Cultural Differences in Providing Accommodations

The approach to providing accommodations for people with disabilities varies according to culture, region and laws. Sometimes, this difference in approach to providing accommodations gives overseas partners a reason to hesitate when accepting or preparing for international participants with disabilities.

Procedural approach

In the United States, the Procedural approach to providing accommodations is most common. According to the procedural approach the individual requesting the accommodation must meet a legal definition of disabled and the institution must work with the individual to provide equal access to programs.

Personal approach

Other cultures may opt for a more culturally relevant model to providing accommodations. The Personal approach involves the person in need of accommodations arranging the needed assistance or services with the person(s) who will be said accommodations. Participants living in cultures where the personal approach is more common may find the office for participants with disabilities or program staff negotiations regarding needed accommodations ineffective, because they haven't asked the right person.

Community approach

The Community model works based on a person's disability-related needs as a responsibility of the community. Generally, this responsibility falls mostly on the individual's friends and family to arrange and sometimes provide  accommodations. For some programs arranging accommodations in countries where the community model is used can be challenging, for example, finding host families or placements for a participant with a disability. The staff of the overseas partner's may be worried that if they accept this participant the extra burden may become theirs, or their host families and may feel unprepared to provide for such a participant.

These different models are all effective in providing accommodations and are associated with participants having successful experiences. Once you and your staff are familiar with each approach, you can begin to identify which partners/cultures use each approach thereby increasing your ability to assist participants in choosing the right program, working with your partners, and understanding the disability culture in a given country.