Peer Advice on Asking for Accommodations

Don’t go all the way overseas, only to end up missing out.

Patrick Rosenburg had waited all his life to see the inside of the St. Peter Basilica in the Vatican City. As an art history fanatic, he knew it held the original of Pieta by Michelangelo. On the day that his high school group visited the church, all the students pulled pants and skirts out of their backpacks to put on so they would be allowed admittance, a cultural requirement to show respect. “I stood there unbeknownst and saw other students bringing their own proper clothes, whereas I was with nothing,” says Patrick.

Receiving the same amount of information as others got proved to be the biggest challenge for Patrick, who is deaf. The exchange program did not provide him a sign language interpreter, and he mostly relied on other students to write down what had been spoken. When his program leader forgot to tell him this small but important piece of information, “it was the last straw” for Patrick. “I was so upset that I had to escape, and got behind one of those massive columns molded by Bernini and started to cry. My group leader had to chase me, comfort me and apologize for what had happened,” recalls Patrick. “Still to this day, I have never seen [Pieta] and it still brews in my head.”

“Now that I know more about England, I actually think I didn’t get as many services as I could have gotten,” says Angela Winfield, who is visually impaired

Patrick is not alone. “Most of the time, I asked a person to repeat it for me but it was a lot to ask for a high schooler,” says Rachel Berkston, who is also deaf and found her FM hearing system temporarily broken during a summer high school arts program in Israel. “I never thought it would be possible [for a cued speech transliterator to come along]. I may have asked but never pushed for it.”

Recognize that Access is Possible

Realizing that equal access on an exchange program is an option is the first step. Having been a student at a residential school surrounded by other deaf students, Patrick expected that the accessibility and services would be different in another country and on a program with hearing students. “I was very flexible and open to what I would find,” Patrick explains.

“Now that I know more about England, I actually think I didn’t get as many services as I could have gotten,” says Angela Winfield who is visually impaired and did a law academy trip to the United Kingdom in high school. “At the time, I had more sight, so I didn’t have as many accommodations provided. I did have materials read to me when needed by someone on the program.”

For those going with U.S.-sponsored groups or programs, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act may be useful. Whether the ADA or Section 504 laws apply to high school exchange programs, or whether programs must provide disability-related services to U.S. participants when abroad, are questions that have not been clearly resolved. This leaves room for you to make a case for equal access on any program, although it would require research and advocacy by you and your parents. The ADA and Section 504 are clear that a U.S. based program cannot deny your participation based on your disability. Don't downplay your access needs, or trade away services that you might need, in order to get accepted. _{Photo Caption: Program leaders who have less experience with disability access issues may have overlooked and not realize what is available overseas. Don't be discouraged, as National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange staff can assist you in finding out the facts.}

Don't forget to check out the laws in the countries where you are going; there may be similar (or better) laws that will cover you there. 

Whether it is not wanting to ask too much of others or avoiding standing out, many students with disabilities who went overseas on a high school program regret not asking for what they needed.

In addition to advocacy, fundraising and creative ideas such as finding services overseas or volunteers to come on the program can help make access possible and affordable. The National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange staff or your parents can brainstorm ideas with you (www.miusa.org/ncde, clearinghouse@miusa.org, 541-343-1284 tel/tty).

“My interpreter was one-of-a-kind; she never got paid for the job. She was from my high school where she learned German as I learned German, so I had to convince my teacher that she had to go to interpret for me. She went as a chaperone, but also as my interpreter,” says Sarah Gordon, a deaf student who went on a short-term summer program Germany.

Speak Up

Many students with disabilities who went overseas on a high school program regret not asking for what they needed, because they didn't want to ask too much of others, or to avoid standing out. Rachel Abbott admits she felt insecure about herself and her visual impairment before going to Chile on an exchange program as a high school student. Even though she was excited to go, she says, “When I was there, I kind of felt left out.” She avoided some group activities such as hiking because she was too embarrassed to ask for help. “I didn’t want to ask ‘Hey, do you mind walking with me when we go hiking, so I don’t trip over a rock or something?,’” says Rachel. _{Photo Caption: For those with disabilities such as autism, being in another country where people expect you to be different because you are not from there, might bring on a feeling of freedom.}

Learning to speak up or stand out isn’t easy for some, but people with disabilities who were once in your place advise you to start practicing creative advocacy and to embrace your differences before you go abroad. You might want to learn disability terms in another language or seek out organizations of people with disabilities to meet while you're there. Remember that others in your overseas group will also be learning what it is like to feel different, in a new culture in which you are all foreigners. (See the "What's Stopping You?" highlighted box below for ways to help you think about this process.)

"It’s easier to be more prepared ahead of time than it is to speak up at the time and then not have the assistance there if you need it," says Robin Sutherby who has cerebral palsy and missed out on climbing the pyramids in Mexico.

“There was no way to get through to me that being different was OK and identifying as being disabled was an OK thing…I didn’t even bother thinking about accommodations or know that it was an option. I had enlarged print textbooks in my home high school, but I would never use them. They would just sit in my room,” say Kim Borowicz who is visually impaired and traveled on short-term group programs to Bermuda and Europe. “Now I use tons of accommodations and I don’t know how I’d get by without them. I came a long way after graduating and coming to college in terms of requesting accommodations, and I really wish I would have started that earlier. I realize how much easier my life would have been.”

