Commonly asked questions:

• Why is early disclosure of a disability important to education abroad professionals?
• Why do people with disabilities sometimes choose not to disclose their disability?
• How can we create a comfortable environment to encourage students to disclose their disability?
• How can we ask for disability information, and encourage early disclosure?
• What should our office do if a person discloses a disability on the application?
• What if we think someone has a disability (or it is mentioned in a reference), but the student has not disclosed a disability?
• How can we plan for a student with a disability to come on our program if that student does not disclose?
• Can we require students to disclose disabilities or use accommodations?
• What if a student asks for accommodations, but does not disclose her disability?
• What obligations do we have if a student discloses during a program, but not before?

Why is early disclosure of a disability important to education abroad professionals?

The issue of disclosure of disabilities is an important one for many international exchange professionals and for people with disabilities.  Professionals often strongly encourage people with disabilities to disclose their disability to make sure that accommodations can be made in the host country.  Making accommodations takes time and collaboration between the US-based staff, the person with a disability, and the hosting institution.  Program staff also want to be informed about any disability-related needs that the person may have so that they can discuss possible concerns with them in advance.

Why do people with disabilities sometimes choose not to disclose their disability?

No need for accommodations – Many people choose to keep their disability conditions private, says Shelly Shinebarger, a disability service provider at Union College. Instead, they manage their disability independently without utilizing resources available on their U.S. campuses. For a variety of reasons, almost two-thirds of college students with disabilities do not receive formal disability-related accommodations from the colleges they attend.  Many students do not use resources on campus because they do not need academic accommodations.  But if you ask them what they use daily they may use a lot of other types of accommodations.  For example, they might use rails going down stairs.  Also, once arriving on the program, people with disabilities may find that the same resources they relied on at home are not available, or are different from what they are used to. For these reasons, it is important to provide as much information in the pre-departure phase as possible about the program.

Fear that disclosure will lead to discrimination or rejection – Discrimination against people with disabilities is common throughout the world, and there is a long history of people with disabilities being denied equal access to education, employment, housing, health care, and other basic living standards.  People with disabilities may be apprehensive about experiencing discrimination and rejection when they disclose their disabilities in new situations or with organizations that have not created a welcoming or safe environment to disclose (see below). Students may feel uncertain about the attitude a study abroad office or provider has about disability inclusion or the treatment they may experience from other students or overseas hosts. For many students, this fear of discrimination prevents them from disclosing their disability until it is absolutely necessary.

Identity – There are many reasons someone may or may not self-identify as a person with a disability. Disability has multiple legal definitions, but a student’s self-identity may not conform to typical legal or cultural definitions.  For example, a person with arthritis may see the condition as a personal issue and not think about it as a disability for which accommodations may be requested.  Also, in some countries, certain disabilities may not be formally recognized such as learning disabilities or mental health-related disorders.

No one asks – If a student is not explicitly asked to disclose a disability, or to request accommodations in advance, they may not think to do so. Organizations can ask for this information only after a student has already been accepted into the international exchange program.

For more student perspectives on disclosure visit “Let’s Talk About Your Disability: Issues of Disclosure” in the AWAY Journal: Non-Apparent Disabilities issue.

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How can we create a comfortable environment to encourage students to disclose their disability?

• Creating a culture of inclusion in your office or organization is essential to providing a situation in which students will feel comfortable enough to disclose a disability. It is important for inclusiveness to be present not only in attitude, but also in policy and practice.  Here are some ways to let students know how your office or organization responds to issues surrounding disability:
• Include welcoming and inclusive language in public presentations and program literature. Examples include:

• Make sure that disability is mentioned in your organization’s diversity statement or statement of non-discrimination.
• Include photos, quotes, or profiles from alumni and/or staff with disabilities on your website and in your printed recruitment materials.
• Students will also be encouraged to disclose if they know why it might be beneficial.  In the places you describe your disclosure policy also mention possible advantages to disclosure such as having someone in-country that will know about any possible complications in an emergency situation, finding out about support available on the program, and increase in understanding among program staff of questions they have about behavior or routine.
• Provide students with a clear policy about how your office or organization will use information about medical and disability-related history (i.e. who is going to see the information, why, and what restrictions there are on use of the information.)
• Train staff and volunteers on how to respond to inquiries about disability policy and how to use appropriate and respectful language.  See MIUSA’s tipsheet “Respectful Disability Language” for more information on this.  At universities, cross-training with the Disability Student Services office is an effective way to train staff in both offices on important issues.  An example of effective collaboration between these offices can be found at http://www.miusa.org/ncde/tipsheets/winningpractices/
• Complete the Self Assessment on Inclusion at to assess your program’s current level of inclusion of people with disabilities and identify areas to be addressed.  
• Relate disability to other agreed upon standards with overseas partners such as ethnicity, religion, age, and sexual orientation.
• Dedicate a page of your website to information and encouragement for people with disabilities.  Some organizations have web pages that cover several groups that are underrepresented in international education.  Here are some good examples of pages:

• In your site-specific pre-departure materials explain the resources that are available for students with disabilities, such as on-site counselors.  Even if not all students will use the resources it is good for them to know they are available.

For more ideas see MIUSA’s tipsheet “Increasing Diversity: Recruiting People with Disabilities for Your International Exchange Programs”

How can we ask for disability information, and encourage early disclosure?

Most college students lead very busy lives, and ‘to do list’ items can fall through the cracks of even the most diligent student. Clearly state your policy and procedure for disclosure in several different places. Ideal places include on your web page for students with disabilities, in your welcome letter for accepted students, in your pre-departure materials, on your medical and housing forms, and in orientation sessions.  A form for disclosing disability and/or requesting accommodations should be available with other pre-departure materials on your website or in your office.

