What are the different categories of disabilities do you work with?

The different categories of the disabilities that we support are the physical disabilities, the sensory disabilities, blind and vision impaired, hearing impaired students, students with significant ongoing illnesses, particularly if these illnesses affect their performance or participation in the university.  We also support those with mental health difficulties, such as bipolar disorder, anxiety, etc.  The largest cohort of students registered with us, which is about 120 out of 430, is learning disabilities of a specific nature.  They would be like dyslexia, ADHD, and dyspraxia. 

Can you discuss your office staff and structure?

In Ireland , we pride ourselves on giving excellent support to students with disabilities.  The disability service center at the University Center Cork has ten staff members, three disability advisors, and a specific advisor for students with sensory disabilities, which is good so anyone with any visual or hearing impairment automatically knows who their support person is that coordinates all their needs.  I also have a disability advisor for students with specific learning difficulties, as well as an advisor for students with ongoing illnesses.  As for myself, as part of my job, I facilitate the needs of students with physical disabilities and mental health issues.  There are 4 advisors specifically addressing the needs of certain cohorts of disabilities. 

I also have two staff members who are very involved and address technological needs for students.  These people first assess students for their assistive technology needs, and then train the students to use the technology so they can make optimal use of it.  This would be, for example, a number of our blind students need technology to access information.  These students can receive their necessary software appropriate to their level of need, and then learn to use it.  We also train all students in the IT competencies.  We really feel at UCC that IT competence is truly important; it is a key element that anyone needs in the workplace today.  We feel that students with disabilities with specialized software and hardware need the accreditation to indicate that they are IT competent.  A lot of work in our office goes into assistive and information technology. 

The other staff are involved in the administration and financial aspects of the office.  They help put into place tuition assistance as well as note-taking support or personal assistance support for those with physical disabilities.

We are also quite proud of our transport service.   The transport service is great, and we’re unique here in Cork for having this service.  When we put together our booklets every year, we always include a page on the transport service because our driver has been with us for a few years.  He is an amazing guy, and he’s like a father to all the students.  This service is a 12-seater handicapped-accessible transport bus that goes around to all the apartments every morning and collects all the students in wheelchairs, as well as the blind students, to bring the students to their first lectures.  Some students need to be collected at 8:30 because they have a class at 9, but more students need to be collected at 9:30.  Val, our driver, is working from 8:30 – 4:30, collecting students and returning them to their houses.  If students also have for part of their schedule in the adaptive facilities, hospital appointment for therapy or check-ups, or sports complex for exercise, he also takes students there.  It’s wonderful for the students to know that they have not only transportation in the mornings, but also a friendly face to greet and assist them. 

We’re very proud of this service, which is funded by the university as well as the Higher Education Authority of London.  Any students who wish can also apply to the European Social Fund to gain financial support to help them meet their needs at the university.

Would American students receive the same treatment as Irish students here?

We have at the moment a few American students studying at UCC, and we pride ourselves on offering supports to students studying here from abroad.  Each year we have students coming here for study abroad programs and we’ve had students come from the States with various learning disabilities, some mobility problems, as well as vision impairment.  For those students that come from America , they are able to avail of the general supports offered by the disability office.  Those supports being the transport service if they have mobility problems and need assistance navigating the campus from their apartments, they can also go in our sport recreation program.  We have two adaptive coaches, and these people assist the students in our major sports complex here at the college, which is a large arena.  The other general supports are our dyslexia support program for students with specific learning difficulties, which will assist with exam arrangements and alternative arrangements, such as students needing technology or a separate room or additional time. 

If an American student coming to study here would need a sign language interpreter or book scanning for blind students, that would put an additional expense on our service, hence because of that and if there was a high level of need required by the student, we would then have to approach the home college in the States for some kind of funding to enable us to provide these services. 

One thing that I would like to emphasize is that if a student were to come here from, for example, the University of Pittsburgh, it would be very important for the student to disclose to their home university first so the necessary documentation and verification can take place, as well as the level and requirement of medication for those with illnesses or mental health issues.  That information should be provided to us by the home university to help us service the incoming student prior to the student coming here.  Then the planning process that involves us in the college to have the necessary accommodations ready when the student arrives.  This is very important, especially in the case of physical disabilities so their housing is accessible and have transport support, and, if necessary, a personal assistant. 

This advance preparation helps the experience to be a really good one, one that they can enjoy, which is exactly what we want.  We have a truly holistic approach because we really feel in this college that being in the UCC is a lot more than an educational experience; it is a cultural experience, and just one for living in Ireland and being part of our culture for a year.

Absolutely, American students are more than welcome at the UCC.  As I said, we have a history of welcoming students from the States, as well as across Europe .  The key thing here, and I cannot emphasize it enough, is that the university really welcomes students from abroad.  The very important thing is that we receive the student’s information very early on so we can make their experience a positive one.

What advice do you have for a student with a disability that wants to study abroad?

Go for it.  It is a fantastic experience to study abroad for a year.  I really think if anyone has this opportunity, irrespective of their level of difficulty, they should certainly plan ahead.  If a student that has a disability is interested in studying abroad, approach your disability office early, such as a semester in advance.  The key is good advance planning so the host university can make the necessary preparations.  We truly want you to have a great time and have a great welcome.

What if a student with a psychological disability chooses not to disclose?

