of your course
• Discussing Assistive Technology
• Describing Disability Service supports
• Examination accommodations
• The role of the personal tutor
• Answering any questions you might have about College

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Step 5 - Signing the LENS report

Every student with a disability has different needs. A needs assessment will be carried out during your first meeting with the Disability Officer to best tailor the services to suit you. The supports will be recorded in a Learning Educaiton Needs Summary (LENS).

The LENS helps determine the level of services you require. The information in the LENS report is made available to the relevant staff within the College (i.e. teaching staff, DS personnel, your Tutor) to help them also provide assistance.

You will discuss the content of your LENS during your needs assessment, a sample LENS is provided by clicking on this link.(.doc 44KB)

Should your needs or requirements change, please ensure to inform your Disability Officer.

How are academic staff notified about my disability and the supports I receive?

If you decide that staff should be informed that you are registered with DS, and that you have examination accommodations, this is how we communicate information about your needs to Schools and lecturers, letting them know your needs your name will appear on the LENS list like this:

You may additionally decide that academic staff in your School of study receive a copy of your LENS.

You will discuss the content of your LENS during your needs assessment, a sample LENS is provided by clicking on this link . (.doc - 44KB)  
You may, of course, choose not to disclose a disability to College staff, although we would always advise students to do so.

If you enter via DARE – the SITS system will record your entry code as 968.  Only members of staff with read rights to  your portal (lecturers, school, tutor) will see this code.

During your needs assessment your Disability Officer will explain the different levels of disclosure that are available to you.  If you are provided with examination accommodations the Exams Office and academic staff teaching on your degree programme, will be aware of your accommodations, so complete anonymity is not possible.

Contact the Academic Liaison Officer (ALO) in your Department

An Academic Liaison Officer acts as a communication route in each department for issues related to students with disabilities. They circulate Learning and Education Needs Summary reports (LENS) are reports which are produced for students registered with the Disability Service (DS).

Academic Liaison officers are also responsible for:

• Being a first point of information on disability issues within the ALOs School/department.
• Making course directors, course co-ordinators, year co-ordinators etc aware of students and the dissemination of information through LENS.

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Step 6 - Signing the Code Of Practice

The Disability Service Code of Practice aims to provide a high standard of service to students with disabilities.The College will take reasonable steps to ensure that it does not place a student with a disability at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled student.

The Code of Practice has two main purposes to outline for students with disabilities their rights and responsibilities in receiving reasonable accommodations while studying at Trinity; to define Trinity's rights and responsibilities to students with disabilities and the College community.

All students registering with DS will receive a copy of this code of practice to read and sign.

The full document can be downloaded or viewed on the DS website by clicking on this link (.doc 143KB)

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