Influencing Youth to Explore Overseas Options

"My first international exchange was a music trip for three and half weeks in middle school. It was really fun. We went to Germany, Holland and Belgium and there were vocal representatives from all across North America,” says Betsy Valnes, a young adult from South Dakota who has a brain injury. She learned about the exchange when her parents let her enroll in a nearby Canadian international music camp. “You get to explore other lifestyles, education, music and culture. Once the intrigue started, I sought out the possibilities for having other international opportunities. I feel changed each time I travel somewhere internationally, and any career I do will have some type of international aspect to it.”

Because parents of youth 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 a young person’s pursuit of overseas programs. Parents, and teachers, have a significant role to play introducing a young person to study abroad options, providing application assistance, ensuring they receive necessary accommodations while abroad, and encouraging their readiness to go overseas.

Photo Caption: For some young people with disabilities, their curiosity to explore other cultures and see new places will give them new passions to pursue and more insight about themselves

“When Katherine was young we started 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.

Why They Went: Family Heritage, Language, Exploration

Sometimes a parent's or teacher’s suggestion is subtle, at other times purposeful and persistent. Whatever the approach, it's often the family, teachers and friends who give youth with disabilities the support they need to reach beyond their comfort zones and into the international experience of a lifetime.

"I did a study abroad cultural tour in the summer to Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway for three weeks, and it was a life changing trip," says Alison LePage, who has a learning disability. "My aunt was the group leader and is well respected in the world health field. She is the main reason I am who I am. She is a huge advocate for me. She is the one who has encouraged me to understand that just because I have a disability, I cannot limit myself."

Students with learning disabilities and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder benefit in their identity development when

Photo Caption: Alison LePage studied abroad, held an internship with an international visitors association in her home state, and obtained a federal job with an international focus following graduation.

participating on short-term study abroad programs, according to a 2005 research study conducted by Landmark College. These benefits include increases in: intellectual and social curiosity, academic and intercultural knowledge, time management, organizational skills, independence and self-confidence. The novelty and intensity of these short-term
study abroad programs provide the right elements to create these outcomes.

Family members can play a major role in how much exposure a young person with a disability has to intercultural opportunities at an early age.

 

Kristin Faudree, who also has a learning disability and studied abroad on several short-term programs in high school to learn Spanish, recalls, “My father had traveled the world and never took the time to become fluent in another language. It was something he wished he had done, and it’s something he really wanted for [my brothers and me].”

Family members can play a major role in how much exposure a person with a disability has to intercultural opportunities at an early age. “It was a rite of passage in the family that each one of us went to Israel sometime during high school," says Rachel Berkston, who is deaf and did an art exchange to Israel. "My parents were very supportive of that, even though it was also my first time going overseas.”  Matthew Clark, a wheelchair user, similarly notes that his parents' international experience played a role in his interest to go abroad as early as middle school. "The idea of taking in as much of the world as I can and traveling has always been very appealing. My parents have been all over the world, and even met in France while doing a semester study abroad program,” says Clark.

For another student who has a vision impairment, the seed was also planted as a result of her own family's heritage. “A big portion of my family is from Honduras in Latin America. I had taken Spanish for so long and been in a Spanish-speaking environment living in Texas, that it just pushed me to really want to go abroad.  I love learning about other cultures and visiting different places. I thought, “Why not?” I had an opportunity to go places (thanks to scholarships available) so I went to Spain.”

 Photo Caption: Some U.S. students who are first or second generation Americans will want to explore the countries related to their heritage, while others will have interests unrelated to parents or grandparents homelands.

Distributing information not only about international exchange opportunities, but also about available scholarships,

often happens through the school system. International youth exchange organizations send information directly to postsecondary schools to recruit future exchange students. For example, Council on Standards for International Educational Travel sends free copies of its Advisory Guide listing youth exchange opportunities to every U.S. school's guidance counselor. Sometimes, representatives from organizations such as AFS Intercultural Programs or Youth for Understanding do a classroom presentation in person, which is how Eugene Aronosky, a U.S. student with a visual impairment, and Natalie Nussbaum, a German student with a prosthetic arm, learned about their exchange programs. Both of these organizations have a long standing commitment to disability inclusion in their programs.

