I am a student with dyslexia. I am currently in my Leaving Cert year and expect to do quite well in the exams. While I do use a scribe in my exams, I hope to study law at third level next year. Therefore I am, like my friends, applying to go to college in September.

What supports can I expect to find at third level?

In order to avail of the many supports now available at third level for students with disabilities it is essential that you disclose that you have a disability. You can do this by answering the question on page one of the CAO form asking you, the applicant, if you have a disability/specific learning disability. You will then be sent a Supplementary Information Form to complete and send back to the CAO in March.

I want to make it absolutely clear that this will have no negative effect on your application. All colleges are today very aware of their responsibilities to cater fully for students with disabilities, and are anxious to know the disability details of any potential students. If you have submitted an application to the CAO and did not tick the disability box, they will accept additional information, up to this Friday, February 10th, so contact it on 091-509800 immediately.

While you have developed learning strategies to help you cope with the impact of dyslexia at second level, moving from school to college will present new challenges and adjustments, for example coping with the demands of essay writing, large reading lists and the self-directed learning environment at third level.

An excellent website, www.questforlearning.org, has free information on study skills and getting the most from college.

On your behalf, I contacted AHEAD, the Association for Higher Education Access and Disability. I have been advised that to help you cope with these new challenges, each university and institute of technology now has a disability or access officer whose role is to support students as they move through college. The disability or access officer works with students to identify supports and accommodations that may be helpful to the student. For example, you may benefit from the use of Assistive Technology (AT) such as Quicktionary, a small hand-held scanner, or Text Help, a vocabulary support software package which talks, types, corrects spellings and learns your writing style.

The disability or access officer will be able to advise you on the type of AT that may be of use to you.

The disability officer can also provide students with what is known as learning support.

This service can include help with study skills, reading techniques, memory techniques, essay writing, time management and exam preparation.

The majority of institutions provide one-to-one tuition to students who need it.

The main source of funding for the supports that students with disabilities need while they are in college is the ESF Ministers Fund for Students with Disabilities. This fund is available to both full-time and postgraduate students who have a physical, sensory, or specific learning disability such as dyslexia. It is not a maintenance grant but is funding for the type of services outlined above, along with funding for personal assistants and sign language interpreters.

You must be registered as a student in a recognised third-level Institution or PLC centre to be able to access this funding. The college disability or access officer is central to applying to this fund.

With the correct supports and accommodations, the college experience can be an extremely fulfilling one for students with disabilities. What this means is that as a full time student this support service is available free.

If you have any further queries you can contact AHEAD about access and supports for third-level students with disabilities at PO Box 30 East Hall, UCD, Carysfort Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin. Tel: 01 7164396, e-mail ahead@ahead.ie or see www.ahead.ie.

Brian Mooney is president of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors. E-mail questions to bmooney@irish- times.ie