What would you tell a
US
student with disabilities that wanted to study in
Spain
?
I will tell him to come over, but please give us all the information before you come. For me one of the most important of aspects of students with disabilities, get all the info to ISA to make preparations for all of your needs and all of your expectations.
How can a
US
university help you prepare for their students?
Every student is different. Sometimes universities have their own information that can be useful to us, and it is helpful to share this information. We work together, and it is very important to get expectations and needs of students from the home university.
Do you have any examples of ISA dealing with students with disabilities?
One instance was our issues in
Salamanca
, which the city is not prepared for students with disabilities. That was tough; we had a student in a wheelchair. It is a medieval city and its buildings and activities are not prepared for people with disabilities. Everything was prepared for him but one main aspect that it is very important to prepare students, not in terms that they can’t make it, but that the facilities are very different than in the
United States
. You are passing from a campus, which is usually quite modern in the
United States
, to a city, which are very old here, and that is not always easy. I would also say that the information for us for pre-departure is very important, but it is also important to prepare the student because some situations are frustrating, and you don’t have to feel guilty for that, and students just are not ready for the different structure than in the States.
The other one was in Sevilla; we had a student with a kind of autism so that was very difficult because we did not have all the information we needed before. We had to go forward step by step once he was here. The university was a helping us a lot. The student with the autism was on a six week program and we had to work very hard with the family lodging the student asking for extra efforts and had somebody take care of him at all times to make sure he didn’t get lost. It was a very positive effort, very demanding but very satisfactory also.
Outside of the two cities mentioned above, how are other cities prepared for students with disabilities?
Barcelona
is more modern and more prepared, as terms of facilities and modernity. It is also a bigger city, and sometimes with a city like that, it is more difficult to maneuver because of the size but they are more likely to have updated facilities. At the same time, all cities have the problem of historical reasons, being that they were planned 500 years ago without disabilities in mind. For example, the
University
of
Salamanca
is 700 years old, and even if they tried to prepare for students, the result may not be something we like.
You can see a difference in
Barcelona
since the Olympics; they have changed a lot. They are much more prepared for the new age. The games gave a big change in terms of economy, infrastructures, as well as the kinds of people living in the city. The Olympic Games changed the city completely; everything was remodeled and renewed with handicapped citizens in mind.
Do you have any advice for students and universities?
Feel free to come. It is much easier than you think. It won’t be perfect, but of course you will be able to have a successful experience abroad.
