The Parents’ Perspective on Study Abroad

Parents of the current high school and college student generation tend to be involved more than ever before in their children’s lives, even into young adulthood. For parents of students with disabilities, this involvement is nothing new. Many parents have participated extensively in educational planning, health monitoring, arranging accommodations and advocating for inclusion throughout their child’s school career. Because parents of students with disabilities often play an influential role in their children’s educational choices, goals and perception of opportunities, their encouragement, concerns or opposition to study abroad is likely to influence their son or daughter’s pursuit of overseas opportunities.

“My mom was extremely influential in encouraging me to take the risks of studying abroad. In seventh grade I acquired a traumatic brain injury and was in an intensive rehabilitation program for three years; during that period my mother pushed me to succeed and helped me along the way,” says Jennifer Marshall, a student at Michigan State University. “Studying abroad and stepping outside of one's comfort zone can be scary. My mother provided me with the support I needed: to know that if I got ill or had complications, I could always return home from the study abroad program. Naturally, she was concerned for me, but realized it was time for me to go out on my own.”

Building up one's son’s or daughter’s confidence about being away from home can help on the pathway to study abroad. “We started when Katherine was young in getting her to experience new things. She didn’t even want to spend the night at a friend’s house, and then we got her to go to camp with her sister and then without her sister. Then she went on her own to a boarding school for girls with learning disabilities,” says Alison Enslein about her teenage daughter, who eventually participated in a short-term exchange to France.

Overseas travel experiences with family members, on vacations or to visit relatives abroad, are recounted by many young adults with disabilities as first steps that eventually led them to pursue a study abroad program. These family experiences gave students opportunities to gain confidence in their ability to handle different environments, and to test their travel skills before heading abroad on their own. “Before my son, Gavin’s, accident, he had been to Europe to visit family,” says Terese Shelton, whose son acquired a brain injury in 2003. “Now he is looking into several opportunities to go to France and Morocco to study abroad. Our family trip this summer to Norway was a test for Gavin to see how he does with travel abroad, before he makes a bigger commitment. He always wanted to do study abroad, and I’m sure he will.” Shelton has volunteered and lived abroad herself, and strongly supports her son’s continued interest in foreign languages and cultures.

^{Photo Caption: To supplement the costs of an exchange program, students can fundraise, use vocational rehabilitation or financial aid funding, and apply for scholarships such as the U.S. Department of State sponsored Gilman International scholarship program.}

Another student, who is blind in one eye and grew up in a bilingual household, took Spanish throughout high school and aspired to study abroad, but had been unable to due to financial reasons. When she entered college, she continued to pursue her dream. "At first my mother said, 'We don’t have the money for this; I don’t think it’s a good idea.' Then I told her about the Gilman International scholarship and she said, 'OK, I guess you should look into it,'" says this student, who asked not to be named and ended up spending a semester in Spain. "Whatever the scholarship didn’t cover my financial aid package covered." The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, provides awards up to $5000 to undergraduates with financial need to pursue academic studies overseas.

Parents can provide much needed encouragement to students with disabilities to persist through the necessary steps of selecting and applying to overseas programs.

Parents are often the first line of support (or deterrence) for students with disabilities considering study abroad. Many students that we interviewed sought out approval from their parents before deciding to study abroad. One student with obsessive-compulsive behavior and other non-apparent disabilities, emailed a Japanese program application to her parents before applying. They discussed the possibility and agreed it would be a good opportunity for her. However, the parents of another student who has a psychiatric disability told her that she could not participate in a college study abroad program she had been accepted to.

“My mom has always been the one to be supportive of my disability and force me to deal with things,” says Paula Gieselman, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and studied abroad in Lithuania. “With going abroad, I was unsure if I could do the coursework because of my disability; I have all this extra support in U.S. classes. My mom encouraged me to talk to whoever I could. She said my college could help the college over there if I had problems.” As it turned out the U.S. disability provider at Bethel College was able to write an accommodation letter for Gieselman to take to her professors abroad, and she continued to follow her mother’s advice once she arrived abroad, by talking with the professors there and getting what she needed.

The process of selecting and applying to overseas programs can be nearly as daunting as the actual exchange. Parents can provide much needed encouragement to students with disabilities to persist through the necessary steps. One disability service provider even noted that college students with depression who inquire about study abroad programs often stop pursuing it because the process becomes too overwhelming for them. Ongoing support or check-ins throughout the process may be vital for students with certain disabilities, and parents, along with counselors and coaches, are likely choices to provide this support.

How Do We Know It Will Be OK?

