Testimonial: David Mooney, Imperial College London

Dyslexia/ SpLD Co-ordinator

Since 2011, Diversity and Ability have been providing a high-quality support service as a preferred provider of external Assistive Technology training and ‘overflow’ Non-Medical Helper’s Dyslexia/ SpLD tutorials at Imperial College London. Additionally, they have effectively fed into our staff development sessions.

D&A’s AT Training sessions and NMH tutorials use a student-centred, personalised holistic approach that ensures the learner is able to use their equipment or employ a strategy in a way that transforms their studies. Training is tailored to the individual’s learning style and preferences, course requirements and workload. The Imperial College Disability Advisory Service has chosen to work with D&A due to their passion for social change and educational innovation in the form of enabling technologies and strategies.

Imperial College students who have accessed their services have overwhelmingly registered an exceptionally positive response in DAS student satisfaction surveys. They have cited a high number of skill improvements along with a significant amount of increased confidence and self-esteem. Imperial College DAS shares D&A’s view that neurodiversity is to be celebrated and having a partner who reflects this positivity in providing support services, is crucial in the expansion of our message.

We find D&A’s Individual Learning Reviews (ILRs), which document the student’s journey throughout their training, extremely useful. These documents not only enable the students to chart their training, they also facilitate a clear understanding of the student’s progress for the NMH tutor. This kind of transferral of skill is essential in the embedding and re-enforcement of newly learned techniques.

Imperial DAS have found that D&A provide high calibre, well-qualified staff and their services and systems (financial and personnel) are run in a timely and efficient manner. I have no hesitation in recommending them as a provider of services to other HEIs.