Back Find out how to register with the Disability Service in Trinity College to access support and talk about any adjustments you may require for managing your course and examinations. You can also visit Trinity College before your course starts, to gain a feel for where you will be based throughout your studies, and you can contact the Disability Service if you have a questions about supports in college.
Background
If you are thinking of coming to Trinity in the future, you will find lots of great information about university life on the main Trinity website, please click on this link. However, if you are a student with a disability, hopefully this webpage will be able to address some of the queries that you may have about coming to Trinity.
Trinity is an inclusive university and encourages students with disabilities to think about coming here. There are over 1,600 students with disabilities currently registered with the Disability Service, which offers a confidential and accessible service for all students with disabilities and aims to identify and support your learning needs during your time in Trinity. It is student-centered and is committed in as far as is reasonably possible, to empowering students with disabilities achieve their academic and vocational goals, as well as access all aspects of college life
Reasonable adjustments enable you to access and participate in learning, assessment, university facilities and services. Some examples of reasonable adjustments are:
- Exam or Assessment adjustments (e.g. extra time, use of a computer etc.)
- Support with reading and research (e.g. extended book loans, assistance to locate or/and collect research material, access to alternative formats, etc.)
- Access to specialist equipment and assistive software (e.g. text to speech to assist with research and proofreading, mind mapping to assist with planning and organising your work, a recording device to assist with note taking, and an Assistive Technology Centre – ATIC)
- Access to lecture notes in advance of taught sessions
- Additional support from your tutors (e.g. assistance to catch up on missed work or to check your understanding, as required)
- 1:1 Support (e.g. Mentoring, Study Skills tuition etc.)
If you haven’t done so already we would encourage you to contact our Disability Service team in order to talk about the support available to you and ensure any adjustments are made in time for your arrival at our university.
How could this affect me?
The Disability Service is responsible for recommending and coordinating your support or reasonable accommodations, which are tailored on an individual basis, so your involvement in this process is essential. If you decide not to contact the team prior to starting your course you are still welcome to contact us at any point throughout your studies. It can take time to arrange and implement any support you may require so we would encourage you to contact us in good time prior to your arrival, so that we can ensure you have everything in place at the earliest possible opportunity.
What to do next?
Contact the Disability Service team
Practical tips
Disability Service
Room 2054
Arts Building
Trinity College Dublin
Dublin 2
Ireland
Video: Directions from the Front Arch to the Arts building
Drop-in Service
If you have a disability support query that doesn’t require an appointment with your Disability Officer (for example clarification on disability registration, LENS report or your disability supports), please attend the daily drop-in when a Disability Officer will be present in the main office to answer any brief queries or hear about any concerns you may have.
The daily drop-in Disability Officer will be stationed in the main Disability Service office: Arts Building room 2054, 11am-2pm, Monday to Friday.
The drop-in is not an alternative to a Needs Assessment or a scheduled meeting with your Disability Officer, but we will be able to answer general queries and provide quick information on a range of issues, and can update your Disability Officer or make an appointment for you if follow-up is needed.
Booking is not necessary, just drop-in! If you are not free 11-2, you can still email your Disability Officer directly, or, for general queries, email askds@tcd.ie
Directions within the Arts Building
The Disability Service Reception is located in Room 2054,same level as the entrance to the Lecky Library, in the Arts Building.
Click this link for specific Disability Staff contact information
Questions to think about
You could also visit our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) pages for students and parents.
It might be useful to think about:
- how you would like to describe your autism and anything you think would be useful to share with your tutors
- any support you have received in the past, what has worked well and what hasn’t worked for you
- how you plan to travel to university
- your experience of teaching sessions, what helps you to gain an understanding of a new topic or task
- how you have found note taking and researching for assignments
- how you have found assessments in the past, e.g. exams, essays, presentations, etc.
- how you feel about group work, placement and practical tasks
Additional information and links
Disability Service Handbooks and Resources
Trinity College is committed to the principle of universal access and will actively work towards providing reasonable access to all of its services, information and facilities.
You can find more information in our handbooks:
- Student Handbook(PDF)
- Parent Communication Booklet(PDF)
- Reasonable Accomodation booklet (MS Word)
- Academic Liason officer (ALO) and Tutor booklet (MS Word)
- Guide to Students with Disabilities on Placement Booklet (PDF)
- A to Z of Asperger’s Syndrome
If you decide that you are going to attend a different University we would recommend that you contact the Disability Advice team at your chosen university.