Oxford students with ADHD given 25pc more time on exams without formal diagnosis
Students at the University of Oxford who believe they have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are allowed 25 per cent extra time on exams without a formal diagnosis, a report has revealed.
Oxford's most recent disability service report from 2022/23 said the university had agreed to 'accept a wider range of disability evidence' for exam requirements due to 'a wider context of extensive and ever-growing waiting times for ADHD and autism diagnostic assessments'.
It said that the aim was to reduce 'administrative burdens and barriers to inclusion for disabled students' to enable 'more students timely and essential access' to exam 'adjustments'.
Adjustments include 'up to 25 per cent additional time' along with the use of a computer in exams 'where relevant'.
It said that students who believe they might have ADHD did not need a formal diagnosis, but instead needed to show 'supporting documentation' of a referral by their GP to an NHS autism or ADHD assessment service.
According to the NHS website, a GP cannot formally diagnose ADHD as it requires a 'specialist assessment'. The average waiting time for an ADHD referral on the NHS is three years.
Other ways to gain extra time include 'confirmation' of exam adjustments at a previous educational institution, or evidence of a support plan or Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) from another university, school or college.
The university said that the changes are expected to have a 'positive impact on equality of opportunity' for students with undiagnosed specific learning difficulties, such as autism and ADHD, of which there are 'more than 100 per year'.
A recent report from Nuffield Trust health think tank showed that while there is no national data on referrals for ADHD, between 2019/20 and 2022/23 there was a 51 per cent increase in the number of people prescribed medication for the condition.
Oxford's report said that the number of students with a specific learning difficulty such as ADHD has almost doubled between 2017/18 and 2022/23, rising from 1,091 to 1,935.
The report also revealed that students with a long-term mental health condition account for the highest proportion of disability service users and make up 26.6 per cent of all students known to the Oxford disability service.
After that, students with specific learning difficulties such as ADHD, dyslexia and dyspraxia make up the second largest group at 26.3 per cent.
The number of students with a mental health condition has also nearly doubled in that timeframe, rising from 1,161 to 1,960 in the space of around five years.
A university spokesman said: 'Oxford is committed to ensuring that all of our students have access to an outstanding educational experience at Oxford and that we fulfil our legal obligations by providing reasonable individual adjustments and study support for disabled students.
'We are pleased to offer an environment in which disabled students want to study and can disclose a disability, and the university remains firmly committed to reducing and removing barriers to learning and embedding inclusive teaching and learning practices that benefit all students.'
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