NMH Support | Students | Onyx Support

Support Options

As a Non-Medical Help (NMH) Provider, Onyx Support offers a variety of services to students, universities and organisations, enabling individuals to flourish in their chosen areas of study and work. Through providing one to one support and workshops, encouraging practical support and strategies to reduce the challenges faced. Support is tailored to students depending on their current needs. Our support workers offer the following roles:

Mental Health, Study and Accessibility Support

Study Skills

Tutors provide one-to-one support to help students build academic skills and confidence. This may include:

organisation and planning
exam preparation and revision strategies
research techniques
memory skills
literacy support (spelling, punctuation, grammar, and clear written expression)

Tutors support independent learning and workload management. Study skills support is not subject-specific teaching, but tutors can use your course materials to help you apply strategies to your assignments and study tasks.

Specialist Mentoring

Mentors work with students on a one-to-one basis to address barriers to learning linked to an impairment or long-term condition (for example, mental health needs or autistic spectrum conditions).

Mentoring support can help with:

managing anxiety and stress
coping with concentration difficulties
time management and planning
developing a sustainable study–life balance

Mentors focus on building skills and confidence, promoting independent learning and helping students manage their workload—particularly during periods of transition.

Specialist Support Tutors (VI/HI/MSI)

Specialist Support Tutors (Sensory Impairments) provide one-to-one support for students with visual, hearing, or multi-sensory impairments. They are qualified teachers with the skills to support, motivate, and encourage students to access their studies effectively and achieve their full potential.
Support focuses on:

Developing accessible study strategies suited to the student’s sensory needs
Supporting organisation, planning, and workload management
Adapting learning approaches for lectures, seminars, and independent study
Using assistive technology and accessible formats effectively
Building confidence, independence, and self-advocacy

Specialist Support Tutors do not provide subject teaching or complete work for students.
Instead, they help students remove sensory barriers to learning, enabling them to demonstrate their knowledge and skills on an equal basis with their peers.

Practical and Mobility Support

Practical and Library Support Assistants

This role provides practical and mobility support to assist a student with a physical impairment in manoeuvring around the campus. This may include helping to manipulate a wheelchair and carrying books, IT equipment, or other study materials.
The role may also involve general orientation, such as finding buildings, rooms, and key facilities, particularly for students whose disability affects spatial awareness or orientation.

In some cases, the role may include social support to ensure access to the wider aspects of student life. For example, this may support autistic students who experiences difficulties with social interaction. Some tasks, such as carrying equipment for students with mobility difficulties, may be required throughout the student’s course. Other tasks, such as general orientation, should reduce over time as the student becomes more independent.

Library Support Assistants work under the direction of the student to:

Search library catalogues and electronic resources
Locate, retrieve, and carry academic library materials
Scan and photocopy resources
Help identify suitable study areas, where required

Mobility Trainer

A DSA Mobility Trainer helps students with visual or multi-sensory impairments travel safely and independently around their university and local area. They teach orientation and route-finding, support the safe use of mobility aids (e.g. long cane) and navigation tools, and help students build confidence and strategies for new or busy environments. The aim is independence, not routine escorting.

Reader/Proof Reader

A Reader / Proofreader may help with:

Reading academic texts aloud to the student, or recording the text while reading
Reading the student’s written work back to support proofreading and checking for clarity

A Proofreader will identify and highlight errors in the student’s written work, including:

Grammar
Punctuation
Spelling

This can be provided remotely (e.g. via email).

Sighted Guide

A Sighted Guide may help with:

Navigating between buildings, lecture theatres, libraries, and student facilities
Identifying entrances, exits, stairs, lifts, ramps, and seating
Describing the surrounding environment and changes in layout
Supporting safe movement through busy or unfamiliar areas
Assisting during timetable changes or when routes vary
Helping students locate classrooms, staff offices, or support services

Support is always guided by the student’s preferences and adjusted over time as confidence and familiarity grow.

Assistive Software and Note Taking Support

Specialist Note Taking

A qualified electronic note-taker provides speech-to-text support by typing live, comprehensive notes during lectures, seminars, tutorials, and group discussions. This helps students access spoken information in real time and reduces the pressure of trying to listen, process, and take notes at the same time. Notes can capture key points, definitions, questions and answers, and important instructions, and are provided in the student’s preferred style and format (for example: full notes, structured bullet points, or clearly separated headings). The note-taker can also adapt formatting to suit accessibility needs, such as larger font, clear spacing, or colour-coding where appropriate.

Assistive Technology Training

An Assistive Technology Trainer provides training in assistive software and hardware for disabled people and people with specific learning differences, including dyslexia, AD(H)D, Asperger’s/autism, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, and dyspraxia, in education or the workplace. Following an initial short assessment, the trainer delivers individualised training tailored to the learner’s needs, goals, and preferred ways of working.

Communication Support

Communication Support Worker

A Communication Support Worker (CSW) provides specialist communication support for Deaf and hard of hearing students in learning environments. Their role is to help students access spoken information and participate fully in lectures, seminars, tutorials, group work, and meetings.
A CSW may support by:

Relaying key information in a clear and accessible way (for example, through clear speech and visual cues)
Producing structured notes so students can review content afterwards

Support is tailored to the student’s needs and preferred communication style, with the aim of reducing barriers and promoting confidence, participation, and independence.

BSL Interpreting

British Sign Language (BSL) Interpreting is specialist communication support provided by a qualified interpreter. Interpreters translate between spoken English and BSL so students can access teaching, take part in discussions, and communicate confidently in learning environments such as:

Lectures
Seminars
Tutorials
Placements
Meetings

Support is tailored to the student’s needs and the setting, helping ensure communication is clear, accurate, and accessible.

Lip Speaking

Lip Speaking is specialist communication support provided by a qualified Lip Speaker. Lip Speakers repeat spoken information clearly and silently using natural lip patterns, facial expression, and gesture, helping students who rely on lipreading to access teaching and discussions.
Support may be provided in:

Lectures
Seminars
Tutorials
Group discussions
Placements
Meetings

This enables students to follow spoken content and participate confidently in learning environments.