The dream of many students is to study in another country and experience what it is like to go to school with people from another culture. Most students can easily decide on the country and university that they want to go to, but a person with a disability (like me) has to find out if the university is accessible and offers adequate support. Students who wish to go to Victoria, Australia to study at La Trobe University should not hesitate because the university is accessible for people with disabilities.

In general, Australia is one of the more accessible countries in the world for people with disabilities and the Disability Discrimination Act of 1992 offers protections against discrimination. The website for the Australian Tourist Commission (www.australia.com) offers a wealth of information for visitors with disabilities, including a fact sheet on accessible transportation, general disability-related contacts and specialists in arranging travel for people with disabilities. Several Australian guides and books written by travelers with disabilities are available to assist in planning travel to Australia.

The La Trobe University campus is located 25 minutes northeast of the city of Melbourne, near the southeastern tip of Australia. Melbourne is a large, cosmopolitan city known for its sporting events, but it also features fine art museums, botanical gardens and nearby access to the coastline. One can travel between La Trobe and the city by taxi, bus or tram.

To give an idea of the layout at La Trobe, the grounds are square-shaped with two levels. On the first level are many shops, two banks, a pharmacy, a post office and a bookstore. On the upper level are the academic buildings and more food shops. Branching out from the square on both levels are other academic buildings. To get to the upper level on a wheelchair or a scooter, one can use elevators. There are no stairs to climb to get into the shops.

Two residential colleges are a five-minute walk from the center of the square: Menzies College and Glenn College. Most of the first-year students and international students live in these two housing complexes. Before I applied to attend La Trobe, I had to make sure that the college where I would be living knew about my guide dog, Acer. I emailed a staff member in the International Programs Office at La Trobe, and with the help of an instructor from the Guide Dog Association in Victoria, it was decided that Glenn College was the best place for us to live. Conveniently, the college offered me a room on the first floor of the north wing and close to a relieving spot for Acer.

Glenn College is probably the best place for people with disabilities to live because it has ramps to get into the building, wide hallways, big bedrooms and restrooms that are wheelchair accessible. The cafeteria is on the ground floor. The campus is a pleasant place to live because it is surrounded by beautiful trees and fields of grass. In the middle of the campus there is a pond, where one can often hear ducks swimming and hear the sounds of magpies, parrots and kookaburras. Off-campus housing is also available for people with disabilities, but they should get in contact with the International Programs Office for assistance in finding the most appropriate housing.

Elizabeth Hill is the contact person at the International Programs Office at La Trobe. The office offers study abroad programs and international exchange programs. Hill explained that before students leave their home country, they are sent pre-departure kits from the office. Once students arrive in Australia, someone from the International Programs Office meets them at the airport and takes them to their housing on or off campus. After the students are settled in, the staff at the office offers counseling for students who need help with adjusting in a new country and they also organize orientation to the college and the community. The same programs are offered to people with disabilities, but Hill said, "I prefer for students with disabilities to tell me before they arrive that they have a disability because it will help me to find good housing accommodations for them." Hill also said that she makes sure that international students with disabilities keep in contact with the Disabilities Liaison Officer at the disability center.

At the disability center, students with disabilities can arrange for note takers, readers, sign language interpreters and accommodations for exams. The center also lends tape recorders, wheelchairs and scooters. Susan Mueller, the acting Disability Officer, said that the center works with Attended Care Australia to provide assistants to people with physical disabilities to get out of bed, get dressed and do household chores. Mueller recommends that overseas students with disabilities who are thinking about coming to La Trobe get in contact the Disability Officer. She also mentioned, "I think that it is better for a person with a disability to live on campus because it will be easier for them to get around and to make friends."

Besides the support that students with disabilities get from the disability center at La Trobe, there are other organizations that can provide additional support. The Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind (RVIB) offers study, computer, recreation and activity programs for students with visual impairments. RVIB also reads lecture materials onto tape and has a talking books library for anyone to use. There are also organizations for people with other disabilities, such as regional Deaf Societies and Multiple Sclerosis Societies. Each organization offers technology support or referral to other resources. Students who need medication for their disability can inquire about receiving it from the medical center at La Trobe.

"The best thing that I like about La Trobe is that the teachers are helpful and the library staff is very friendly," said Steve Tara, a first year student at La Trobe. Tara is 42 years old and has not decided on a major, but he is considering sociology, politics or European studies. He is currently learning how to use adaptive technology and has observed that the computer programs at La Trobe for students who are visually impaired are five years behind currently available technology. Tara recommends that students "bring their own technology if possible, but if they cannot, the disability officer will go out of her way to get equipment for them to use."

