Non-Medical Help
What is on this page
Non-Medical Help explained, who it is for, how the funding works, and every UMO higher education service with its referral route.
What Non-Medical Help is
NMH is one of the four things Disabled Students’ Allowance can pay for, alongside specialist equipment, software and training. It is people rather than kit: trained practitioners working one to one with a student on the study-related effect of a condition.
Support for studying, not treatment
An NMH practitioner works on the things a condition makes harder about the course: planning work, managing deadlines, capturing lectures, building strategies that hold. It is not medical treatment, personal care or therapy, and it does not replace any of them.
Funded, and not means-tested
DSA pays for the NMH a needs assessment approves. It is not means-tested, it is not repaid, and it sits alongside tuition and maintenance funding rather than coming out of it.
Arranged around the course
Sessions are timetabled around teaching, placements and deadlines. UMO delivers support remotely across the UK in real time, with in-person delivery where that is available.
The kinds of support NMH covers
Funded NMH is grouped into recognised support roles. A needs assessment recommends which of them a particular student needs, and how many hours.
Specialist mentors
One-to-one work for students with a mental health condition or a neurodevelopmental condition: workload, routine, stress, and the practical business of staying on course.
Specialist study skills tutors
Strategies for reading, writing, structuring and revising where a specific learning difference affects how the work actually gets done.
Notetakers
Capturing lectures and seminars so the student can give attention to the session itself rather than to recording it.
Communication support
BSL interpreters and communication support workers, giving d/Deaf and hearing-impaired students access to teaching.
Library and laboratory assistants
Practical help locating resources, handling materials and working safely in labs and studios.
Assistive technology training
Training on the software and equipment a student has been awarded, so the kit is actually used rather than sitting unopened.
UMO provides specialist mentoring, study skills support, notetaking and assistive technology training, along with counselling, triage, assessment and staff services, all listed below with their referral routes. Communication support and library or laboratory assistance sit outside UMO’s service list and are arranged through other providers.
Student wellbeing at university
Where NMH sits in a university’s wellbeing provision
Student wellbeing at university is held by several services at once, and Non-Medical Help is one strand of it. Counselling and clinical services treat a condition. Disability teams arrange adjustments. NMH sits between them, doing regular, practical, one-to-one work on what the condition does to the course.
- Mentoring gives a student somewhere to take the effect of a condition on the study week, before it becomes an interruption to studies
- Study skills support turns a diagnosis into strategies that work on the actual assignments
- Notetaking and assistive technology training remove mechanics that were using up capacity
- Drop-in and triage shorten the gap between a student asking for help and someone answering
- Staff supervision keeps the people delivering wellbeing support well enough to keep delivering it
Funded NMH does not replace what an institution already owes its students. Reasonable adjustments, inclusive teaching and the university’s own wellbeing provision continue alongside it.
Who can get Non-Medical Help
DSA-funded NMH has three conditions, and all three have to be true at once.
The three conditions
A home student eligible for student finance; on an eligible course, which most undergraduate and postgraduate courses are; with a disability, long-term health condition, mental health condition or specific learning difference that affects studying.
Evidence the funding body accepts
A specific learning difference such as dyslexia or dyspraxia usually needs a full diagnostic assessment. ADHD needs a diagnostic assessment or a letter from a psychiatrist confirming the diagnosis. Other conditions need a letter or report from a relevant medical professional. Many universities offer free screening as a first step, which is useful but not itself a diagnosis.
Who decides, and who does not
Eligibility is decided by the funding body, either Student Finance or SAAS for Scottish students, not by UMO and not by the university. International students are not eligible for DSA, though institutions sometimes commission equivalent support directly.
Getting Non-Medical Help in place
The route from evidence to a first session, in outline. Apply early, ideally before the course starts, and keep every reference number and letter you are sent.
01
Gather your evidence
Get the diagnostic assessment, report or medical letter your condition calls for. This is usually the slowest part, so start here.
02
Apply, with the evidence attached
A shorter form if you already have student finance in place, the full form otherwise. Send it through your student finance account, or on paper from GOV.UK if the online route is not accessible to you.
03
Book the needs assessment
Approval to book arrives as a DSA1 letter. Book straight away, because the assessment is usually the longest wait in the process.
04
Have the assessment
A conversation about your course, your condition and what actually gets in the way. The assessor recommends a support package; it is not a test and there is nothing to revise for.
05
Arrange the support
A DSA2 letter lists what has been approved. You then contact the named providers with your reference number. Support does not start on its own.
UMO’s step-by-step guide to applying for DSA goes through each stage in more detail, and the current NMH rates are published separately. Your university’s disability adviser can help at any point, and so can UMO.
NMH and higher education services, with referral routes
Twenty services in four groups. Services marked Referral are booked through UMO’s referral system; the rest start with a conversation.
Specialist mentoring and coaching
One-to-one support shaped around the student, their course and the barriers they meet.
