Please note this is a draft page to help make universities, and students with social anxiety disorder, aware of some of the issues. It is not intended as a legal guide to the exact law.
Please see this important article from the Equality and Human Rights Commission in relation to the tragic case of Natasha Abrahart, who had social anxiety disorder and took her own life on the day she was due to give a presentation before her peers and lecturers:
This page refers to a death by suicide, which some readers may find difficult. If you are affected by anything here, the Samaritans are available day or night, free, on 116 123.
There are multiple recommendations in the link above, but we also note:
- Social anxiety disorder is legally recognised as a disability under the UK Equality Act 2010 if it has a substantial, long-term impact on your daily life. This gives students a legal right to “reasonable adjustments” to remove academic and environmental barriers.
- Universities should have prompt interventions and policies in place so they can be actioned as soon as they become aware, by whatever means, that a student has social anxiety disorder.
- The student should be offered ongoing support from wellbeing/disability services. A referral, or signposting, to external agencies (such as NHS talking therapies) does not end the university’s obligations to support the student’s needs.
Social anxiety is a continuum, but for some social anxiety becomes a disorder that can reach diagnosable clinical thresholds. More severe forms of SAD have the potential to impact every aspect of communication and interaction with others.
Not all students with social anxiety issues will meet the criteria for NHS CBT talking therapy, but a referral, or signposting to self-referral, is an important starting point as waiting lists can be long. The student can self-refer at https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services/find-nhs-talking-therapies-for-anxiety-and-depression/ if a suitable clinician is not available.
University assessment of any reasonable adjustments will typically involve discussion between the student and a member of the wellbeing/disability team. The wellbeing/disability team member will need to understand the nature of social anxiety (and social anxiety disorder). This discussion may need to be via online chat or email if the student’s social anxiety means face-to-face sessions are too challenging.
It is important that the student has a small number of key workers involved, as they may be vulnerable. Changes of key workers, or contact from too many university departments, may cause confusion. However, if appropriate, a student might have contact with a disability advisor, mental health advisor, counsellor and personal tutor, providing there is excellent communication between them and job roles are clear.
A series of wellbeing/disability assessment support sessions should be put in place, as social anxiety can be complex and associated with other health conditions. It can be very hard for a student to speak about their needs, or the condition, openly. Some students may never have expressed their social anxiety to others before.
Some students with social anxiety, and those with presentation-based issues, may benefit from suitably facilitated skills training to improve confidence in groupwork or presentation-based scenarios.
Those running such skills-based training will need to be fully aware of the nature of social anxiety disorder, and that any student who struggles with elements of the sessions may need reasonable adjustments to even attend. The student should be free to leave sessions if the sessions are too hard for them or do not fit their needs.
Reasonable adjustments need to be flexible and reviewed regularly so that students have opportunities to build confidence and skills, and change them according to increasing or diminishing need.
It is not advised for the university to have a “block” policy on all students presenting with social anxiety. Assessment of individual need, and appropriate reasonable adjustment, can only be done in collaboration with the student themselves.
Reasonable adjustments may include:
Assessments and presentations
- Presentations to a small panel or 1-to-1 with a tutor rather than larger groups.
- Submitting recorded video or oral presentations rather than physical attendance.
Examinations and tests
- Sitting exams in a smaller, quieter room or a separate individual space.
- Permission to take supervised rest breaks to manage social anxiety symptoms (with time reimbursed).
Classroom, group work, seminars and tutorials
- Pre-arranged, smaller structured group assignments with roles and expectations communicated in advance.
- Supporting the student to identify fellow course members to act as a mentor.
- Exemption from group work if needed.
- Exemption from unexpected “cold-calling”, e.g. being asked to speak publicly in group situations without warning.
- Where possible, the facility to ask questions before, during or after sessions via online chat or email.
- Permitting camera-off participation during online sessions.
- 1-to-1 tutorials rather than group tutorials for those whose severity requires it (see note 1).
- All necessary lecture slides, reading lists and other documentation provided where attendance is not possible.
- Arranging reserved seating near exits/front/back according to student preference.
- Allowed to leave class, seminars and tutorials without questions asked.
Note 1: either included in the workload model for staff or paid for via the government Disabled Students’ Allowance that eligible students are entitled to.
Accommodation
- Priority placement for quieter campus housing or single-occupancy rooms.
Other support
- Access to dedicated support from wellbeing/disability services, with regular check-ins by email, online chat or “camera off” video, even after the initial sessions are complete.
- Referral (or signposting to self-referral) to NHS Talking Therapies or other external support as needed.
- Social anxiety peer support groups where available.
- Key tutors and academic staff made aware that the student has social anxiety disorder, and those staff made fully aware of the nature of the condition.
- Support seeking Disabled Students’ Allowance, which may help provide technology, resources and/or a learning mentor.
Further reading
For students – please also see our general page on managing social anxiety at university.
