The Disability Experience in the United States
Who are people with disabilities in the United States?
What is it like for youth with disabilities who come from other countries to the United States?
How does inclusive education work?
Useful disability terms to know
Who are people with disabilities in the United States?
People in the United States define disability differently, depending on legal definitions and personal identity. In high school, education laws ensure the equal rights of students with different categories of disabilities, including:
- mental retardation or developmental disabilities
- hearing impairments or deafness
- speech or language impairments
- visual impairments or blindness
- emotional or psychiatric conditions
- physical impairments (short limbs, difficulty walking, use a wheelchair, etc.)
- autism
- traumatic brain injury
- health conditions (diabetes, epilepsy, etc.)
- specific learning disabilities (difficulty reading, writing, mathmatics, understanding verbal clues, etc.)
Some high school students in the United States do not want to appear different from their classmates, and avoid being identified as a person with a disability. Others see disability as just one aspect of who they are, and use adaptations like a hearing aid or wheelchair as tools for being independent (e.g. to do things on their own). Some students consider their disability, and the ways they have figured out how to do things, as something unique and to be proud of. Photo Caption: Youth with and without disabilities from the United States and abroad have fun together.
What is it like for youth with disabilities who come from other countries to the United States?
The following students participated in academic year programs where they lived with a host family and attended the local high school. There are also other options for shorter international exchange experiences, such as short-term homestay, educational travel or teacher-led programs that are for four months or less.
- “Talking about accommodations, I’m glad to say that everything here is accessible in the wheelchair. They have an elevator, ramps, their car has a lift, and most of all I have a very huge room where I feel very comfortable.” Carla de la Cruz, a YES secondary school exchange student from the Philippines with spina bifida.
-
“My first school in Savannah, Georgia, had a Disability Officer who helped me to adjust to the new situation. He also gave me information about low vision organizations and the local Independent Living Center, which helped me a lot. I enjoyed studying the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) very much.” Ludmila Kurochkina, a FLEX secondary school student from Russia who is visually impaired.
-
“In Germany we don’t have to switch classrooms, our teachers come to us, so we don’t have to run from one to the other classroom. The students spend all their time together and know each other. When I’m always with the same students they’ve noticed my arm, and they know me better than people who only see me for one class. When people ask me about my disability, I have no problem about it. I like to explain about it because I don’t like it when people always stare at me.” Natalie Nussbaum, an ASPECT secondary school exchange student from Germany who wears a prosthetic arm.
-
“One thing I had feared was my host high school; I had no idea how they would treat me. I was afraid that they would treat me poorly, but fortunately I was wrong. Everybody knew about my disability, but they never laughed about me. I did the same things that they did. I had fun and had a chance to forget my disability. All over the United States, I found a lot of very nice, helpful people.” Vladimir Tereshchenko, a FLEX secondary school exchange student from Russia who is partially blind.
-
“During my year of study in the United States, I also traveled a lot with my dear American family. I visited 16 states and many famous cities. One of the most beautiful places I had ever seen was the Grand Canyon! During these trips I discovered that it was easy to travel in the United States, even for people with disabilities. Special parking spots, elevators and ramps make traveling easier for people with disabilities. My American school also had an elevator that I could use if I felt uncomfortable walking up and down the stairs from class to class.” Ruslan Kluchenko, a FLEX secondary school exchange student from Ukraine who wears a prosthesis.
-
“I am blind, but that has not been a problem for me. I have had accommodations made to help me participate fully in activities. I have been sight guided and had things explained to me when necessary. I am learning Braille and new things about technology to further my learning opportunities, as well as receiving orientation and mobility training to learn how to use a white cane to guide myself rather than relying on others. Those opportunities weren’t as readily available to me in Egypt.” Mahmoud Ghanem, a YES secondary school exchange student from Egypt who is blind.
How does inclusive education work?
Some students will attend residential schools for blind or deaf students, or special education classes that are especially for students with disabilities. However, in the United States, most students with disabilities attend regular or inclusive schools, that is, schools in which disabled and non-disabled students attend classes together. Inclusive education works by making changes to activities, programs, and materials so that everyone – including people with disabilities – can participate fully. Inclusive education removes 
barriers so students with and without disabilities can study and learn together, rather than by providing separate programs for disabled people. Exchange students with disabilities who attend inclusive schools will be able to use services, equipment and materials that they need to participate equally in school, such as sign language interpreters, elevators to upper floors or books in Braille.
Photo Caption: Classes in the United States often have interactive activities where students get a chance to share their ideas with each other.
Whether you are at a special or regular school, the host school may decide to set up a plan to be sure that you have the services or equipment that you need. These plans, called an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or a 504 plan (from Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973), will help school administrators determine how to make changes to activities, what materials, services or equipment to provide, or what barriers need to be removed for you to succeed in the new school. Several people will be involved in meetings to set up your IEP or 504 plan, including:
- Your host parent
- Your teacher
- The disability resource person, special education teacher or counselor in your school
- A school administrator
- You.
There may be others that join too, such as a representative of your exchange organization. The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss:
- Ways to change the classroom to help you better learn
- Aids and services you may need to be successful in the regular classroom and elsewhere
- Ways to modify testing so that you can accurately show what you have learned
- Related services such as accessible transportation, recreation, medical services, orientation and mobility training, assistive technology, and communication needs.