To begin learning what some of the accommodations might look like overseas, you can read these tip sheets or the Survival Strategies for Going Abroad: A Guide for People with Disabilities publication written by those with experience. You can also request to talk to a peer. "I’ve helped a few people with disabilities decide about studying abroad," says Kim. "I have a knack for teaching other people to get over barriers and do certain things. It's been very good. I didn’t realize when I started doing [mentoring] that other people would have apprehensions that were so profound that they wouldn’t go [abroad]. I just really like helping other people attain goals."

Work out the Kinks

Once you realize accommodations are a possibility, and then find the nerve to ask for them, you may discover that the accommodations or services need some improvements.

“It was very useful to have a [sign language] interpreter so I could understand the tours that were spoken in English,” says Sarah. “However, the tour guide was a native of Germany who spoke English, but his accent was very heavy, making it harder for my interpreter to understand. Sometimes I felt like there was a cultural conflict. He didn't understand my deafness or why my interpreter had to ask him to repeat some things again.”

At times like this, open communication about your needs may be necessary – even if you would rather find a way to “get by” on your own. "I had asked the program to put me in the city because I know as a general rule in a city’s downtown, transportation is so much better and easier to get around," says Rebekah Elsen, who uses crutches and spent a year living with host families in Germany. "But what happened was I kept getting stuck in the country and that was cumbersome. When I’d miss the bus for school, I’d end up walking five miles because both host parents were working. But I made it to school, and had to learn how to do things for myself." Persistence in explaining how you need something done – and why – can help in requests not being overlooked. Angela found her group leader to be open minded and willing, but not experienced in working with a student with a visual impairment. “The only thing that I really had to explain to [my teacher] was what I could see and what I couldn’t see and what I felt comfortable doing. I gave him a couple lessons on how to be a sighted guide.” _{Photo Caption: With teamwork, creativity and flexibility, you can find a way to participate in all types of field trips abroad.}

Information about what you need – best delivered by you – may improve access and avoid misunderstandings. “It probably would have been better for me if I had disclosed more information ahead of time [to my host families]. A big thing for me about traveling is learning my way around – mobility things. [Communicating with them] would have really helped with that,” says Kim. “[Besides] it’s a load off my shoulders [if they understand more] in that they don’t think I’m rude when I don’t wave back across the room or they aren’t confused by certain things that may happen along the way.”

Experiences overseas – even the hard ones, far from home and what you are used to - will give you opportunities to develop independence and confidence to ask for what is needed next time around.

It’s important to be give enough details in your discussion with the group leader or lead teacher about access needs. For this, you may want to include your parents, a disability advocate or teacher. It can be a balancing act, as Robin Sutherby, who has cerebral palsy, shares about her two week trip with her Spanish class to Mexico. “I would just advise people to be very clear on what their limitations are. If you know that you can do something and you want to participate, make it very clear to people that you are able and capable. But also understand that when we go on a trip like that,  it is the instructor’s responsibility to look out for all of us.”

While she had a wheelchair or hired a taxi when access barriers came up on the program, Robin and her mother hadn’t talked indepth with the teacher about the specific field trips. As it turned out when the group went to visit the pyramids, “They were afraid if I went up [the pyramids] I wouldn’t be able to come back down,” remembers Robin. “I sat with our tour guide and basically got a suntan while everyone else walked up the pyramids, so that was upsetting.” She feels that she missed out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “Looking back, I wish I would have been more forceful about it, but there really wasn’t anymore I could have done because their mind was made up already…It’s easier to be more prepared ahead of time than it is to speak up at the time and then not have the assistance there if you need it." _{Photo Caption: Before you know it, the experiences abroad will have changed you. It won't be any one thing that does it, but once you're back you'll approach things with a renewed confidence .}

Come into Your Own

If bumps in the road on your first trip teach you lessons about yourself and about the best way to prepare before going abroad, then you’ll be ready to try traveling abroad once again, as many individuals in this story did. Your experiences overseas – even the hard ones, far from home and what you are used to - will give you opportunities to develop independence and confidence to ask for what is needed next time around.

The ADA and Section 504 are clear in that a U.S. based program cannot deny your participation based on your disability. Don't downplay or trade away services that you might need, in order to get accepted.

“I currently use a cane but at that time I didn’t. I was less independent then,” says Eugene Aronsky, who is visually impaired and spent six weeks on an AFS USA program in Finland and later studied abroad as a college student in Italy. He found navigation easy because Finland’s traffic lights beeped, and the sidewalks and streets had relatively few people and cars. “I live in Pittsburgh and I find Finland more accessible,” says Eugene. “I left the U.S. being a lot more naïve and immature and came back being a lot more able to go out and do things on my own. I was always afraid of going out, getting run over by cars and not seeing things, but [with this trip and later exchanges] I gained a lot more independence as far as self-confidence overall.”

And what about Patrick who was left out in the cold on the visit to the Vatican? “I’m going to make sure that I will see the Pieta before my life’s [hourglass] drops its last grain of sand,” says Patrick who has recently traveled for nine months across the Asia-Pacific region. “Traveling has put many things into perspective that I never would have thought about had I not been given this kind of opportunity. I didn’t realize how big the world is. I feel so much closer to the world than I did when I didn’t travel.” _{Photo Caption: Patrick Roseburg discovered that spending a longer time abroad gave him more opportunity to absorb the cultures abroad.}