Specific Disabilities of Study Abroad Students
Familiarizing study abroad staff and faculty program leaders with common disability types will help them to be better prepared to meet the needs of participants with disabilities before and during an exchange program. However, learning about a particular type of disability does not take the place of learning about the individual with the disability.
The most important step in arranging accommodations for a student with a disability is to consult closely with the student to determine, from his or her perspective, what he or she needs in order to be successful abroad. It is ineffective to make decisions or draw conclusions about what accommodations a particular participant will need, based on your (or others’) assumptions about his or her disability. To ensure that the student has appropriate documentation of the disability, and appropriate accommodations, work with the disability service or counseling office if accommodations are being requested.
In the United States, most people with disabilities own the equipment they need for everyday life and need only minimal assistance from others. Encourage the study abroad participant to carefully consider any adaptations he or she is currently using to evaluate whether any of them will be unavailable, or unnecessary, in the host country. Consider, too, that some types of disabilities involve fluctuating accommodation needs; an individual may need more or different types of assistance or adaptations at different times or in different situations.
Advance planning is key to ensuring that students with disabilities have successful international experiences. Some types of accommodations might take months to arrange, so begin addressing accommodation as far in advance as possible. Encourage the study abroad participant to make a detailed list of daily activities, and to note how any tasks that are affected by his or her disability are accomplished. For example, if the student employs a personal assistant at home or relies on family members for assistance, what duties does that person perform, and how, if necessary, will those tasks transfer to a new, unfamiliar assistant during the exchange program?
Every study abroad participant, disabled or non-disabled, needs contingency plans. For a student with a disability, the plans should include advocacy approaches if services or accommodations are not effective, and plans and resources for resolving disability-related issues. Arranging frequent check-ins with the student during the course of the program is a good way to assess the effectiveness of accommodations, address any new issues that arise and make adjustments as needed.
Like other international exchange participants, individuals with disabilities are more likely to be successful if they approach international experiences with creativity and flexibility. However, the National Survey of Educational Support Provision to Students with Disabilities in Postsecondary Education Settings show that only 17% of community colleges as compared to 52% of four-year universities provide study abroad accommodations for students with disabilities. Adaptability on the part of the student must be met with a commitment on the part of the exchange program to ensure that reasonable and effective accommodations are in place to facilitate full participation in the overseas experience.
Students with Sensory Disabilities
Deaf and Hard of Hearing
“We had a hearing impaired student that went on a summer program to London, and the college eventually decided to send an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter abroad on this short-term group experience,” says Carolyn Kadel, Director of International Education at Johnson County Community College in Kansas. “The sign interpreter was very excited about the opportunity.”
Many people who are Deaf or hard of hearing do not consider themselves to be disabled. Rather, they base their identity on a shared visual language and a unique culture. However, sign languages are different around the world, and there is no one universal sign language all people who are Deaf use. Even among countries that share common oral or written languages, sign languages can be entirely different from one another. For example, the United States and United Kingdom use sign language systems that are as dissimilar as Russian and English. This may make finding an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter abroad difficult, so figuring out how to budget to send an interpreter abroad with a student should be considered before the need arises.
The degree of hearing loss among students can range from mild to very significant. People with mild hearing loss may be able to participate in group and individual conversations with little adaptation. For example, a hard of hearing student in a French language class may benefit from preferential seating or use of amplification or transmittal devices that can be easily used with a microphone on the professor and a receptor hearing aid or head set for the student. Using universal design and seating students in a circle so that a hard of hearing student can see other students when they speak can also facilitate lip-reading.
“I had a hard of hearing student who went to Mexico. She had taken two courses with me in Spanish and decided to augment her Spanish language learning with a study abroad experience,” says Dayna Defeo, a teacher at New Mexico State University-Carlsbad, a two-year college. “She talked with me about it and then came back to give a presentation for my other students about her experience, which was very good.”