If a student that is coming from an American university, it is of vital importance that the student informs first their own university of their disability and provides documentation to substantiate this.  For example, in the case of someone with a hearing impairment, they should have an audiology test indicating what type of hearing impairment it is, or in the case of a mental health issue, there should be an indication from a psychologist indicating the medication and implications of the disability.  If that is provided to the disability office in the United States and home university, if that student is interested in studying abroad, the disability service will contact us in advance so prior to the student coming, I am aware that we will have students with disabilities and how to prepare for them.  I can’t stress enough how important it is for a student to give notice and documentation of any disability.

What is the housing like for students with disabilities?

We’re very proud of the accessible accommodation that UCC can offer to students because, again, it’s been developed as a part of the university.  It has spiraled in the past few years.   Currently in Cork we have thirty accessible accommodation units, and two high-dependency units.  The high-dependency unit enables a person to live on campus that needs 24 hour care.  The personal assistant can actually live with the student to care for them, such as that for quadriplegics.  The unit has all the necessary technology to allow the person to live in the comfort of what they would have in their home environment here at the university.  That, too, makes the experience of being at UCC an inclusive one.  That is very much our focus, that the experience of college should be an inclusive one.  This way a student is very much a part of the student experience and an active member of the campus, and they are able to experience the same thing that other students do.

What strides has the UCC taken to foster extracurricular activities for students with disabilities?

Again, this is something we’ve realized was so important when I visited the States about five years ago.  I saw in the University of Illinois at Champaign , which I had an opportunity to go there as part of an invitation to speak at a seminar.  I saw first-hand there the fantastic sports facility for students with disabilities and the recreation facility. 

I came back freshly motivated again to start something here in Cork .  I got additional funding to work with the manager of the sports complex, and as a result we have two day programs, where we have adaptive coaches contracted.  These people work in the swim program for students with disabilities and blind students.  We have also got Braille overlays on the gym facilities so blind students can work out in the gym by feeling their way there, they know what equipment they’re using.  We have dual-purpose gym equipment so the wheelchair user can work on weights and they’re able to do it from their chair. 

We have started a new sport called “goal ball.”  This is a sport that’s integrated, not specialized for those with disabilities so there is a nice mix of students.  It’s played by sighted persons and blind persons with a ball with little bells so a vision-impaired person can hear it coming towards them and catch it.  The sighted person wears blindfolds to make it all equal.  In a few months, we’re having an inter-university game with Dublin City University and UCC, where we have both teams will be challenged.   Hopefully UCC will win.  You’ll have to wear our colors!

The fact is that recreational activity has the same effect on everyone, with or without disability.  It improves self-confidence, alleviates stress, promotes integration of people, and a host of other benefits.  Universities in general are buying into the idea of inclusiveness, which is something that we’re constantly nurturing by having a disability representative in every department so when a student registers with us and presents their evidence of the disability, we go straight to the representative from their department to increase their supports and accessibility.

What is the European attitude towards persons with disabilities?

At the level of higher education, because of our equality legislation has become more pro-active in terms of enabling each person and empowering those with disabilities and making sure they have rights.  This is particularly evident here because Ireland is part of the EU and a lot of the equality legislation that has been implemented in the past five years has got its directive from Europe .  As a result, it means that now there is an onus on higher education institutions to make the educational experience for a person with a disability an inclusive one.  That has actually made my job as head of the disability services at UCC a slightly easier one because if I am having difficulty with an academic department that I feel should be doing more for the teaching and learning environment for a particular student, I can now say that there is an onus on us at UCC to do this.  If we don’t, the student can take an action against us.  I know that is a threatening approach, but we don’t have to use that 99% of the time because in the university there is a good positive attitude by all academic and administrative staff to making the experience a good one for all the students.  At the same time, having equality legislation means that much more.

Outside the university, how accessible is Ireland for those with disabilities?

Ireland as a country, because we have developed very quickly many people think of ancient Ireland or just a country of people who immigrated to the United States.  We have what has been defined as the Celtic Tiger, an economic boom that has lasted about 5-7 years.  Because our country really developed very, very quickly, our infrastructure has not kept pace with the massive growth.  I mentioned earlier about equality legislation, which has meant that a mandate that all new buildings is accessible to those with disabilities.  It also indicates that services must also be accessible; there has to be accessible entrances to restaurants and shops.  There also must be toilets in all hotels and other places.  Because of all this, there is more being done on a yearly basis to make the country, and its shops, hotels, restaurants and everything else related to daily life, accessible for all. 

There as some, as you can imagine, a number of old buildings in our country.  We have such a historical focus in Ireland that some of those may be cultural centers that a person in a wheelchair may want to visit but they would need to check out in advance if they are actually accessible because we have some buildings that have preservation orders.  Even though as a country we want to make them accessible to all, because of their historical importance, it is impossible.  We’re getting there.  Ireland , maybe in comparison to cities in the States, we don’t have the same level of accessible, but we’re getting there.  We have accessible bus services and taxis.  It comes down to planning.  If somebody is interested in planning a trip but they have profound disabilities and are coming from the United States to study here, we would recommend advance planning.  We have a booklet in the office that gives an account of all restaurants, clubs and bars, all the places that young people like to hang out while in Cork .  We like to tell them which are most accessible versus which places are not accessible.