Parents sending their sons or daughters abroad, especially for the first time, often worry about their child’s safety.  Study and volunteer abroad professionals work hard to reassure parents about the safeguards in place for participants’ safety, including emergency planning and student orientations covering how to protect one’s health and avoid unnecessary risks abroad. It may be more difficult however to reassure parents of students with disabilities, especially health-related conditions, about the wellbeing of their children while overseas.

“Parents of students with disabilities need a little more reassurance when their kids are studying abroad. They need to hear from administrators overseas that everything is OK, and their kid is handling things well.” Terese Shelton

Some students reported that their parents’ need for reassurance at times felt like overprotection. “My mom was scared to death,” says Hailey McKenzie who comes from a small town in Oklahoma and has diabetes. “She said, ‘What if they don’t have food over there!’ I told her that Scotland is a first-world country and they will have plenty of food over there.” Her parents felt better when, soon after settling in abroad, McKenzie sent word that she had found a doctor to monitor her diabetes, a couple of flatmates who would be on alert for any unexpected emergencies, and, enough food to eat. “They talked to me practically every day, and my mom could tell I was very happy. I would send her my A1C (periodic blood sugar) results, and she saw that my results were actually better [than before], because I was healthier over there.”

Purnell, a school for girls with learning disabilities, has taken groups of students abroad for short-term programs for many years. According to Amy Pasterczyk, Purnell’s Foreign Language Chair, they begin early in the year to prepare the parents, offering as much specific information as possible. While abroad the faculty leaders provide daily email updates for the parents. If a problem arises, such as a difficulty with a host family, faculty members have found that the sooner they communicate information to the parents, the better.

“Parents of students with disabilities need a little more reassurance when their kids are studying abroad. They need to hear from administrators overseas that everything is OK, and their kid is handling things well,” says Terese Shelton, whose son’s brain injury impacts his memory. “When you’re worried that your kid will get lost in some back alley in Ankara, Turkey, it’s not a good feeling. As parents we need strong communication back home from overseas offices.”

When Ted Koehler, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, went to Japan, his parents felt more comfortable when they knew specifically what the schedule and structure of the program would be, and could envision ways in which Koehler would be able to meet his specific needs.

Just as students with disabilities gain self-confidence and self-sufficiency through international experiences, parents gain confidence in their children’s abilities while they are studying abroad.

Some parents and their son or daughter consult with doctors or counselors for advice when they feel unsure of whether the student’s condition is stable enough for travel abroad. “My doctor, who directed the campus health center and dealt with students with diabetes all the time, said, ‘Oh, of course – sure go ahead.’ My parents trusted him, and trusted me that I trusted him,” says Chris Opsal who was diagnosed with diabetes two months before going to London. “My parents knew less than I did at the time, and they felt that if my doctor said I could go then I might as well go. The doctor’s message was that I shouldn’t let it get in the way of normal life.”

Allegra Johnson, who has had arthritis since she was young, recalls that her parents encouraged her decision and determination to study abroad in college – as long as there were no restrictions from her doctors. “My parents were very worried two months before I went to France, and my body was in the middle of a flare. [But] my hip specialist and my rheumatologist were supportive,” says Johnson. She used a cane in her first month abroad, but then the flare receded and her mobility improved.

Some parents may worry less the second time around, either when a son or daughter undertakes a second overseas experience, or when a younger brother or sister follows in their sibling’s footsteps. Just as students with disabilities gain self-confidence and self-sufficiency through international experiences, parents gain confidence in their children’s abilities while they are studying abroad. “I was unstable and sick, and my family was concerned about me going over to a foreign country, not really knowing what the status of my health would be,” recalls Angela Brown, who went to Spain not long after being diagnosed with lupus. “Certainly, they didn’t expect me to be able to back pack like I did, and I surprised everyone. It kind of gave me my independence back. I think not only did I gain confidence in myself, but my family actually gained confidence that I can be self-sufficient.”

^{Photo Caption: Study and volunteer abroad programs are life-enriching experiences that can positively impact students with non-apparent disabilities personal and educational development, as described at the end of this article.}

In some situations it is the parents who have to reassure overseas hosts. The parents of a student who has bipolar disorder assured the host organization that their son would do fine in Japan, and that they would fly to Japan to bring him home if something went wrong. “The school’s main concern was they didn’t have any doctors that could speak English and could handle it should he have an episode,” says Shelly Shinebarger, the disability provider at his home school. “The student and his parents convinced the host organization that the student had everything planned out, he had his medication and could obtain it over there. The student arranged with our faculty member that she would talk with him if she noticed any signs or symptoms, and make a decision about what to do next. As it turned out, he didn’t have any difficulty whatsoever in Japan, so they never had to put the plan in action.”