Blindness and Low Vision
People with visual disabilities experience many types and degrees of visual impairment. A person described as legally blind (20/200 vision or less) may be able to read large print and navigate without mobility aids in many or all situations. Some individuals are able to perceive light and darkness and perhaps even some color, while others are not. With some types of visual disabilities, an individual’s vision may be better one day than another, depending on fatigue and other factors. It is difficult to generalize about people with visual disabilities because of the wide range of causes and dates of onset. People with visual disabilities present from birth are more likely to have learned skills in reading Braille. People who lose their vision later in life are less likely to use Braille, and may have visual memories of color and scale that make it somewhat easier for them to orient according to verbal descriptions or directions. People who experience progressive vision loss usually incorporate gradual changes in the types of adaptations and strategies for access that they use, such as mobility canes for navigation.
“The boys at the orphanage where I volunteered in Jamaica had quite a few questions about my disability. They asked me how it was for me and how I did certain things,” says Drew Hunthausen, a California community college student who became blind and hard of hearing at age 11. “It was cool that after the boys got to know me, they all wanted to help out and lead me places – it was amazing.” Depending on the circumstances, Hunthausen navigated the rocky terrain with his white cane or had the assistance of other people from his church who acted as sighted guides. Hunthausen also brought his Braille Note equipment to keep a journal of his experiences.
Krystle Allen, a community college student who also uses a white cane and has low vision, found assistance abroad from her Japanese host family. “They really treated me well and took me to so many different places. Only one person spoke English. They knew some English words and I’d try to give them some signals of what I was trying to say while they were showing me different things when we went to the supermarket – they pointed to ask me if I liked a particular food and put it up close so I could see it.”
Allen attends Essex County College in New Jersey, but she went to Japan on a leadership program through a non-profit organization. Neither Allen nor another student with low vision who went along, Natalie Barrett of Hawaii’s Kapiolani Community College, needed to make arrangements for classroom accommodations abroad. Since it was a group program focused on service learning, workshops, and meetings in the community, other participants on the program assisted with their orientation in new places. Allen and Barrett, both white cane users, helped to direct the other students on how they preferred to be guided. They also learned to stretch their traditional comfort zones by using tactile strips commonly installed on the sidewalks of Tokyo to navigate their way around and by learning a few key words in Japanese to understand metro or elevator announcements.
Students with Mobility Disabilities
Slower walkers
People who have disabilities that affect walking may use aids such as crutches, canes, walkers, braces or artificial limbs. Reduced agility, speed of movement, difficulty in balance, decreased endurance or a combination of these issues may contribute to impaired mobility. People who walk with difficulty may use extra energy trying to keep their balance or meet other mobility challenges.
Navigating uneven, wet, slippery or cluttered walking surfaces can be challenging for people with mobility disabilities. Heavy doors can be hard for anyone to manage, and people who use crutches, canes or walkers may have extra difficulties. Handrails are often particularly helpful to people who have difficulty walking. Note that handrails should be placed on both sides of a staircase or ramp because someone may be stronger on one side of their body than the other.
Study abroad programs often involve a lot of walking between different sites, school and living accommodations, and from train or bus stops. People with mobility disabilities who do not ordinarily use wheelchairs may not fully anticipate the challenges involved in getting around everyday without a personal vehicle or fully accessible public transportation. Those students choosing not to request accommodations may find they can keep up. However, without forethought and contingency plans, others may decide to pack it up and return home when expectations and reality clash.
Program leaders who have experience abroad can assist a student to anticipate disability-related accommodations that may not be necessary or thought of in the United States. For example, will a student need to use a taxi between sites, live closer to the school, or use a wheelchair for longer distances? Providing taxi fares or wheelchairs for study abroad participants to experiment with may help everyone become more positive in their attitudes towards using alternative modes of mobility. However, using a wheelchair safely and effectively requires training and practice. Inexperienced wheelchair users may need assistance and support to prevent accidents and injuries.
“We try to help students to let them know from the beginning what the set up is and what the physical requirements are,” says Carola Smith, Director of International Programs at Santa Barbara Community College. She reflects that some students don’t accurately anticipate how environmental factors or geographic topography may affect their typical mobility. Asking questions about average temperatures or pavement surfaces may make a difference. Smith also recalls a student with limited mobility returning early from a Paris exchange, as she had not prepared for the environmental stresses and an unexpected heat wave that summer that added to her discomfort.
