Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Documentation

Admission test

Submitting the diagnostic certification at the time of enrolment allows students to access the admission test with support measures designed to ensure equal opportunities for all applicants. Therefore, students applying as students with SLDs must attach a copy of their certification to their application. The certification must have been issued no more than three years earlier, unless the diagnosis was made after the student turned 18, and must:

• comply with the criteria established by the Consensus Conference (2011)
• include the relevant diagnostic codes and an explicit statement of the SLD diagnosis
• contain the information necessary to understand the individual characteristics of each student, including their respective strengths and areas of difficulty

Please note that only diagnoses issued by National Health Service (SSN) facilities or by healthcare providers or professionals accredited by the Italian Regions are considered valid.

If the diagnosis does not meet these criteria, the University may not accept it.

Enrolment

All services available throughout the duration of the degree programme can only be requested after an interview with the Service’s physicians and after submitting the clinical certification of disability and/or SLD, if it was not submitted before the admission test.

For an SLD diagnosis to be considered valid, it must comply with current legislation and meet the criteria established by the Consensus Conference (2011). It must include the relevant diagnostic codes and an explicit statement of the specific learning disorder concerned, as well as the information necessary to understand the individual characteristics of each student, including their strengths and areas of difficulty.

Only diagnoses issued by National Health Service (SSN) facilities or by healthcare providers or professionals accredited by the Italian Regions are considered valid.

As provided for by Law No. 170/2010 (Article 3) and the subsequent State-Regions Agreement of 24 July 2012, the diagnosis must be updated every three years if it was issued when the student was under 18. An updated diagnosis is not required if it was issued after the student turned 18.

Diagnoses that do not meet these requirements, even if accepted for the admission test, will not be accepted for registration with the DD Service.

Document Delivery Service

The Disability and SLD Service can provide valuable support by offering students the opportunity to consult specialist professionals (neuropsychologists), learn about the procedures for renewing certifications, and identify the National Health Service (SSN) facilities or professionals accredited by the Italian Regions to contact for diagnostic assessments.

Humanitas University students have access to an agreement with the Nexia Neuropsychology Centre, located within Humanitas Medical Care and authorised by the Lombardy Regional Health Authority (ATS Lombardia).

The DD Service is the first point of contact for students and manages university support services. It acts as an intermediary between the University and the student, coordinating and managing university services such as orientation, liaison with teaching staff, and technological and educational accommodations. It also supports students throughout their academic journey and assists the Rector’s Delegate and the Service’s designated representatives.

The Rector’s Delegate is Prof. Stefania Vetrano.

Service registration

• After submitting the relevant diagnostic documentation, students must register with the DD Service according to the procedures communicated by the University in order to request compensatory tools and dispensatory measures for examinations
• Students will be given an initial appointment with the psychologists of the psycho-educational counselling service to prepare a personal profile outlining the student’s characteristics, individual needs, and requests for specific compensatory tools and dispensatory measures. This initial appointment is mandatory in order to obtain the personal profile and request the necessary accommodations. Subsequently, the psycho-educational counselling service remains available on designated dates for students registered with the service
• The personal profile will be sent by email, with a copy to the student and the relevant teaching staff, including only the sections concerning the requested compensatory tools and dispensatory measures

SLD and SEN Counselling Service

The SLD and SEN counselling service provides a space for listening and support, aimed at helping students address difficulties related to learning processes. The service supports students in refining their study methods, planning their academic path, understanding the functional profiles identified through their clinical diagnosis, identifying their specific needs, and selecting appropriate compensatory tools and dispensatory measures.

Compensatory Tools and Dispensatory Measures

The accommodations that may be requested for examinations concern the methods and format in which the assessment is conducted, and never the level of difficulty. Students with SLDs are still required to demonstrate an adequate level of knowledge of the subject, and any request to use specific support tools must be agreed upon with the lecturer.

