Are there any other strategies you could suggest for Michael?

• Ask him to sit at the front of the lecture theatre.
• Suggest he record the lectures.
• Suggest assistive technology like Dragon to write text for him or other technology that can read text.
• Arrange for a 'study buddy' to work with him on assignments.
• Work on his strengths. Use mind maps instead of written texts to structure assignments.
• You may also like to recommend he visit the Learning inspirations site for students.

Issues

• Difficulties writing, reading and organising his ideas.
• Being overwhelmed, not knowing where or how to start.
• Anger and frustration at the system.

Strategies

• Suggest that he goes to the Disability Liaison Unit (DLU)
• Emphasise that he will get the support he needs to complete his course. One way of doing this is through active and reflective listening:

I can see you have a good grasp of the content of the course, but you seem to be having trouble with some aspects such as writing or spelling or reading. Have you considered going to the Disability Liaison Unit (DLU) or Counselling or Learning Support? They can give you additional support so you can do your best.

Role and responsibilities

• You need to think about your role and responsibilities and how much time and energy you have to spend with students. Tell students clearly when you can see them - set aside a certain amount of time per week to see students. Recognise your time constraints.
• Help students to get additional support from specialist staff. Make an appointment for them to do so while they are with you.

Support

• Counsellors can offer support for students adjusting to the demands of learning in a new environment.

• Did you also know that the Disability Liaison Unit (DLU) can organise testing for learning disabilities? Students registered with the DLU can be eligible for additional support such as a note taker for lectures and tutorials as well as extra time in exams and for assignments.

CALT learning support staff. CALT Learning Support academics could help Michael structure his assignments and organise his work schedule.

The following suggestions will benefit all students

• Type up notes and put PowerPoint presentations online. This does not have to be the whole lecture, just main points.
• Offer students the opportunity and set times (within reason) to see lecturers and tutors so they feel safe to discuss issues of concern and clarify information.
• Offer some flexibility (negotiated with the student) with deadlines for assignments. Extra time in exams negotiated with the DLU.
• Perhaps the student can present information orally instead of sitting an exam, or have a note taker to write down answers during exams.
• Put up more information in graphic form, move from global to specific and back again, show the connections between the different aspects of the course. See the section on learning styles and Making lectures and tutorials more inclusive.
• Clearly state the main idea and purpose of the lecture at the beginning.
• Write down and teach new or technical words.
• Verbally stress cue words and transitions to aid students in the structure of the lecture. For example, first, next, last etc.
• Stress the most important information verbally by using volume, (very loud or soft) pitch (high or low) speed (slow) and other inflectional cues.