The following students can be officially supported by the Special Needs Unit throughout the educational path (Bachelor’s, Master’s, PhD, State Examination):
- students with SpLD – Specific Learning Disorders;
- students with disabilities and invalidities;
- students with SEN – Special Educational Needs, which include Neurodevelopmental Disorders, or Borderline Intellectual Functioning, Communication Disorders, Autism Spectrum, ADHD, or diagnosed psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety and mood disorders, psychotic and dissociative disorders, eating disorders, etc;
- students who are experiencing temporary difficulties due to proven and serious health problems.
The Special Needs Unit can support students who provide updated medical documentation, respectively:
- for students with SpDL: certificate issued by SSN (Italian National Healthcare Service) or by specialists and facilities accredited by SSN (pursuant to Law 170/2010). The certificare must have been issued no more than 3 years ago if released before turning 18 years old.
- for students with diabilities: certificate of disability or invalidity, with both diagnosis and percentage of disability clearly indicated;
- for students with SEN: medical certificate with a clear diagnosis with the functioning profile explaining in a clear way the negative impact on learning or social participation.
- for students experiencing temporary difficulties due to serious health problems: a recent medical/hospital certificate, containing both diagnosis and prognosis.
Students need to get the approval of the Special Needs Unit before receiving specific support. This normally happens at the beginning of the educational path, but students may request the intervention of the Unit at any time of the year.
Students can request to be supported by the Special Neeeds Unit in the following ways:
First-year students: after completing the enrolment process, please contact the Special Needs Unit via ticket for a preliminary interview. Please upload the certificate of disability/invalidity or "temporary difficulty" in .pdf format (if not already uploded to the Appy@polito platform).
Continuing students (Year 2 or beyond): upload the certificate in .pdf format and send it by ticket to request an interview.
Removing architectural barriers and ensuring that students with disabilities can enjoy their right to university education is how we guarantee inclusion at Politecnico. Politecnico has a specific plan approved by its governing bodies to remove architectural barriers.
After analyzing individual cases, Politecnico can offer IT tools and aids specifically created by specialized operators to ensure that students can reach a good individual autonomy. If necessary, these aids may be used for the entire period of study.
Students with disabilities enrolled at Politecnico di Torino with a certified disability rate > 66% can be totally exempted from paying their tuition fees. For further information, consult Tuition Fees Regulations.
Dedicated spaces are available for students officially supported by the Special Needs Unit, specifically:
- Special Needs rest room: room furnished with two orthopaedic beds for people with disabilities, access by reservation.
- Special Needs study room: study room with 14 seats, access by reservation.
- Special Needs PC room: PC room with 4 seats for people with disabilities, access by reservation.
Special arrangements are assigned to students by the Special Needs Unit based on the certificate presented. In any case, students can ask to review the special arrangements assigned to them with the Unit operators by fixing an appointment, in person or remotely.
After enrolment, students who have taken the admissions test using special arrangements will receive an email to thier Polito mailbox (smatricola@studenti.polito.it) inviting them you to watch an information video. After confirming that they have watched the video, the Special Needs Unit operators will add the special arrangements deducible from the certificate to the student’s acceptance form.
Students will be invited by email to check the form on the teaching portal (Online services tab, special arrangements). The form contains the special arrangements assigned to the student.
If the SpDL certificate does not contain exact information, students will be given other transversal measures, i.e. calculator, readability criteria, extra time, and a type of evaluation which considers the content rather than the form.
Students have 15 days to confirm the special arrangements assigned to them, if they believe they are correct and exhaustive.
If instead they believe changes are necessary, they are required to book an appointment via ticket for an interview with the Special Needs Unit.
Attention:
- students who do not contact the Special Needs Unit within 15 days of receiving the e-mail cannot benefit from any special arrangement for the entire academic year;
- After the special arrangements have been shared with the teaching staff, they cannot be modified for the entire academic year;
- At the beginning of each academic year, students must repeat the procedure for accepting and sharing the special arrangements. On this occasion, students may request a revision of the arrangements, providing supporting documents if necessary;
- Continuing students (enrolling in Year 2 or beyond) must complete the procedure for special arrangements no later than December 15th.
PLEASE NOTE:
Students with Specific Learning Disorders (SpLD), in addition to using the Online Report Procedure, are invited to talk directly with their professors, at least one week before the beginning of the examination session. Professors must be informed about the special arrangements agreed with the Special Needs Unit so they can find the most suitable solution for the specific type of examination.
Students who are having temporary difficulties with attending classes and taking exams for a significant period of time due to serious and certified health reasons can report this situation to the Special Needs Unit by ticket.
“Significant period of time” refers to:
- inability to attend classes for at least one month;
- inability to take exams for at least 2 consecutive sessions, or need for support for written assessments due to objective impediments in independent writing.
The Special Needs Unit will examine the medical documentation sent by the student and propose an meeting to evaluate temporary support measures.