In contrast, a Johnson Community College student with leg braces and limited mobility enrolled on an individual summer program in London. “It was fairly successful; we were able to arrange accommodations up front that were accessible so the dormitory and the on-campus situation worked out,” says Kadel, Director of International Education. “For field trips and transportation, the student had a lot of transportation challenges as in any city. We are in suburban Kansas, so I think it was a stretch for the student to use public transit in London to get around and to deal with some of the physical obstacles, but he survived the program.” Another student with cerebral palsy from a community college in California did quite well getting around on a study abroad program in New Zealand and Australia.
For those going to major cities in Europe, Rick Steves’ guidebook Easy Access Europe may be useful for slow walkers on the main tourist tracks. The National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange can also provide referrals to wheelchair rental companies in case the student finds a wheelchair or scooter is easier to use once abroad.
Wheelchair users
Wheelchairs and scooters help increase mobility for many people with physical disabilities, although they may have many environmental concerns. Ideal accessibility requirements for wheelchair users include ramped entrances, elevators, level sidewalks with firm surfaces and wide aisles in stores, classrooms and other public places. Access to toilet facilities, drinking water, telephones, doors, tables and shelves are other considerations. Many people with upper- and lower-limb impairments or reduced stamina use electrically powered wheelchairs for mobility. Uneven surfaces, such as cobblestones, can cause a moving power chair to jolt or malfunction, and can also aggravate pain in some individuals. Some will choose to bring manual wheelchairs as alternatives.
Because exchange programs may not have control over these details in the host country, study abroad advisors can assist participants in thinking through related concerns and their options for addressing them. For example, they may need assistance with repairs while participating in an international program. When placing a student who uses a wheelchair or a scooter, it may be useful to identify the nearest wheelchair or bicycle repair shop in case of a flat tire or bent frame (making prior arrangements with the study abroad student about who is responsible for the cost of any repairs). Some batteries may need to be recharged more frequently, so students will need to know where this can be done at school or at other sites. It can be useful to have a back-up battery readily available and to compare the voltage requirements in the home and host countries to be sure that the proper type of adapter and voltage transformer is available. Individuals and organizations should also become familiar with airline policies regarding power wheelchairs.
Once a participant knows what type of wheelchair he or she will be using, the exchange staff should use the dimensions of that wheelchair to measure access to the sites the participant will be going to. When making sure doors will be wide enough, that stairs will not impede access and that tables and desks will accommodate the person using the wheelchair, a few simple adaptations can create improved access for people with physical disabilities who are willing to be flexible for the sake of adventure (see the blue highlighted box below).
“By the time the student went to China, his condition had deteriorated and our faculty were not really prepared for the lack of accommodations. Everyone was assisting and the student was well integrated in the group, so there were no issues there. Faculty had to carry the student in and out of the train and the potential for somebody getting hurt or even being able physically to do that was difficult. The walkways had huge steps that the student was not able to manage on his own,” says Smith about a Santa Barbara Community College student who uses a wheelchair.
Carrying students who use wheelchairs up and down stairs or into inaccessible places can be manageable depending on the exchange group, the type of wheelchair, and the student. Some students who are used to being assisted by family members at home will bring that person along or hire a personal assistant to assist on the program. However, most people with disabilities, including most people who use wheelchairs, do not use personal attendants. Once abroad, even students who are used to getting around on their own in the United States may need some informal assistance from community or exchange group members, especially in less accessible countries. In this case, the fitness of the student, local terrain, sidewalk conditions, and whether the student uses a power or manual wheelchair can often make a difference as to how much informal assistance he or she will need.
Adaptability on the part of the student must be met with a commitment on the part of the exchange program to ensure that reasonable and effective accommodations are in place to facilitate full participation in the overseas experience.
When possible, the person being lifted should direct the lift because he or she knows what will work best. The people lifting need to have a good understanding of safe lifting techniques to protect their own bodies, as well as specific instructions from the individual being lifted. While fellow participants often will offer each other support during an exchange, consistent assistance cannot be assumed without a more formal agreement. Sometimes the individual or the program can find a fellow participant who is willing to be trained as an assistant, making sure that the student receiving this assistance is comfortable with such an arrangement, and that the person who will be providing assistance is aware of the extent of the responsibilities.
