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Peer Advising by Exchange Alumni with Disabilities
A unique network of people with and without disabilities who have vast international experiences such as study, research, intern, work, and volunteer abroad experiences and want to share their experiences with people preparing for their international experience.
Are you preparing for your international exchange experience abroad?
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The excitement coupled with things unknown can combine to create an extreme case of nervousness leading many people to question the idea of going abroad as a person with a disability. If only there was someone to talk to, to help shed light on the unknown.... This is where the National Clearinghouse and Disability and Exchange can help. The Peer-to Peer Network connects people with disabilities who are experienced travelers in a specific country to people who have never been to that country, so they may ask questions and share experiences. If you have traveled to some far off place and want to help would be travelers with disabilities get there become a peer today!
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New! Travel with a Purpose Yahoo group
The Travel With a Purpose™ community is the latest evolution of the Peer-to- Peer Network. The NCDE and its partners in the exchange and disability communities provide a supportive environment for exchange professionals working to include people with disabilities on international programs. Find advice and resources from other exchange professionals and people with disabilities who have studied, interned, worked, taught, conducted research, or volunteered all over the world. Learn about a variety disabilities including the autism spectrum, blindness, deafness, chronic health concerns, learning disabilities, physical disabilities, seizures, and more. Become a member of this international community and get advice specific problems and share your experience with others! Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Travel-With-A-Purpose/ or send an email to Travel-With-A-Purpose-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Challenge yourself and Change the world!®
Reasons to request a peer
While there are as many reasons to request a peer some of the most common reasons include:
- How to travel and keep equipment safe.
- Wanting to know more about accessibility in a given country or city.
- Advice on what to bring.
- Wondering how this new culture will view them as a person with a disability.
- Questions about applying to a specific program as a person with a disability.
- Questions regarding what types of reasonable accommodations a peer used while traveling.
- Tips on asking for accommodations.
- Tips on managing the health and energy related aspects of a disability while traveling.
- Tips on answering questions about one's disability in another languages.
- Tips on managing home sickness.
- Connections for assistance while abroad.
- Tips on key phrases that will help communicate clearly with local people.
- Tips on must-see sights, good food, and what to do for fun.
If you have any of these questions (or any of the thousands of other questions going abroad creates) you should request a peer today!
Who can you find in the Peer-to-Peer Network?
The Peer-to-Peer Network includes several hundred peers from around the world with a variety of disabilities.
Peer Spotlight: Meet a member of the peer-to-peer network!Become acquainted with a member of the NCDE peer network and learn how the member's international experience has changed their life!
Some of the countries our other peers have visited or come from include:
France
Russia
Brazil
Spain
England
Malawi
Zambia
New Zealand
Brazil
Costa Rica
Israel
Peru
Thailand
Tunisia
China
Japan
Vietnam
Chile
Uganda
Italy
Portugal
Switzerland
And many, many more. To find out if we have a peer familiar with the country where you are interested in having an international experience request a peer.
Our peers also represent a broad range on disabilities including:
Polio
Blindness
Deaf
ADD
Arthritis
Paralysis
Cerebral Palsy
Spina Bifida
Muscular Dystrophy
Multiple Sclerosis
Learning disabilities
Hearing impaired
Psychiatric
Amputees
Chronic health concerns
Diabetes
Hydrocephalus
and many more.
Mobility International USA and the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange is a cross-disability organization with peers representing both apparent and non-apparent disabilities. To find out if we have a peer with abilities similar to yours, request a peer now.
If you want to share tips about traveling with a specific disabilities become a peer.
Want to find out how to navigate to whole process of selecting an international program, preparing to go, what to expect while you're there, and returning home?
In 2004, twenty people with disabilities shared their experiences in Survival Strategies for Going Abroad: A Guide for People with Disabilities.
FUNDING: Apply for a scholarship to study and intern in Germany