Services for students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD)
The University provides support services to students with specific learning disabilities, to ensure their inclusion within the academic community.
Support services are granted for the entire duration of the student’s academic career. They range from guidance in the choice of the degree programme to assistance with admission tests and enrolment procedures, up until graduation. We provide a set of customised services, to be agreed upon request.
Computers with speech synthesizers, printers and scanners are available in the dedicated laboratory on the Via Festa del Perdono 3 campus. Students can use them for study purposes or to complete any paperwork.
During 2019, each Department appointed one of its professors to act as SLD tutor.
In December 2023, the Academic Senate approved the University Guidelines on the right to education of students with disabilities and SLDs.
[email protected]
Via Festa del Perdono 7
Office hours: Monday to Friday 9:00 am - 12:00 pm, by appointment only
Laboratory Classroom hours: Monday to Friday 9.00 am - 5.00 pm (by reservation)
Telephone: 02 503 12366
Mandate for Disability
Prof. Stefania Leone
Prospective students can request individual counselling when choosing a programme or before enrolment.
Early contact is highly recommended in order to gain a better knowledge of the programmes of interest.
The service is available throughout the year, excluding the period August-October. You can set an interview with the staff to get:
- all the information required for choosing a programme;
- an overview of learning disabilities services;
- information on admission procedures and the certificates to be submitted when applying for support and exemptions, as required by law;
To access the service, write to [email protected] specifying:
- first and last name;
- phone number (home and/or mobile);
- subject of the meeting.
In order to benefit from any accommodations, students with specific learning disabilities must submit an SLD certificate pursuant to Law 170/2010.
This certificate must be issued by the National Health Service (in Italian, Servizio Sanitario Nazionale), by an authorised private medical team or a private specialist, and must be accompanied by a document of compliance issued by the competent health authority.
Students have to upload their certificate when registering online for the admission test, and specify any accommodation requested, as indicated in the call for applications for the relevant degree programme. Please read the call carefully.
Students can ask:
- to be granted additional time for the test
- to be assisted by a reading tutor during the test
- to be allowed to use a non-scientific calculator.
Students with SLDs who are admitted to a degree programme have to upload their SLD certificate again during the online enrolment procedure. After finalising their enrolment, they have to book an appointment for a one-to-one interview, to receive detailed information on how to request and access services.
During the interview, our staff examines the student’s certificate and drafts a customised report summarising the main information included in the certificate, as well as any recommended accommodations that the student may use during exams.
This document is then sent to the student, who must always use it when requesting services and contacting professors. At any time, students may request a monitoring interview to have their report reviewed/amended.
To book your welcome interview, please log into InformaStudenti, click on the box “Appointments“ and then select “Ufficio Servizi per Studenti con DSA” and “Accoglienza (Documento Personalizzato) - studenti con DSA” as topic.
To book a monitoring interview, please log into InformaStudenti, click on the box “Appointments“ and then select “Ufficio Servizi per Studenti con DSA” and “Monitoraggio in itinere - studenti con DSA” as topic.
To request accommodations for an exam, you have to write an email to your professor, specifying the accommodations you need and attaching your customised report. Remember to always cc SLD Services when sending this email ([email protected]). You must send your request to the professor at least 15 days before the exam. Please attach any concept maps or lists of formulas you wish to use, as your professor may ask you to amend them or reduce their contents.
In any case, we suggest contacting your professor as early as possible, so that you can decide together, right from the start, the contents and structures of any supporting documents that you may use during the exam.
If an exam is divided into multiple tests, we strongly recommend that you apply for accommodations at the beginning of the course.
Your customised report serves as proof of the suitability of the requested accommodations. Therefore, no confirmation from SLD Services is needed.
Please note that if you do not follow the procedure described above, the professor will be entitled to reject your request.
According to each student’s specific situation, recommended accommodations may include the following:
For oral exams:
- Exam split into multiple sessions (in this case, you should send your request well in advance, possibly at the beginning or during the course).
- Concept maps / lists of formulas. These can be used during the exam if the professor has approved them, so students have to send them via email to the professor at least 15 days before the exam.
- Turning the oral exam into a written exam. This request can be accepted only if it is consistent with the certificate submitted by the student, and must first be placed with SLD Services.
For written exams:
- Additional time (usually +30%)
- Exams split into multiple sessions (as specified above)
- Concept maps / lists of formulas. These can be used during the exam if the professor has approved them, so students have to send them via email to the professor at least 15 days before the exam.
- Non-scientific calculator
- Speech synthesiser / reading tutor
- Possibility to take paper-based exams on a computer (using OneNote, Word or Excel depending on the type of exam).
- Turning the written exam into an oral exam. This request can be accepted only if it is consistent with the certificate submitted by the student, and must first be placed with SLD Services.
Other requests will be assessed by SLD Services on a case-by-case basis. You can send us your request at [email protected].
If you want to book a monitoring interview (to change your customised report, request services etc.) please log into InformaStudenti, click on the box “Appointments“ and then select “Ufficio Servizi per Studenti con DSA” and “Monitoraggio in itinere - studenti con DSA” as topic.