Kadel recalls a student who used a manual wheelchair and went to Germany on a Johnson County Community College faculty-led program. “There was no special accommodation made but the whole group was extremely helpful for that student. When they got to a barrier point, they just picked him up and dealt with it. He was quite independent and quite strong. He had a great trip and didn’t express any way in which his disability limited him. Part of that was support for the student was so high. The faculty member, a teacher of the German language, was taking all students from her class. They all knew each other and already were aware that the other student used a wheelchair and I think they just got on board with it.”
Since faculty often lead the study abroad programs, they may not have a lot of experience planning for accessibility. A student’s initiative in researching accessibility abroad and self-advocacy skills may help to break through some program leaders’ initial hesitancy and assumptions about having a wheelchair user on the study abroad program. Reveca Torres, a quadriplegic from Harper College in Illinois, expressed interest to the director of the Fashion Design program at her community college about going on the Paris trip she lead every year. The director’s initial response was that Reveca wouldn’t be able to participate since she believed it was not accessible.
“At first I was disappointed and then I thought, ‘She can’t tell me I can’t go’,” says Torres. “So I researched it more using the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange to get information on access, and went back to her and the director of the disability access center at the school. I gave them my research and I said, ‘Look I can do it.’ They agreed to meet with me about how to do it.” She had the hotel fax accessible floor plans to the faculty leader, and contacted the Louvre where the fashion show would be held to show it was also accessible. While she couldn’t find accessible transportation that allowed her to stay in her power wheelchair, she brought a manual wheelchair that could fold and a personal assistant to help her transfer into cars or taxis.
Other times, it may be students with disabilities themselves who must overcome their own nerves to travel abroad. “Although I initially had serious reservations about my air travel adventure, my trip to Costa Rica couldn’t have been a more positive experience,” says Tracee Garner, a power wheelchair user from Northern Virginia Community College. “It was a big step for me to decide to go. I talked to my parents and said I want and especially need to do this. I needed to do it because I wanted to know that I could be independent, and live without the luxuries or the accessible, high-tech accommodations I was used to.”
Eric Harper, a power wheelchair user from Rogue Community College in Oregon, participated on a multi-week study abroad program to Namibia and South Africa in 2003, where he discovered he could go many places with assistance despite the sand dunes and lack of access to sidewalks. The cross-cultural differences he experienced had a greater impact on him than the lack of accessible infrastructure. “Where ever I went people stared and often pointed at me,” he says. “It was a bit weird but my uniqueness in their culture made me realize how lucky I was to have a nice wheelchair, and how fortunate I was to be an American.” He continues to stay in touch with the children and adults he met while on the program, especially those he met while volunteering on a school project in a rural part of Namibia: “The three humbling and inspiring days I spent in the village were some of the best of my life.”
Students with Non-Apparent Disabilities
Psychological Disabilities
Psychiatric disabilities include a wide range of diagnoses, and are some of the most common types of disabilities in the United States. As more students with mental health conditions enroll in college, more are also deciding to study abroad. As with people with other disabilities, many people with psychiatric disabilities will require no accommodations at all. Some individuals choose to use medication, while others are opposed to it. The spectrum of perspectives on psychiatric disability requires that advisors be flexible and respectful of each individual’s perception of his or her disability and any accommodations that may be necessary.
Many of the pre-departure processes commonly in place – filling out medical forms, talking with students about medications, and getting doctors’ recommendations – all apply as good practice regardless of disability. Additional practices can be introduced to better support students with psychological disabilities, indirectly benefiting all students.
“Sometimes the controlled substance or medication they are taking is not allowed in that country – it’s really up to the student but we try to advise the student on what to do to make sure they find a way to take the medication they will need while there because it can’t be shipped through the mail. Our [exchange] partners also mandate either students provide proof of health insurance or purchase health insurance,” says Jill Heffron, Study Abroad Coordinator at the City College of San Francisco. Heffron helps students write letters to their insurance companies to request an exception in the amount of medication they are allowed to get to bring with them. If participants anticipate using professional counseling or medical services abroad, they should also find out whether their private insurance will cover such services. “We have English speaking physicians and psychiatrists that we can recommend to students overseas. If a student is troubled, depending on what shape they are in, the partners overseas will provide information for a professional, or with the students’ permission they will call the doctor themselves. In an extreme case they will pick up the student and drive the student to the doctor’s office and wait with them,” she says. Students should also plan in advance for contingencies, such as arranging to talk by phone with a familiar therapist in the United States, planning for more privacy or down time, and consulting with other students with similar disabilities who have studied abroad.
