Welcoming and Effectively Including International Students with Disabilities in Your Institution

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AHEAD International Conference in St. Paul

• Welcoming and Effectively Including International
  Students with Disabilities in Your Institution
• Thursday, July 16, 2015

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Presenters

• Sue Jin Hee Lindgren
• University of Minnesota
• (lind0526_at_umn.edu)
• Michele Scheib
• Mobility International USA
• (mscheib_at_miusa.org)

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Who is on U.S. Campuses?
First-Year International Students Percent who
report Disabilities 2010 5 2014 4abled 4

35 Learning 20 Sensory 14 Multiple 12
Other 10 Mental 6 Mobility
Types of Disabilities

National Survey on Student Engagement 2014
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Why Come to the U.S.?
Samson, who is Deaf, dreams of being a civil
engineer.
Although communicating with new people is a big
challenge, I noticed that disabled people are
treated better and more respected in the U.S.
than in my home country of Rwanda. American
schools do their best to accommodate disabled
students.
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The U.S. is Better for Careers

• International students who use disability
  services rank U.S. career services work
  experience
• 10 higher than non-disabled international
  students in the U.S.
• 6-10 higher than international disabled students
  going to other countries instead of U.S.
• From i-graduates International Student Barometer
  2010, a globally benchmarked study of
  international students.

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VIDEO Lucas, Brazil to University of MN
www.youtube.com/watch?vQ3D8E_RULJk See also
another short video of Lucas at
www.youtube.com/watch?vR_ljKThF3tE
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Does your campus have an international students
office?

• If not, where are these resources located?
• What is the scope staffing?
• Consider visiting and making connections

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Disability International Offices

• Checks documentation and determines eligibility
• Resists these are your students attitude from
  other university offices
• Alternates between
• Supporting students
• Advising faculty and staff
• Advocating for more funding and inclusive
  environments

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What You Should Know

• International students are covered by U.S. laws
• They may not have the same training or equipment
  as Americans with disabilities
• Some disability funds for equipment or training
  are only for U.S. citizens
• Retention of international students is a growing
  focus

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Using Disability Services
Cultural Differences

• May be more comfortable to seek help from
  family/friends than strangers
• Pride/shame issues In their home country
  expected to do without assistance
• Some students do not believe they qualify for
  assistance since not U.S. citizens or visa needs

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Filling in Informational Gaps

• Mention disability services when your campus is
  recruiting abroad
• Send disability staff to international student
  orientation workshops
• Collaborate on welcome materials
• Evaluate web resources intake forms together
• Connect international U.S. disabled peers

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Filling in the Funding Gaps

• Advocate for insurance that covers pre-existing
  conditions
• Locate assistive technology equipment donations
• Tap disability community organizations for
  training on independent living,
  advocacy, diagnostics,
  coaching,
  service dogs,
  transportation, etc.

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Welcoming International Students with Disabilities
Next activity How are you addressing differences
in preparedness and accommodations?
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Mobility Training

• Used to sighted guides
• Little or insufficient mobility training
• Wants to get a dog guide or one they have is not
  trained as expected
• Never been in snow
• English barriers
• No funds for training

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Assistive Technology

• Technology/braille compatibility issues
• Funds for better (or any) technology
• If technology is available, who will train them?
• English as barrier
• Getting up to speed while doing courses

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Personal Assistance

• May not need if more access tools in U.S.
• Costs to bring someone or funds to hire
• Visa issues for parents or siblings
• How to hire someone

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Communication Support

• Using Certified Deaf Interpreters
• Utilizing services if used to none
• Tapping into Deaf community to learn
• Isolation and homesickness

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Social Counseling Support

• Reduced course loads
• Insurance coverage
• Cultural differences in mental health
• Academic differences
• Confidentiality
• Diagnosis

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Visit us at www.miusa.org
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Questions?