Some education abroad offices, especially those based on university campuses, will share their list of enrolled participants with the disability services, learning resource, and counseling centers on campus so advisors in those offices are aware if one of their students are heading overseas. While these offices cannot disclose to education abroad advisors which students on the lists have disabilities, they can initiate conversations with the student and encourage their disclosure as needed to make arrangements.

Other education abroad offices offer disability scholarships, where applicants must indicate they have a disability to qualify for the funding. As part of the scholarship awards, students must meet once before, during and after the experience to talk about their expectations and experiences. This serves as a recruiting and evaluation tool, but also gets students thinking about their experience from a disability standpoint and considering what they may need abroad.

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What should our office do if a person discloses a disability on the application?

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits students from being denied admission purely on the basis of disability. State explicitly on your application that your organization or office complies with the ADA, and include a statement that says students are encouraged to disclose after they are accepted.

If a student discloses a disability on his application, consider having an established procedure for removing disability information from the application to a confidential location where program staff can follow up after the student is accepted.  (Keeping track of this information in a database also helps to assess how many students with disabilities are applying and participating in education abroad programs.)

When making choices about accepting or denying a student, disability information should be disregarded in the same way as any other non-discrimination criteria such as religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation.

What if we think someone has a disability (or it is mentioned in a reference), but the student has not disclosed a disability?

It is a student’s choice to disclose (or not disclose) a disability.  If you think a student has a disability, but the student has not disclosed, do not ask the student about the suspected disability.  A good way to reach a student in this case would be to let all students know about informal accommodations that are built into the program.  See the following section for more information on designing a program with universal access.

Occasionally, a reference will mention that a student has a disability.  This should only be done with the student’s explicit consent.  However, unless the student has retained the right to view the reference, then the content may not be discussed with the student.  If the student has not disclosed, then the disability information should not be added to the student’s file (except for its location in the reference.)

How can we plan for a student with a disability to come on our program if that student does not disclose?

Many international exchange programs are taking a proactive stance on accommodating students with disabilities. Rather than waiting until a student with a disability applies for the program, many programs are incorporating universal access as part of the program planning process because they anticipate having more students with disabilities participating on their programs. With this forethought, programs are demonstrating their commitment to increase the participation of underrepresented groups as well as reducing the stress of reacting to a situation for which they are unprepared.  For example, if you are developing a new program or finding a new classroom space for an existing program, make accessibility for people with mobility disability part of your criteria.  Another example might be providing access to materials in large print to all students.

Along those same lines, include a section addressing accommodations for students with disabilities in your contracts with overseas partners.  US disability law can be unclear in its application to study abroad, so it is important to have a clear idea of the responsibilities of overseas partners before a situation arises.

Please see Planning for an Inclusive Program for more on this topic.

Can we require students to disclose disabilities or use accommodations?

No, you cannot require a student to disclose a disability or use accommodations. Many disabilities do not require accommodations and often people with disabilities manage their needs without formal disclosure.  “If the recruitment process is taking place in the United States, the organization is a U.S. entity, and the exchange opportunity is offered generally to the public, then the applications and recruitment procedure cannot arbitrarily require unnecessary medical disclosures or information about disabilities. However, federal law recognizes that organizations can require qualifications that are generally necessary for participation in a particular program, and ask for information relevant to maintaining the specific standard.” (Rights and Responsibilities, p. 66-67)

For more information surrounding the legal issues involved in disability and international exchange you can download Rights and Responsibilities: A Guide to National and International Disability Related Laws for International Exchange Organizations and Participants (2nd Edition).

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What if a student asks for accommodations, but does not disclose her disability?

By U.S. law, a student does not have to specify what his or her disability is when requesting an accommodation from professors, although they must provide professional documentation that shows they need the accommodations. The disability office at the student’s home school should be able to confirm this documentation.

A student may also request disability-related accommodations that are available as options for all students, such as housing preferences or class schedule choices.  For example, Marta Lujkan, a student with mental health-related and other disabilities who studied abroad for an academic year in Australia, decided not to disclose her disabilities to the program staff in part because she felt she could meet her accommodation needs on her own without involving formal service providers. She requested a single room rather than a shared living space to accommodate her medication schedule, her need for privacy and personal time, and her varied sleeping patterns. The university obliged her request without knowing that her choices were disability-related.

What obligations do we have if a student discloses during a program, but not before?

Reasonable accommodations for a disability are primarily to reduce barriers that the person with a disability is experiencing and to provide equal access opportunities. If students on a program disclose their disabilities and request accommodations to program staff once the program has started, then the reasonable accommodation process begins at that point.

With documentation and discussions with the student that focus on the barriers they are experiencing, the program can determine the reasonableness of the student’s requested accommodations and problem-solve to find the best solution.  However, it is a common practice to provide accommodations while the documentation is still forthcoming.

Most accommodations do not require much advance preparation, and are relatively simple to organize, even if the program is already in progress. For example, extra time on tests, finding a notetaker, and placing blocks of wood under table legs to change the height are all inexpensive accommodations that do not take much preparation. (Note that program providers are not required to provide retroactive accommodations to students with disabilities. For example, a student with a learning disability who is failing a class can request additional time to take tests on all future tests, but they cannot have previous test scores deleted from how they affect the total course grade.)  For a tipsheet addressing accommodation issues please see “Helpful (and Low-Cost!) Tips for Accommodating People with Disabilities”.

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Links:

The 411 on Disability Disclosure: A Workbook for Youth with Disabilities

Disclosure: It’s a Personal Decision

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