Depression, autism, anxiety disorders, diabetes, epilepsy, Asperger's syndrome, rheumatism, dyslexia - people who live with these conditions usually don't automatically show it. There are numerous disabilities and chronic illnesses whose symptoms are not directly visible to others. These range from organ dysfunction to psychological stress. Symptoms such as exhaustion and fatigue, which affect many chronically ill people, severely limit resilience and performance. As students with a non-visible disability cannot (at first glance) recognise their illness from the outside and therefore do not exist for outsiders, they are exposed to enormous pressure to adapt and meet expectations. Teachers and fellow students assume that they can concentrate fully on their studies (without additional distractions such as illness or disability). This pressure often leads to excessive demands. It can be counteracted by coming out, but this is often accompanied by a fear of stigmatisation and exclusion. The topic of "coming out" is therefore very sensitive and always an individual decision in which the pros and cons should be weighed up.

You can support students in this situation with the following measures:

• Draw attention to the confidential counselling services offered by the Service Centre for Students with Disabilities and encourage them to make use of them
• Allow time off so that therapy times and doctor's appointments can be coordinated or attended
• Set clear and small-step goals
• Announce presentation topics and literature lists at an early stage
• Allow more time for research work and literature procurement
• Avoid time overruns in courses

Visual impairments occur as a result of an eye disease, as a side effect of another disease (e.g. multiple sclerosis, migraine, traumatic brain injury, tumour disease) or as a side effect of medication. Students with impaired visual function often have difficulty recognising details, grasping large images on the board, are colour-blind, sensitive to light or need strong lighting. The amount of printed and visually processed study materials also represents a major hurdle. The time required to convert books, texts, slides or blackboard images into a comprehensible form is enormous.

Students with a visual impairment require different aids depending on the severity of the impairment: software for translating written and visual material into speech, computers with tactile writing (Braille), magnification devices, audio recordings, etc. As a rule, they already have this technical equipment themselves.

You can support students in this situation by taking the following measures:

• Make sure that corridors, offices and entrances are not blocked.
• Make your documents (scripts, slides, etc.) available in advance so that affected students can follow the lecture on a laptop (with the help of software)
• Write legibly, large and clearly
• Discuss graphics and images and, if possible, use digital systems as a substitute for a blackboard (e.g. whiteboard). Speak every word you write out loud
• Create accessible teaching materials in which structures and formatting make it easier to read the documents (tips here: PDF, PPT)
• Use PCs with magnification software or screen readers for examinations (loan from IMT Media)
• Create documents (e.g. exams) in Braille (service centre can provide support here)

Hearing impairments can be caused by congenital deafness or acquired deafness. A person is said to be deaf if they have never developed the ability to hear. Accordingly, the ability to speak acoustically is not or only very slightly developed. The colloquial language is sign language, spoken language is learnt like a foreign language. In the case of deafness, hearing loss occurs in the course of life. From this point onwards, the ability to articulate may also be limited. Another form of impairment is hearing loss, in which those affected perceive acoustic speech with difficulty, gaps and indistinctly. Hearing aids can reduce this impairment, but cannot usually compensate for it completely. All hearing-impaired students are dependent on receiving written study materials, presentations and literature lists very early in order to be able to prepare for the course. It is almost impossible for these students to follow a lecture and take notes at the same time. Major problems also arise in seminar situations when not all participants are recognisable, meaning that contributions to the discussion cannot be understood or lip-read.

You can support students in this situation by taking the following measures:

• Maintain eye contact, speak slowly and clearly
• Speak with a visible "mouth image" to enable lip-reading
• Do not stand with your back to the students, do not walk up and down
• Provide study materials in good time
• Use a microphone and technical aids, such as FM hearing amplification systems
• Summarise speeches briefly and repeat what has been said
• Make sure that only one person speaks at a time in group discussions.
  • If necessary, arrange for a microphone and/or FM system to be passed around.
  • Suitable seating arrangements would be a circle or square so that there is visual contact with all participants
• Use written and sign language interpreters as support (the service centre can arrange these)
• If sign language interpreters are assisting, they should also be provided with material in good time so that they can familiarise themselves with technical terms and scientific terminology
• Integrate subtitles and/or sign language into videos

Students with a language impairment have often had the experience of not being considered intellectually
mature even before starting their studies. Experiences of marginalisation and ridicule are not uncommon. For fear of
renewed discrimination, speaking up is therefore often avoided as much as possible.
Stammering is probably the best-known form of speech impairment. However,
after an accident, tumours, hearing impairment, muscular dystrophy
or other impairments can also lead to speech, voice and language disorders
.

You can support students in this situation by taking the following measures:

• Avoid giving the impression of impatience and time pressure, allow the student to speak
• Do not interrupt students and do not complete words and sentences
• Do not give well-intentioned advice such as "Take a deep breath" or "Why don't you start again from the beginning?"
• Speak as you always do, at your own pace
• Maintain normal eye contact during a spoken contribution
• Allow presentations to be read out or, in the case of group work, allow only one person to present the results. If this is an examination, you may have to apply for compensation for disadvantages

Dyslexia and dyscalculia are learning impairments that can be attributed to neurobiological
brain dysfunctions. They have no connection with the intellectual performance of the affected students. However, students with partial performance disorders have often had the experience of being considered "stupid" or "lazy".

In the case of dyslexia, the so-called reading and spelling disorder, there is a disorder of auditory and visual perception. This means that both phonetic and written language elements are not recognised in a differentiated way, anchored in memory and reproduced
. This can lead to problems with reading: slow reading speed, words are
misspelled or mixed up, sentence misalignments occur or the independent
structuring of texts is difficult or impossible.

In the case of dyscalculia, the disorder affects the perception, storage and reproduction of arithmetic operations. This can lead to mathematical processes being understood but not reproduced in writing.

You can support students in this situation by taking the following measures:

• make your documents (scripts, slides, etc.) available at an early stage so that affected students can prepare in good time
• make sure that presentations are clear and have a high-contrast typeface
• write down important information and new technical terms in a clearly legible font
• Encourage students to seek correction assistance from colleagues or to use spelling programmes

People with a physical disability are often restricted in their mobility. Some of those affected are permanently dependent on the use of a wheelchair, others use walking aids, prostheses or other aids or try to cope with their everyday study life without any technical aids at all.
Structural barriers are a major challenge for these students: a lack of door openers, defective lifts, long distances between venues, bicycles parked in the street, blocked corridors or a lack of wheelchair-accessible disabled toilets are just a few examples of why some courses are delayed or cannot be attended at all.
As a rule, there are motor impairments that make it difficult or impossible for these students to take the necessary notes in lectures. Various modifications regarding an extension of writing time etc. can eliminate the deficits.

You can support students in this situation with the following measures:

• Book accessible and barrier-free lecture and seminar rooms (information from the Central Room Allocation Office)
• Provide height-adjustable tables and seating
• Announce necessary literature and presentation topics in good time, as the procurement of literature can be time-consuming
• Make your documents (lecture notes, slides, etc.) available in advance so that students do not necessarily have to take notes.