Specialist mental health mentoring
Specialist mentoring for students experiencing mental health-related barriers, available through university-funded and DSA support routes.
Referral for Specialist mental health mentoring (opens in a new tab)
Specialist mentoring for autism, ADHD and neurodiversity
Specialist mentoring for autistic, ADHD and other neurodivergent students, focused on their priorities and study context.
Referral for Specialist mentoring for autism, ADHD and neurodiversity (opens in a new tab)
Specialist study skills support
One-to-one study skills support for students with SpLD or autism, focused on practical strategies for planning, reading, writing and managing academic work.
Referral for Specialist study skills support (opens in a new tab)
Specialist mentoring for PhD students
Individual support for postgraduate researchers managing academic demands, wellbeing and sustainable ways of working.
Referral for Specialist mentoring for PhD students (opens in a new tab)
Wellbeing mentoring
Practical, person-centred support for students’ wellbeing, engagement and progress through university.
Mandarin, Cantonese and Korean-speaking support
Mentoring delivered in the student’s preferred language, with attention to cultural and educational context.
Equity, diversity and culture coaching
Coaching that gives students space to explore identity, belonging, confidence and experiences within higher education.
Referral for Equity, diversity and culture coaching (opens in a new tab)
Access, counselling and wellbeing
Routes into support, and the services that sit alongside mentoring.
Counselling
Confidential counselling for students who need space to explore difficulties affecting their life and studies.
Drop-in service
An accessible route to brief support, guidance and next steps without a long-term commitment.
Triage service
Structured initial conversations that help identify needs and guide students towards suitable support.
ADHD needs assessments
Practical assessments that help students and HEI teams identify ADHD-related study barriers, support options and clear recommendations.
Services for university teams
Support for the staff who deliver student wellbeing and disability provision.
Higher education staff supervision
Reflective professional supervision for staff supporting students with complex or emotionally demanding work.
Referral for Higher education staff supervision (opens in a new tab)
Specialist higher education staff training
Practical training shaped around your team, student population and organisational priorities.
International and overseas services
Adaptable support for institutions and students working across different countries, cultures and education systems.
IASAS Leadership in Student Affairs and Services Certificate
Online professional development for Student Affairs and Services leaders, connecting global perspectives with practical institutional leadership.
Enquire for IASAS Leadership in Student Affairs and Services Certificate
Transitions, funding and practical information
What happens next, what it costs, and the tools that carry support between settings.
University to workplace transition
Individual support to help students prepare for employment and carry their strategies into the workplace.
NMH rates
UMO’s current DSA and SAAS non-medical help rates for specialist mentoring and study skills support.
How to apply for DSA
A practical guide to Disabled Students’ Allowance and the steps involved in accessing funded support.
HEI Portal
Secure institutional access for authorised university staff to view service statistics, monitor student engagement and support reporting across their UMO provision.
OneSpace Passport (opens in a new tab)
A separate digital passport service that helps students record and share the adjustments, strategies and support that work for them, across education and employment.
Questions about Non-Medical Help
For students, disability advisers and university wellbeing teams.
What is a Non-Medical Help provider?
An organisation approved to deliver the people-based support that Disabled Students’ Allowance funds: specialist mentors, study skills tutors, notetakers and similar roles. The provider employs and supervises the practitioners, matches them to students, and invoices the funding body or the institution. UMO is a Non-Medical Help provider working across the UK.
What does NMH stand for?
Non-Medical Help. It is the DSA category covering support delivered by a person, as opposed to equipment, software or training on that equipment.
Is Non-Medical Help the same as medical or personal care?
No. Despite the name pointing at what it is not, NMH is study support. It does not include medical treatment, nursing, personal care or therapy, and it is not a substitute for any of them. A student can receive NMH and clinical care at the same time.
Who pays for Non-Medical Help?
Usually Disabled Students’ Allowance, through Student Finance in England, Wales and Northern Ireland or SAAS in Scotland. Universities and colleges also commission NMH-style support directly, including for students who are not eligible for DSA.
How does NMH support student wellbeing at university?
By working on the study-related consequences of a condition before they turn into missed deadlines, withdrawn engagement or an interruption to studies. It complements counselling, clinical care and a university’s own wellbeing provision rather than replacing them.
How does a university refer a student to UMO?
Through UMO’s referral system, using the Referral buttons on this page. A referral needs the approved support role, the number of hours, the funding route and the student’s contact details. UMO confirms the match and arranges the first session.
Can a student get NMH support without DSA?
Yes. Institutions commission the same services directly, and some students arrange support privately. The support is identical; only the funding route and the rate differ.
Are UMO’s NMH services available across the UK?
Remote support is delivered in real time and is available UK-wide. In-person delivery depends on location and practitioner availability. Specialist notetaking, for instance, is currently a London service.
Refer a student, or ask what would fit
Send a referral with the approved role, hours and funding route, or tell UMO what your institution needs and we will point you at the right service.