Going to university requires a lot of planning. Which university? Which course? Do I stay close to home or move away? These are all very normal questions. Yet it is morecomplicated for disabled students.

Your needs have to come before your wants. Things need to be accessible, and this can often rule out some of our wants and 'nice to haves’.

With AccessAble's Detailed Access Guide's, getting the information you need has never been easier. It allows you to have a bit more spontaneity and to add the fun back into planning.

I graduated from Leeds Trinity University in 2019 with a First Class Honours degree in Psychology and Child Development. I really enjoyed my course and it was definitely the right university for me. I started university using a wheelchair most of the time due to having cerebral palsy. I also started to lose my sight and was registered as partially sighted while studying.

I look back on my time at university fondly, but a lot of it was focused on my access needs at the time. Leeds Trinity University does not have an AccessAble Detailed Access Guide, and I think having one would have improved my experience as a disabled student.

Why I chose Leeds Trinity University

When I was looking at universities, this was the list of things I looked for:

• Close to home
• A campus university
• Good disability services
• A small university that was easy and accessible to get around

These choices were all about my access needs.

Thankfully, the course of Psychology and Child Development fulfilled my wants when it came to university. It covered educational psychology which predominately looked at how children learn and how to support disabled students to reach their full potential. This really appealed to me and made it stand out when comparing courses.

A Detailed Access Guide would have helped me to understand the layout of the university before I started. It could have given me more information about the physical access and whether they could accommodate my needs.

My educational experience

I found Leeds Trinity University very accommodating. I was able to have a 1 to 1 meeting with disability services before I'd even applied. This allowed me to:

• Talk through my access needs
• Have a tour of campus
• Look at the accessible student rooms on campus

While this really did help me in choosing the right university for me, a Detailed Access Guide would have meant I could access that information in my own time, and easily compare it to other universities.

For example, another university that I seriously considered was Sheffield Hallam. Sheffield Hallam has a Detailed Access Guide and this looks at the buildings, services and accommodation. Even though this university didn't meet my access requirements, the transparency of a Detailed Access Guide shows their willingness to support disabled students.

My experience of Leeds Trinity University

On the whole, I found Leeds Trinity a very welcoming place for disabled students. I also had the pleasure of being the Disabilities Officer for the Students Union during my final year.

One disadvantage, was the length of the accessible routes. Yet I'd say this is true for the vast majority of places. I was able to access 99% of the campus. Also, it was great to see the university implementing accessibility that went beyond physical access. For example:

• Assistive tech I needed in the library
• Accommodations made for medical appointments
• Highlighting ramps and changes in the incline using reflective tape

Let's not forget about the social side

During my time at university, I enjoyed coffee dates, charity shopping and I started to get into musical theatre. Nothing has changed!

Even though I lived in Leeds, being at university meant I had this newfound independence to explore. I also hadn't used a wheelchair for very long, so was still getting to grips with that.

It was great to see that the Alhambra theatre has a Detailed Access Guide. Combined with their access scheme, it was easy to attend shows as a disabled patron. However, it wasn't until after university that I found out about audio described performances and touch tours. If you're visually impaired, this really adds to the experience.

Also, many hours were spent at Leeds Trinity shopping centre! Probably when we should have been doing an assignment. It has a wide range of shops, plus a Changing Places toilet. This is all captured in the Leeds Trinity shopping centre Detailed Access Guide, making it easier to find your way around.

During my second year at university, I lived in a shared house with friends. We were in a suburb of Leeds and had access to quaint cafes, all the charity shops and more than enough pubs and bars. Including the infamous Otley Run. It was ideal for student life. Yet finding Detailed Access Guides proved difficult.

If I had access to this information, I would have spent less time searching for accessibility information or ringing up venues and more time doing the things I wanted to do. I also think the Detailed Access Guides take away the ambiguity. On numerous occasions I was told a venue was wheelchair accessible, only to arrive and realise it wasn't. Thankfully I was an ambulatory wheelchair user, so I could get out of my chair and navigate that way, but that's not the point. If the venues had a Detailed Access Guide I could make my own assessment based on my specific access needed.

Students need Detailed Access Guides

I spent so much time checking accessibility information out online and ringing venues, but you don't have to.

Have a look to see if your university has a Detailed Access Guide. If it doesn't, why not ask disability services if they can add their information.

On that note, I'm going to ask Leeds Trinity University to complete their Detailed Access Guide!