Accessibility Abroad: How to Accommodate and Adapt When All Goes Wrong

Learning Objectives:

• Illustrate what a study abroad student with a disability must account for when completing everyday activities that occur while abroad, highlighting the barriers students with disabilities must consider before applying to study abroad. These include attending accommodated classes, locating and using an accessible bathroom, coordinating the logistics of personal care assistance while abroad, etc.
• Demonstrate the importance of consulting disabled travelers to show that representation and lived experience are essential for creating effective policy and infrastructure to support students. Affirm that accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are a baseline, and often not enough to fully prepare a student for staying away from home for an extended period.
• Explore existing resources, policies, and best practices for working with disabled study abroad students. Apply resources, policies and best practices to the circumstances presented in order to determine their efficacy and applicability to attendees' student population and institution. Test the usefulness 1 - 2 study abroad provider's accessibility policies and practices against the lived experiences of disabled study abroad students.