Bulletin

Issue: January/February 2008

News

Easing the strain of print for visually impaired

Maysa Abouzeid, a La Trobe university student entering third year of a Bachelor of Arts, has lived more in a world of speech than text. She has an outstanding flair for mimicry and an ear for accents. She can stand up and deliver a monologue to an audience of hecklers and even turn insults to her advantage.

But, due to visual impairment from birth, she has trouble keeping up with the reading required for university students. Now, thanks to a program introduced at La Trobe for students with a print disability, Maysa is able to undertake her university studies to the point of dealing with the complexities of international politics and the subtleties of Hedda Gabler.

Maysa accesses her university materials via alternate formats such as large print, Microsoft Word documents and DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) talking books.

Her materials are converted to alternate formats by a small team of people from the University's Alternate Format Service who dedicate hundreds of hours per semester to assisting students with a print disability. Maysa gave delegates at a recent conference at La Trobe an insight into how they can help students with a print disability.

The University hosted the inaugural Alternate Format Conference in January at its Bundoora campus. The conference brought together tertiary-sector practitioners of alternate formatting from 29 institutions from across Australia and New Zealand, says La Trobe Accessibility Resource Officer, Anthony Earl, who organised the event.