People with disabilities participating on international exchange programs usually learned about the opportunities from teachers or past participants.

Teachers need to be tuned into the arrival of such booklets, posters or flyers to their schools and to encourage youth with disabilities to explore the possibilities and apply for the programs. Students with disabilities need an adult to plant the idea and paint a picture that includes a person with a disability going abroad just as other students without disabilities do.

“My German teacher just put [information about the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange scholarship] on my desk and it looked really interesting," says Rebekah Elsen, a U.S. student who has cerebral palsy and went to Germany. "My parents were totally supportive and very happy that I wanted to go. I wrote a few essays to get this scholarship – that was cool because we didn’t really have to pay anything except for my daily allowance.”

Examples of scholarships available for young international students to travel to the United States include Rotary Youth Exchange for students worldwide, the Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX) for students from Eurasia and the Youth Exchange and Study Program (YES) for students from predominantly Muslim countries. People with disabilities participating on these programs usually found out about the opportunities from teachers or past participants. For example, Alina, a Swiss exchange student who has a prosthetic leg due to cancer, heard about her program through friends who knew a past Rotary exchange participant. Kawthar Taleb from Lebanon, who has a vision impairment and participated in the U.S. Department of State-sponsored YES program as a high school student, says she was encouraged to do it after being given the application by her teacher and principal.

Photo Caption: FLEX, YES and Rotary scholarship exchange programs are open to and seeking more students with disabilities to participate; some FLEX students with disabilities are shown here upon arrival

When international students with disabilities meet other youth with disabilities in the host communities, this can also have an influential affect on their interest in going abroad. “When an exchange student in the United States from Malaysia moved here, she went to a Deaf school in Massachusetts. She was the first international student we had ever had. She’s Muslim, so she wore her headscarf everyday. All the students were extremely curious, and had a lot of questions for her. They wanted to know a lot about her home in Malaysia," says Cheryl Johnston, who was her host mother. "I think it motivated the U.S. Deaf students to become interested in going to other countries."

Jodie Moore, who is a parent and host family placement coordinator with a U.S. youth exchange organization, agrees. “I have a son with cerebral palsy who’s eight years old and he’ll say to me he can't do something with the other kids because he has a disability. Then I read the application letter that [the German exchange student] wrote and I thought, ‘Wow! She really shows that just because you have a disability doesn’t mean you can’t do something.’ Even though she was born without a right arm she swims, plays tennis, is active and does not let it get her down. It’s a big step for her to leave home and go where people may not understand her disability. She’s very determined, and when she walks into a room she just lights it up with her smile. I’m ecstatic that she’s a part of our lives. I see her as a role model for my son.”

When international students with disabilities meet other youth with disabilities in their host communities, this can also have an influential affect on their interest in going abroad.

The same positive influence happens when U.S. youth with disabilities go abroad, as did seventeen year-old Megan, who uses a power wheelchair and volunteered in Costa Rica and Peru for a couple months: "I [was] volunteering at a special education school. Parents were quite shocked that I was there alone and that I was going to go to college (usually the children are kept at home for the parents’ lifespan and then institutionalized). Even the physically disabled [students] are separated from the ‘normal’ kids. I [went] to counseling with the parents to speak about the possibilities of programs that could allow the kids to live independently.”

Words from the Wise

 “All of us want to ensure that youth grow up to be confident young people with the best possible chance of getting a job or continuing their education," explains Marshall Peters, Director of Direction Services, and Susan Sygall, CEO of Mobility International USA, in a letter to parents of children with disabilities. "Traveling to another country to volunteer, learn a new language or study is a powerful way to further these goals. Non-disabled youth are taking advantage of these opportunities. Why aren’t youth with disabilities? Most parents and young people with disabilities are not aware that these opportunities exist, even with their life-changing potential.” (Read success stories in the blue box at the end of this article to learn about opportunities and benefits of international experiences.)