Yvet Curlis, a third year genetics student at La Trobe, also endorsed the school. "My teachers have been good because the disability officer approached them and told my teachers about my needs before I took the class," she said. Curlis has a central nervous system disorder, which sometimes affects her walking and her handwriting. She uses note takers, but has had problems with them not understanding her subjects properly at the beginning of the term. However, she has found that the note taking improves after the note takers attend the class two or three times.

Tara and Curlis live off campus, but some students prefer to live on campus. Divya Ramanathan is an international student from India who is working on her Master’s degree in art therapy at La Trobe. Ramanathan’s disability is spina bifida, and she gets around campus on a scooter because she has trouble walking far. She said that living on campus is a great way to meet local and international students.

Studying at La Trobe is not all work and no fun. Students can go out by tram or bus to shopping malls, movie theaters and restaurants. Trams and trains are accessible for people in wheelchairs, and there are also taxis designed to accommodate them. Most of the intersections have wheelchair ramps and timers that go off to signal when it is time to cross. All public places accept guide dogs and most places have ramps for people in wheelchairs. The city of Melbourne is a wonderful place to walk around because it is never too crowded for guide dogs, wheelchairs or scooters.

I think back to what it took for my guide dog and me to go to Melbourne and I smile because I feel proud to have achieved my goal. I often imagined studying in another country, going to school with people from overseas and sharing our cultural differences, but I never thought that the country would be Australia. I am extremely proud of Acer because he adjusted well to everything, even before I did!

Resources for Study at La Trobe:

International Programs Office
La Trobe University
Melbourne, Victoria 3083 AUSTRALIA
Tel: (61-3) 9479-1199
Fax: (61-3) 9479-3660
Email: International@latrobe.edu.au

Direct Contact: Elizabeth Hill
Tel: (61-3) 9479-1249
Email: e.hill@latrobe.edu.au

Disabilities Center: Susan Mueller

Equity and Access Unit
La Trobe University
Bundoora, Victoria 3083 AUSTRALIA
Tel: (61-3) 9479-1510
Email: j.smale@latrobe.edu.au

Deaf Academic Services
Lee Papworth, Coordinator
Equity & Access Unit
La Trobe University
Bundoora, Victoria 3083 AUSTRALIA
Tel: (61-3) 9479-3603
Fax: (61-3) 9479-1246
TTY: (61-3) 9479-2309
Email: L.Papworth@latrobe.edu.au

La Trobe’s website:
www.latrobe.edu.au

Victorian Deaf Society
101 Wellington Parade South
East Melbourne, Victoria 3002 AUSTRALIA
Tel: (61-3) 9657-8111
Fax: (61-3) 9650-6843
TTY: (61-3) 9657-8130
Email: info@vicdeaf.com.au
Web: www.vicdeaf.com.au

MS Victoria
34 Jackson Street
Toorak, Victoria 3142 AUSTRALIA
Tel: (61-3) 9828-7222
Fax: (61-3) 9826-9054
Email: public@mssociety.com.au
Web: www.msaustralia.org.au

RVIB Head Office
557 St. Kilda Road
Melbourne, Victoria 3004 AUSTRALIA
Tel: (61-3) 9522-5222
Fax: (61-3) 9510-4735
TTY: (61-3) 9521-9310
Email: iru@rvib2.rvib.org.au
Web: www.rvib.org.au

Marisa Saldaña, a student with a visual impairment, is a journalism major at Northern Illinois University. Council on International Educational Exchange sponsored the program she participated in. They can be reached at:

Tel: (888) COUNCIL (268-6245)
Email: info@ciee.org
Web: www.ciee.org

Students with disabilities who are interested in other opportunities to volunteer, study, intern or participate in other international programs in Australia are encouraged to contact the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange (NCDE) for further information. NCDE can also provide detailed information on Australia’s guide dog policy, contacts for disability-related organizations in Australia that may be able to assist with accommodations arrangements and Disabled Student Services contacts at many Australian universities.

La Trobe University also houses the National Institute of Deaf Studies (NIDS), a center for academics and research. NIDS is involved in a variety of research and teaching projects and maintains a library of resources related to Deaf culture and sign language (especially AUSLAN, Australian Sign Language). With links to the Deaf community and universities worldwide, NIDS has hosted visitors from many different countries. Postgraduate and professional development opportunities are available, and anyone with an interest in Deaf Studies is welcome to contact NIDS.

National Institute of Deaf Studies
School of Human Communication Sciences
La Trobe University
Bundoora, Victoria 3083 AUSTRALIA
Tel: (61-3) 9479-2887
Fax: (61-3) 9479-3074
TTY: (61-3) 9479-1263
Email: J.Branson@latrobe.edu.au
Web: http://www.latrobe.edu.au
Contact: Jan Branson, Director