The adaptations, aids or services that are included in your IEP or 504 plan will be provided at no cost to you. To learn what some of these terms or phrases mean, read the blue box at the end of this article.
Students who are temporary residents in the United States are covered by disability laws and policies and have a right to get disability-related accommodations they need. Most of the time, accommodations will be provided at no cost.
Not all schools set up formal IEP or 504 plans for exchange students with disabilities. All schools, however, should set up some kind of plan to make sure students with disabilities can study, learn and participate in activities. Your host family and exchange organization will help you make sure that this happens.
By learning more about disability organizations in the United States, you can be better prepared and find what you need when you live abroad. You can also check out some websites on youth with disabilities to learn about the experiences of young people with disabilities in the United States.
Ask your program leader to request free disability accommodation forms.You
can fill out these forms to specifically describe the arrangements,
equipment, materials or services that you will need. It may be
different than at home.
While in the United States, your host parent can assist if you need
changes at school. If your host parent doesn’t know much about this,
there are parent centers in each state that have advocates to educate you, your school and your host parent.
The Story of One Student
Here is a story of a deaf high school student from abroad who participated in an academic year exchange program at a regular school in the United States. We'll call her Stella. It will give you a better idea of how inclusive education works.
The local school district was aware of Stella's disability prior to the start of the school year, but was not given enough information about her hearing loss to make accommodations available to her by the time school started.
Stella did not go through the evaluation process of getting IEP or 504 Plan. However, the school was very open to providing classroom adaptations and to educating her teachers about her disability because she is protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). She does not use sign language, so she sits near her teachers during class lectures, has a person to take notes for her and has been provided with a tutor in one of her subjects.
Stella also approached her teachers directly and asked that they face her when speaking and provide lecture notes whenever possible. Nearly all of the teachers have been cooperative and helpful to her. At the beginning of the school year, she had one teacher who often turned his back to her during lectures, and didn’t want to provide her with lecture notes. Her host parents met with school administrators to discuss the issue and she was moved to a different classroom.
The school arranged for Stella to meet with an audiologist and to be evaluated for a hearing loop that allows the teacher’s voice to be sent directly to her hearing aids from anywhere within the room. She is successfully using a hearing loop in some of her classes where the teacher lectures most of the time, but has had less success in other courses. In addition, other students have volunteered to check in with her regularly to see that she understands homework assignments.
Stella has also received services from members of the community and from governmental agencies. Based on the support she is receiving at school and in her community, she has had a very successful experience in the United States.
Also see the article on "Fun Activities in the Host Community" to learn how you can be involved in many different activities in the United States.
Top of page
Photo Caption: This is how you fingerspell "ASL" for American Sign Language.
Useful Disability Terms to Know
Some disability-related words and phrases may come up in the discussions that are new to you. Here are some definitions to help you in understanding this process better.
Accessible -- A place, service, materials or activity that people with disabilities are able to use on their own or participate in independently. For example:
- A bus with a lift is “accessible” for wheelchair users
- Textbooks in Braille, on audiocassette or in large print are “accessible materials” for people who are blind or can't read print
- A movie with written captions is “accessible” for people who cannot hear
- A building with an entrance with no steps and an elevator to upper floors is “accessible” to people who cannot walk up steps
- A bathroom that has a toilet stall wide enough for a person with a wheelchair to enter and use, and a rail on the wall for the person to grab, is an “accessible bathroom”
- A street with pedestrian crossings with curb cuts and traffic lights with audio signals is “accessible” for wheelchair users and for people who are blind
- Computer software that can check spelling and grammar in written essays is "accessible" for people with specific learning disabilities.
Accommodations & Adaptations -- Arrangements that make an activity, service, place or materials accessible to people with disabilities, such as:
- Arranging for a student who has a visual impairment to sit at the front of a classroom
- Providing a key to an elevator for a student who cannot walk up steps
- Building a ramp at the front of a store with steps
- Providing spoken descriptions of a video so that people who are blind know what is appearing on the screen
- Providing sign language interpreters for students who are deaf
- Providing extra time for students with visual or learning disabilities to take a test
- Providing tutors or different ways to complete an assignment for a student with an emotional or learning disability.
Alternative Formats -- Different methods of presenting print materials so as to be accessible to individuals unable to read print. For example:
- Braille
- Audiocassette
- CD Rom or diskette (to be used with computer screen-readers)
- Large print.
Assistive Technology -- Any product or device that is used to improve access for people with disabilities. These items include commercially-made equipment, custom-made devices or common products that have been modified to serve a specific need. Examples include:
- Computer software, such as screen readers (which “read” text aloud) for people with visual disabilities
- Computer keyboards with enlarged keys for people with disabilities that affect the use of their hands
- Teletypewriters (TTYs) or text/email on cell phones which make telephone communication accessible to people with speech or hearing disabilities
- Hand-pedaled bicycles or tricycles used by individuals with mobility disabilities
- Back-packs with wheels to be used by people who cannot carry heavy loads
- Hand-held personal electronic devices that can assist people with attention deficit disorder to keep track of tasks and receive reminders of appointments.