"Parent should be encouraged to help their child, if that is an interest that their child has expressed, to travel internationally or participate on an international exchange program," says Jill Crawford, a wheelchair user who worked as a director of a parent training center in Oregon and is a parent of a child with a disability. "Parent training centers are really important in getting the information out to parents of children with disabilities because parents don’t expect international exchange could be part of their child’s education. A lot of times parents want their children to be involved in various activities just like non-disabled children, but they don’t assume that their children can be part of a Rotary Exchange or study abroad program.”

Photo Caption: It's never to early too start introducing your children to the global community in which they will work when they are grown.

Coaches, mentors, paraprofessionals or others active in youth with disabilities' lives, who have traveled the world (or always wanted to), can share their own international experiences and dreams with youth with disabilities. If you know the value of these international exchange experiences, then consider doing a workshop on the benefits of international exchanges at the next disability or teacher conference you attend or talk with other parents of children with disabilities about it when you're together at meetings or school activities.

"As a teacher, coach, exchange leader and Paralympic athlete, I take the opportunity to present about my experiences working with youth with disabilities through sports and recreational settings and international exchange programs," says Susie Grimes, former wheelchair basketball champion. "I speak about the importance of opportunities for young people with disabilities to participate in international exchange programs that develop leadership skills such as problem solving, team building, self confidence, goal setting, cultural awareness and language development, and how those early experiences transfer to increased self esteem and employability as adults.”

Students with disabilities who have been abroad also have stories to share with their peers. "It's great to see all the students come back to campus at the same time [from the overseas programs] with all their stories," says Amy Pasterczyk, Foreign Language Chair at Purnell school for girls with learning disabilities in New Jersey, which offers winter break trips for students to go to France, Spain and Ecuador. "The overseas trips have always been a part of the school and they used to make it mandatory for graduation. Three years ago we decided not to make it mandatory and to also open it up to juniors – we didn’t know what would happen when we no longer required it, but it’s still going really strong."

While sharing and promoting of the experience happens informally, youth returning from abroad should also be encouraged to make presentations in classrooms, youth leadership conferences, or summer camps. For example, Ingrid Ioan, who has a mobility disability and is from Romania, and Sara Bianco, who is deaf and from the United States, have presented at youth transition conferences, high school classrooms and summer camps in their home countries and while abroad. Writing articles, being interviewed for local newspapers or becoming a mentor expands their international experience and shares with other young people with disabilities in the community how they, too, can participate in these programs.

Photo Caption: Exchange presentations not only are helpful to other youth with disabilities to learn about their options, but the student presenters also gain public speaking skills and a chance to reflect on what they have gained abroad.

“I’ve helped a few people with disabilities decide to study abroad  – I have a knack for teaching other people to get

over barriers and do certain things. It’s been very good," says Kim Borowitz, who has a vision impairment and did two high school programs abroad in Europe and the Caribbean. "I didn’t realize when I started doing [mentoring] that other people would have apprehensions that were so profound that they wouldn’t go. I just really like helping other people attain goals.”

Coaches, mentors, paraprofessionals or others active in youth with disabilities' lives, who have traveled the world (or always wanted to), can share their own international experiences and dreams with youth with disabilities.

What resources can be used to become more up-to-date on international exchange programs in general?

• Read Survival Strategies for Going Abroad: A Guide for People with Disabilities that takes the reader through each step of the process and strategies for traveling abroad.
• Review the websites of several youth exchange organizations, which often have sections to answer parents or teachers questions directly; some websites may also have a section that talks specifically about disability policy and accessibility.
• Walk through the "Getting Started" sections of this and the other A World Awaits You online issues for youth with disabilities.

"I can understand that parents might worry about their children, but they need to realize that they can't keep them from doing what they want to do or something that may benefit them in the long run," says Patrick Roseburg, who is deaf and whose parents neither encouraged nor discouraged his interest in a high school summer exchange. "In no way can we predict what will happen or what will come out of it – I think that to go on an international exchange is nothing but an experience of lifetime! Sometimes it takes alumni like me, or people who believe in this kind of experience, to assist in making [youth with disabilities'] dreams come true."