The following general guidelines may be useful when requesting the accommodations needed for written and oral examinations:

• At the beginning of each examination session, students registered with the service will receive an email containing an examination support form. Students will be asked to indicate which examinations they intend to take, when they will take them, and which accommodations they are requesting. Once completed, the form must be returned by email to the relevant office.
  In this process, the DD Service acts as a mediator between the student and the lecturer, supporting the student’s requests as outlined in the personal profile and helping the lecturer arrange the necessary accommodations for the examination.
  Since accommodations vary according to each student’s individual characteristics and needs, it is necessary to determine on a case-by-case basis which measures are most appropriate for the specific examination format
• The student will be contacted by the DD Office to be informed of the outcome of their request

The additional accommodations recommended by the CNUDD Guidelines include:

• The possibility of splitting an examination into several partial assessments when the exam is particularly complex, provided that the combination of the individual assessments covers the full scope of the original examination
• Ensuring that the format selected for a written examination (multiple choice, open-ended questions, true or false, fill-in-the-blank, etc.) does not constitute an obstacle and, where necessary, replacing it with alternative assessment formats that are appropriate to the needs of students with SLDs
• The use of additional compensatory tools during examinations, whether technological or non-technological

Certain compensatory tools and dispensatory measures may be made available to students both during teaching activities and when taking examinations and admission tests.

Given the variability of SLD profiles and the different characteristics of individual students, the most effective compensatory tools for each student’s academic path should be assessed on an individual basis.

All accommodations remain subject to the lecturer’s assessment, based on the organisation, logistics and structure of the examination. They may therefore be agreed upon or not, depending on the individual circumstances.

The importance of student-lecturer dialogue should be emphasised. University students with SLDs are able to communicate which learning and assessment strategies are most functional and appropriate to their individual characteristics. Maintaining an ongoing dialogue is essential to ensure that the necessary accommodations can be agreed upon in good time.

Study Guidelines

Studying is an activity that involves intentionally adopting effective learning strategies to understand, memorise and retrieve information, with the aim of developing new knowledge.

Studying requires a range of different skills. Students with SLDs may often experience difficulties with some of these skills, including:

• Reading difficulties: reading may be slow and effortful, requiring texts to be read several times to ensure comprehension, while managing large volumes of material can be challenging
• Difficulties managing and perceiving the time dedicated to studying
• Difficulties retrieving and recalling key information
• Difficulties planning and independently organising their workload
• Difficulties understanding questions during examinations
• Difficulties maintaining concentration

General Guidelines for Better Exam Preparation

Other suggestions

During classes: use this time to gather the essential information and ask the lecturer for clarification when needed. Recording lectures may also be helpful, allowing you to listen to them again independently while studying. It can be useful to review and reorganise your notes one or two days after the lecture. The most effective notes tend to be concise and structured, helping to highlight and consolidate the key points.

Before the exam

• Find out well in advance about the exam syllabus, textbooks and any additional materials
• Check whether the lecturer has designated office hours for students
• Request the compensatory tools and dispensatory measures needed for the exam through the DD Service sufficiently in advance, approximately 15 days beforehand
• Take practice exams, using the time available for the actual examination
• If possible, talk to students who have already taken the exam

After the exam: regardless of the outcome, it is useful to reflect on your study method to identify what could be improved, refined or changed. If necessary, discuss the exam with the lecturer to clarify any issues.

Tools and Assistive Technologies

As provided for by current legislation (Article 5 of Law No. 170/2010), students registered as having SLDs may use compensatory tools and dispensatory measures as part of individualised and personalised teaching that takes into account each student’s characteristics and strengths.

Taking notes during lectures can sometimes be challenging. In these cases, support tools can be useful to help students focus their attention on the lecture:

• Notability
• Intowords
• Evernote
• My Script Nebo
• Penultimate
• SuperNotes
• Pages
• Office Lens

Additional applications are available in the dedicated area of the LMS platform.