Tom has pragmatic semantic speech disorder. As a child, although he had help in class with his language skills, he had real difficulty expressing himself and found it hard to find the right words or to pronounce them correctly. Tom managed to pass several GCSEs, though he still found essays difficult, didn’t like group work and refused to do oral presentations. He’d always liked maths, so he decided to enrol on a foundation course in the hope that he would do well enough to apply for higher education.

At the college he was provided with access to a computer, scanner and printer.  He was also given training on how to use the computer which he found really useful. It really helped him for projects and research. The college operates a study support system, and Tom makes effective use of this to get help with his written work. Although Tom has good computational skills and can make effective use of a calculator, the maths problems are sometimes couched in sentences, and Tom needs help to ensure he understand what the words mean and what is required of him in terms of maths operations. He really appreciates the support he has had from the tutors in the study support office.

Remember, the experience of disability is highly individualised, and people with the same impairment may have very different needs when it comes to making adjustments to practice. It is really important to have a discussion with the disabled person themselves about what their particular needs – and solutions – might be.