Kia ora everyone
My name is Pauline Melham and I started here at Ara on November 5th as the new manager of Disability Services. I have twenty years’ experience of working with people with disabilities in both Polytechnics and Universities, both here and in the United Kingdom, where I spent the last eighteen years living and working. I hope to bring my experience to Ara to ensure that students with disabilities keep receiving the highest levels and most advanced forms of support.
I’ve already started to meet a few students which has been great. But you might be thinking that Disability Services is not a place you need to visit. But we have a very wide definition of disability and therefore, support people with a wide range of impairments and medical conditions. We support those with long term medical conditions such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Crohn’s disease and Epilepsy (to name just a few). We support students with mental health conditions such as depression, eating disorders, anxiety and personality disorders. We support those with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia and those on the autistic spectrum. We also support people with sensory loss and those with physical disabilities. So, we might just be able to support you to.
If you think we can support you, please make an appointment to see us. The best way to do this is to visit the Service Desk in the library at our Madras Street campus in Christchurch or our Timaru campus in Arthur Street and ask to book an appointment with one of the Disability staff. You can also phone 03 940 8089 or e mail learningservices@ara.ac.nz and a learning adviser will direct your e mail to us. Remember, you are in charge of the information you share. We won’t share information about you with other people outside the service unless you tell us we can.
I hope to meet a great many of you over the next few months.
Pauline Melham
Disability Services Manager
Ara Library Blog 