Adding information to pre-departure orientation sessions on mental health issues for all students can also be useful. “I wouldn’t say ‘frequently,’ but students get really excited when they are in a new environment; they think they don’t need their medications anymore and that they are doing so much better, so they decide to discontinue taking their medications. I see that with students who are on antidepressants,” says Smith, who now addresses this topic in her orientation sessions for all students in addition to talking individually with students who disclose mental health conditions.
Consider, too, that some types of disabilities involve fluctuating accommodation needs; an individual may need more or different types of assistance or adaptations at different times or in different situations.
Smith also plans accommodations in advance so that students have equal access to classes overseas. “The students who have participated have needed extended testing time due to various disabilities they might have,” says Smith. Other accommodations students with psychological disabilities who are registered with their disability services office may need are: flexible schedules, permission to take breaks or record lectures, alternative formats or quiet locations for testing. Frequent check-ins during the course of the program can be useful for some participants to assess the success and effectiveness of activities and accommodations, maintain communication between staff and student, address any new issues that may come up, and make adjustments as needed.
For comprehensive information on working with students with mental health conditions, NAFSA recently published online Best Practices in Addressing Mental Health Issues Affecting Education Abroad Participants. Other suggestions can be found on the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange website, including tip sheets on traveling with medications or considerations for students with psychological conditions.
Learning Disabilities
Learning disability is an umbrella term used to describe a wide range of information processing disorders that affect academic or experiential learning skills. People with learning disabilities may have difficulties with reading, math, writing, orientation or other skills. Although partner organizations and staff in some countries will be familiar with learning disabilities, others may not be familiar with either the concept of a learning disability or strategies for providing access.
Accommodations frequently used by U.S. students with learning disabilities include tutors, note takers, extra time for testing, alternative format versions of textbooks, class lectures and other print materials, and environmental arrangements such as areas with reduced distraction for work and testing. Technological devices used by students with learning disabilities range from the basic, such as tape recorders, calculators and word processing software with tools to check spelling and grammar, to the advanced, including electronic organizers, speech synthesizers, voice recognition software and talking dictionaries. In countries in which learning disabilities are not widely recognized, students with learning disabilities may not have access to these kinds of services and technologies, and may need to bring these along or identify other helpful strategies such as employing personal tutors. Some students will seek this out on their own, instead of formally requesting accommodations.
“We had a student with extreme dyslexia and one suggestion that the disability office made was that the student could access the City College of San Francisco’s online language lab through the Internet at the center in Paris. She had a laptop in the dormitory room, and this way she could hear the sentences instead of reading them,” says Heffron, who also arranged for extra time on the student’s tests and permission to record lectures.
Azulai Booker, a student at Montgomery College in Maryland who has dyslexia, decided not to go on a traditional study abroad program, but instead participated in two summer cultural and volunteer programs while a community college student. While classroom accommodations were not needed in her case, other factors arose. “The currency was difficult in Costa Rica, but there were really nice people in my group who helped me all the time,” she says. “The language was also a barrier, though that was the same for everybody. It would have helped if I had learned a little bit of Spanish. I tried my best.”
As an early childhood education major, Booker also had the opportunity to volunteer for a month at a day care center in South Africa. “Some days it was overwhelming to me to have 60 kids running around, and I would just say, ‘I have to step outside’ because the noise level was off the charts. It seemed like a long day.” Still she wouldn’t have traded the experience for anything – coming back feeling more mature and confident. “I was out of the bubble and a safe haven, on my own in a foreign land and it made me recognize that I had to stand up, be strong, be calm and be my own foundation.”
“When a student comes back and says it changed my life – that’s most rewarding,” says Heffron about the students with learning disabilities who have gone abroad through City College of San Francisco. “One student said she couldn’t wait to go back again and continue her French studies.”
The next article “Value of Study Abroad” shares more ways that the overseas experience can deeply impact the lives of community college students with disabilities.