Please note that all students are required to take their exams in person at the university. The only exceptions are people under oncological therapy, which must be duly certified.
C-PEN LingoPen / Exam Reader
- To be used in the Special Needs study room and/or borrowed
The Special Needs Unit can provides students with SpDL/disabilities with two new generation reading support devices, designed to facilitate individual learning and exams, respectively:
- N.5 C.Pen LingoPen
- N. 5 C-Pen Exam Reader
The pens can be used in the Special Needs study room; it is also possible to borrow them at home.
For loan requests students must:
- send a ticket indicating which pen they need (Lingo Pen or Exam reader)
- wait for confirmation of the availability of pen before collecting it from the Special Needs room (opening hours 09:00-12:00; 14:00-16:00 Monday to Friday)
The loan is personal and users are held fully responsible for any damage caused to the pen and for its correct conservation. Users are also liable in the event of theft or loss.
Upon delivery of the pen, users are required to check its integrity and state of conservation and report any problems to the staff.
Loans last 14 days and are renewable (renewal request via ticket within the day before the expiration date).
Failure to comply with the loan terms will result in ths student being blocked from other loans and use of the study room for a period equal to the delay.
In the event of accidental loss, theft, or destruction, the user is required to refund the cost of the pen.
Noise cancelling headphones loan
4 noise-cancelling headphones are available to users studying in the study room and requiring special acoustic insulation. To borrow the headphones, students must send a ticket to the Special Needs Unit, specifying the day and time of use. Students must deposit their identity document, which will be retained by the staff until the device is returned.
The service targets the students who are supported by the Special Needs Unit, mainly students with disabilities or SpLD who are having problems in their studies such as:
- preparing for a specific exam;
- taking notes, participating in the class, getting organized for their teaching activities, completing university paperwork.
Student Tutors are Bachelor's or Master's students included in a specific register. Student Tutors normally support the requesting person for a variable number of hours (from a minimum of 30 to a maximum of 200 hours).
To request the support of a Student Tutor, students must send a ticket to the Special Needs Unit, specifying the type of support they need, i.e.:
- exam preparation (specify course title, name of faculty member, expected date to take the exam);
- general support (note taking / help in participating in lessons).
Requests will be evaluated by a specific board that will verify the availability of a Student Tutor in the Student Tutor Register and the actual possibility of activating such service.
Requests for first semester will be processed starting from October, requests for second semester will be processed from March.
The service targets the students supported by the Special Needs Unit who require long-term support, clearly indicated in the report of the specialist who made the functional diagnosis.
The service is rendered by a specialized tutor or a professional educator who can support the student continuously for a fixed number of hours in order to:
- facilitate communication with the teaching staff and the peer group;
- help the student to manage time and orgnize his/her study;
- offer the LIS interpreting service to deaf students.
This type of service is mainly offered to students with complex disabilities or people with communication and relational disorders.
Normally students can activate this service upon first enrolment at Politecnico.
To request the service students must send a ticket to the Special Needs Unit, enclosing a medical certificate which states the specific need for specialized tutoring support.
Over the years, we - the Special Needs Unit - have supported several students, and with each one of them we have tenaciously shared projects, efforts, satisfactions, critical moments and positive results.
Each student has built his/her own path, unique and particular, and has contributed to the growth of our service in experience and planning.
We have decided to make this page available to everyone. It is a space for sharing experiences and skills, where the protagonists can tell their stories, which we hope can stimulate other students and enrich new paths.
Methodological warning:
To ask for the publication of a contribution, students must send a ticket. The Special Needs Unit will evaluate it to verify if it is in line with the purposes indicated above, without going into the merits of the contents.
We want to stress the fact that the author assumes full responsibility for what is written; any references to programs or products shall not have promotional purposes, but rather only reflect an individual experience.
Guides
The guides in this section have been created from the direct experiences of some students supported by the Special Needs Unit, with the idea of sharing useful tools to overcome possible critical issues during the university path.
Any references to programs or products do not have promotional purposes, but rather reflect the individual point of view of the author.
Enjoy reading!
Specifically:
1) Eneas's study guide suggests strategies for students with upper limb motor difficulties
2) Roberto and Annalisa's guide mainly targets students with visual difficulties
This section is dedicated to advertising events, scholarships, opportunities offered by local institutions and/or bodies
- Time 2 Foundation has opened its new headquarters in Corso Stati Uniti 62/b - Open, “spazio aperto di diversità”, a place where the idea and practice of a society made of diversity is nurtured every day.
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- Tutorial-Me Managing Disability: a platform created by the UMANA MENTE Allianz Foundation in collaboration with the Coordination of Lombard Universities for Disability (CALD), a tool and a place accessible to all , totally free of charge, with a single mission: to promote the culture of disability.
- Disabled Tennis project
- AISM (Associazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla): brief presentation of the association; how to become an ambassador.