Students with learning (SLD) or other disabilities may request exemption from in-person lessons and/or exams for significant health reasons. The request must be submitted via the InformaStudenti portal by selecting the “Your career” category.
You must include a medical certificate (from a general practitioner or specialist) with your request. The certificate must include:
- Statement that the student in question is unable to attend lessons/exams in person (prognosis of 30 days or more);
- Reason for inability to attend lessons/exams in person;
- Length of time of inability to attend lessons/exams in person.
Those requesting exemption from an in-person exam must submit the request at least 10 days prior to the date of the exam.
The requests will be evaluated by a special committee.
The Office will inform the student of the decision by the committee. If the request is accepted, the Office will also notify the professor/lecturer responsible for the course. The individual professor/lecturer will determine what alternative modes are feasible, such as recordings, streamed lessons, or any other option enabling remote participation.
Students with learning disabilities can ask for tutoring on highly complex contents.
Tutors are selected by the Learning Disabilities Service through a public call. They may be Master's degree or doctoral students, research fellows or experts in the subject. The tutoring service is subject to resource availability and to service staff assessment based on the exam to be taken.
There are different forms of tutoring:
- individual tutoring
- group tutoring (by academic field or subject)
- thesis tutoring (bibliographic search and final paper formatting)
Moreover, group seminars on study methods are held regularly - online and in-person - to illustrate key university study strategies.
The seminar offers practical strategies to organise study in an effective way and to create conceptual maps.
Service activation requires from 3 to 6 weeks. To book, write to [email protected]
To participate in the seminar on study method, register through the following link: SEMINARIO SUL METODO DI STUDIO 2022/23.
Telephone number is required in case of participation.
The Office offers a Compensatory Toolkit to students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) who want to develop a more effective study method using specific software. Students with SLDs are given a free temporary licence to a suite of applications and tools to facilitate condensing, summarizing, and memorizing content and thus optimize organization of individual study.
In addition to the software, the toolkit also includes admission to a distance-learning course designed to provide a full complement of knowledge and practical competencies that are essential for success at the university, leveraging advanced study strategies and new information technologies.
The licence is issued based on resource availability following an interview with the Office to get a better idea of difficulties and needs relating to individual study.
For further information, please contact the Office at [email protected].
The office provides psychological counselling services specifically addressed to students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLDs) who are coping with moments of crisis that risk compromising their performance and adaptation to university life.
The service comprises a brief cycle of sessions with a specialized psychological counsellor who can help the student reflect on their issues, acquire greater awareness of the underlying reasons, and develop their personal resources. Here are a few examples of issues typically addressed with the psychological counsellor:
- issues related to certified difficulties (motivation, awareness)
- difficulty adjusting to the university environment
- uncertainty and dissatisfaction with one’s choices
- problems relating to peers and teaching staff
- low self-confidence and self-esteem
- difficulty making decisions and coping with problematic or stressful situations
- problems handling emotions
- exam anxiety, loss of motivation.
To request the service, please write an e-mail to [email protected], indicating:
- your name and surname
- your telephone number
SLD Services will reply with a proposed date and time for a first meeting, whether in person or via Microsoft Teams.
Students with learning disabilities are entitled to special library loan services, including the preparation of texts in PDF format.
SensusAccess is a self-service solution that allows the conversion of documents and web page into a range of alternative formats. Users can choose different kind of output according to their needs:
- Digital Braille
- Audio file: MP3, audio-books (DAISY format)
- E-books (EPUB, EPUB3 formats)
The service can also be used to remediate otherwise inaccessible documents such as image-only PDF files or scanned images into more accessible formats.
SensusAccess is intended for University of study of Milan students, lecturers and staff. Each user can connect through their academic e-mail.
The interface is user friendly. To have your document converted into an alternative, accessible format, follow the four easy steps below:
- Upload one or more files
- Choose the output format
- Send your request
- Check your e-mail inbox for the result. In case the resulting documents are too big to be returned as email attachments, they are returned as encoded download links known only to the requesting users.
Documents converted are deleted immediately once each conversion is completed. Resulting files stored temporarily on SensusAccess web server are kept for seven days, after which they are automatically deleted.
Access the service by clicking here: SensusAccess
Then, upload the documents you need to convert and choose the output format according to your necessities.
Terms of use
Use of the SensusAccess service is subject to the following terms and conditions:
- Users must use the service in accordance with any terms and conditions set out by the University of the study of Milan
- SensusAccess service must only be used for educational, learning and non-commercial purposes
- Users are responsible for safekeeping of the material made available which must be used in accordance with copyright legislation
- Users should not upload any personal and/or sensitive information.
- University Guidelines on the right to education of students with disabilities and SLDs – 12 December 2023
- Disability and SLD Guidelines issued by the National Conference of University Delegates for Disability (CNUDD) – 10 July 2014
- New regulations on specific learning disabilities in schools (Law 170/2010)
- Agreement between the Government, Regions and Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano on “Indications for diagnosis and certification of diagnostics of specific learning disorders (SLD)”.