Preparations

As they prepare to participate in an exchange program, many students with disabilities do wonder whether they will sink or swim in an unfamiliar environment and without their family easily accessible. Their parents often play an important role in helping make preparations to deal with the challenges of going overseas.

Parents can be supportive by facilitating communication between their son or daughter and the exchange program, and providing detailed information about any support services or accommodations the student typically needs. When Kristin Faudree, who has dyslexia, was placed in a Spanish high school for a year, her parents talked with the sending organization about the type of accommodations that she used in her high school classes at home.  However, the overseas school was either not informed or did not follow-through on arranging her accommodations. “When I got to Spain I had major culture shock, thinking ‘I don’t know how to do this without books on tape. Oh my god, I’m going to fail.’ I did have to study hard, but I did OK. I made the U.S. equivalent of B’s in almost all my classes.” While Faudree was in Spain, her parents didn’t continue to advocate for her access needs. “Once I was there, my learning disability was the last thing that my parents were thinking about. [They were more worried about] whether or not I was going to come home safely,” says Faudree. “I was the first person to go in my family, so it was a learning experience for them too. Now they’re more educated on how to get accommodations.”

^{Photo Caption: Sometimes students are able to find out who their host family will be prior to going abroad; if this is the case, then parents of the study abroad participants may be reassured by talking with their son's or daughter's host parents.}
 
Parents can assist the student to identify and articulate the accommodations that he or she will need. Kathryn Hanrahan, Admissions Counselor Specialist for the high school exchange program, Youth for Understanding USA (YFU-USA), offers examples of questions to elicit information about needs and expectations for accommodations.  YFU-USA uses these and other questions in discussions with students who indicate, once they are accepted for the program, that they have a disability. These include:

• How do you expect the school to be different in your host country?
• What do you do [or what kind of accommodations do you use] to participate in class fully and get your homework done?
• What will you do between now and the beginning of the program to prepare for the different academic demands that you may have in your host country?
• Will you need accommodations or special services in the host country in order to complete your classwork and complete it on time?
• What steps will you take to ensure that you will have success participating in the program?
• What do you need [the exchange program] to provide?
• What do you expect [the exchange program] to do?

Students, with disabilities that impact learning and cognitive processes, may benefit from more extensive pre-departure preparation than offered in the standard orientation activities, or from different ways of presenting the information. Parents can support their son or daughter by providing practical information about traveling, or by sharing their own experiences. "My mom helped me to research different areas before going, different cultures and different things to expect in certain countries,” says Paula Gieselman, who has ADD and traveled abroad for the first time with her Social Studies high school class to several European countries for a two-week summer program.

Amy Pasterczyk, exchange leader for Purnell school, notes that students with learning disabilities often need extra time both before and after arrival to get oriented to the new culture. Alison Enslein describes how Purnell prepared her daughter and other students with learning disabilities for their study abroad:  “The teachers took them through a whole study of the culture of France and compared it to our culture. They gave the girls instructions in French manners, expectations of children, how to eat with host families, monetary differences, and how the schools were different. They exposed them to everything before the kids even got over there.”

Pasterczyk lists other pre-departure preparations: “[There are] travel skills they can learn: what it means to pack, how to decide what is important to bring and what is not. They also do a budget while they are abroad and have to prioritize what to spend money on – if they are not strong at math, this can be really daunting, so we take them through it step by step. We also spend a lot time looking at a map, reading it, walking them through it and asking what route they would take from their host families' homes. I’ve never really had students have problems getting anywhere. We really give them a lot of independence, and they come back feeling more capable.”

Summary

Parents can make a significant difference in their son’s or daughter’s pursuit of study abroad, their readiness to go overseas and in ensuring that they receive necessary accommodations while abroad. In return, parents need reassurances from doctors, counselors and/or exchange staff that the overseas experience will be safe and supportive of their child’s needs. The support, involvement and confidence of parents can enable students with non-apparent disabilities to access the benefits of international exchange programs, promoting their personal growth and path to independence.

Suggestions for Parents:

• Build up children’s confidence early about being away from home
• Travel overseas as a family
• Encourage your son or daughter to talk to administrators about appropriate accommodations
• Continue to provide encouragement to your son or daughter to complete the necessary steps of the application
• Try to communicate on a regular basis with overseas and home offices
• Become familiar with the specific study abroad program
• Consult with doctors if unsure about the stability of your son or daughter’s condition
• Reassure overseas hosts if the hosts are apprehensive
• Facilitate communication between the student and exchange program
• Assist your son or daughter in providing detailed information about access needs to host family and study abroad program
• Provide practical information about traveling or share personal experiences about traveling to your son or daughter.