Students with disabilities and with DSA
All Italian secondary education institutions promote the right to education and participation of students with disabilities or specific learning disorders (SLD) in various academic paths.
If you are a student with a disability or SLD, you can refer to the dedicated offices present in every institution and request the activation of available services. You will receive support from the moment of choosing your study path to orientation towards the job market.
To access dedicated services, you must possess valid disability or SLD certification, as required by current regulations: certifications drafted under Article 3, paragraphs 1 and 3, of Law No. 104 of February 5, 1992 and subsequent amendments and additions; Or certification of civil disability equal to or greater than 66%; Or a diagnosis, drawn up in accordance with Law 170/2010, which shows proven specific learning disorders (SLD).
Additionally, while there is no regulatory obligation, some universities extend access to services to students with disabilities or disorders below the 66% threshold.
Over the years, every institution has expanded the range of support services and interventions in addition to basic services for students with disabilities and compensatory and relieving measures under the regulation for students with SLD. For example, universities offer entrance and exit counselling, peer and specialized tutoring, transport, psychological counselling, mobility support, sign language interpretation, provision of texts and teaching materials in accessible formats, as well as support for participation in artistic, cultural and sports activities.
You can find information on these services on the website of the institution you intend to attend, except for universities. In this case, you can find information on the website of CNUDD (the University Consultancy for Disability): you can find the contacts of the Rector's Delegate for Disability of each university and the offices dedicated to students with disabilities or SLD at the student secretariat.
Introducing The CNUDD (Prof. Alberto Arenghi – President of CNUDD)
The CNUDD, the University Consultancy for Disability, is a unique body among university councils, with delegated colleagues representing different disciplinary sectors from eighty-two different Italian universities.
This broad representation allows for an approach to the lives of students with disabilities and SLD throughout their entire university experience, elevating it to a university community made up of individuals with different needs. This means thinking about the usability of libraries, laboratories, canteens, gyms, residences, and all the services that all students interact with during their university stay.
The main tasks of CNUDD involve the “internal” realm, ensuring that issues related to disabilities and SLD are tackled uniformly in the different universities across the country, as well as the external realm, managing relationships with public institutions that govern and set university policies.
The leading aim is to ensure that students with disabilities and SLD get access to education and training programs, which let them become aware citizens who can navigate society and the job market with dignity and equal opportunity.
This attitude and modus operandi have been adopted by CNUDD, to ensure that every person who attends our universities feels fully part of the university community, contributing to one's own experience and, at the same time, creating the feeling of being "protected" by the community to which they belong.
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