Intrigued by these early international experiences, I was eager to explore the world more, but how was that going to work for me as someone who had been blind since I was very young? I was not going to be able to point and gesture the way my relatives could. That galvanized me to study Spanish which led to the discovery of my aptitude for languages.

I studied abroad, without my parents, for a year in Santiago Chile. I backpacked solo around the Southern Cone, noting phone numbers and addresses in a braille notebook bought from an arts and crafts store. I recruited sighted people to read class and

archival materials to me, promising English lessons to the Chileans, and Spanish support to the Americans, in return for their help. I wrote my history thesis on a topic that had never been explored before, and I made friends that I continue to speak with today.

All of this happened because of my early childhood experiences traveling internationally with my parents or with the support of my parents.

SEEK OUT PURPOSEFUL INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL WITH YOUR KIDS

There are many programs that offer youth the opportunity to study or volunteer abroad. Websites like gooverseas.com or goabroad.com highlight a variety of options across the globe.

Some young people with disabilities are ready and eager to join a program on their own. Sara Giraldo, a visually impaired woman from Colombia, traveled to the United States as a volunteer with the Youth Ambassadors Program, at the age of 18. She had been enamored with American culture, ever since she was a 14 year-old, studying English at a local community center. She learned about the Youth Ambassadors Program, submitted her application, and was accepted, with her parents only finding out after. Her mother, Isabel, mostly worried about whether her daughter was adequately prepared at such a young age, to go abroad on her own, but after participating in program orientations for parents and learning about the emergency response plans in place, she felt better about it. 

Others may benefit from being accompanied by a friend or a family member, especially if they are minors who have had limited experience living on their own. Sara Hamilton went with her 14-year-old daughter Jane, to Poland, to teach English to children with a program called Global Volunteers.

One aspect that influenced their decision to go with Global Volunteers had to do with Jane's sensitivity to sensory input, like cer

tain noises and foods, and the occasional need to decompress, resulting from her neurological challenges due to Tourette, Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder. The Global Volunteers staff was very professional and gracious, allowing them flexibility when Jane needed to step out. The program staff made sure plain, familiar food such as, bread and butter were available in addition to many unfamiliar foods.

In addition to being a meaningful bonding experience for mother and daughter, and an excellent opportunity to build teaching skills, while working with enthusiastic communities of children, they were able to prepare Jane to leave her parents behind, to study abroad with Youth for Understanding, in Japan the following summer.

As Sara explained, "it was extremely rewarding to be able to create authentic human connections with all of the children, the staff, and the other volunteers, and feel like we were spending time doing something that would make a difference in so many people's lives."

SUPPORT YOUR CHILDREN TO STUDY ABROAD

The US State Department recognizes the value of international exchange for youth, and offers a variety of opportunities, many of which come with funding. High School students can study a critical language with the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y). Others can go to high school in another country. The Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) Program offers funded opportunities to go to high school in Eastern Europe, for a year, while the Youth Exchange and Study Abroad (YES) Program offers similar opportunities in Africa and the Middle East. For a Western/European experience, the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) offers the chance to spend a year at a high school in Germany. All of these programs include generous funding, and the only language prerequisite is a desire to learn the language.