 Good morning and good evening to our viewers from around the world. My name is Alfred Boll and I represent EducationUSA and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. Today is the United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities. In honor of this day, our Facebook Live will discuss how U.S. colleges and universities support students with disabilities. Our goal is to provide international students with disabilities the information they need to find the right U.S. college or university in the United States. There are 550 EducationUSA advisors at 435 centers in 180 countries and territories around the world, offering free advising services to help you. If you have questions, please post them at any time during the program in the comment section below and we will do our best to answer them. I am excited to introduce our speakers who collectively have a lot to share with you. Joining us virtually is Tilly Griffiths. Tilly is an international student from the United Kingdom and is currently a freshman at Stanford University in California. Tilly was born with a rare neuromuscular condition called spinal muscular atrophy. She uses a wheelchair to get around and needs help for most physical tasks but that has not stopped her from pursuing her dreams of studying here in the U.S. Thank you for joining us live from Stanford's campus in California, Tilly. In studio, welcome. In studio, Dr. Anna Palacane is originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil and came to the United States in 2001 as an international student. She completed her PhD in education at the University of Virginia and works at the University of Maryland, leading the campus IT accessibility initiative and the university's president's commission on disability issues. Also in our Washington studio is Anne Cody, who is a special advisor working on international disability rights in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor here at the U.S. Department of State. A three-time Paralympian, Anne brings her winning integrity to champion the department's efforts to combat discrimination and abuse against persons with disabilities. Welcome, Anne and welcome, Anna. Thank you. I want to start our discussion by talking about what systems are in place in the United States when it comes to disability rights and higher education. Anne, what should students who may have disabilities and are contemplating study in the United States know prior to coming here? Thank you. I'm so thrilled to be here with you, Fred. Perspective college students with disabilities coming to the U.S. will find that many U.S. campuses are equipped with facilities, offices and services to address accessibility and accommodations for a diverse range of needs. At the same time, students are ultimately responsible for requesting and designing the accommodations they will need to succeed. Student disability services and disability coordinators at many colleges work to make campuses inclusive environments through specialized advocacy, support and academic services. And approximately 11% of college students in the U.S. have disabilities. I just want to mention this morning as I'm going to talk about some U.S. laws and how they inform college campuses. I am not trained as a lawyer and I cannot provide legal assistance or advice on particular situations. However, I can provide some general information on the laws in the United States prohibiting discrimination in higher education. That's great. Thank you, Anne. Yeah, it is important to point out that we're not giving any kind of legal advice, but this is general perspectives and approaches and letting students know about the systems that exist here. Correct. That's fantastic. Thank you so much. Thank you. So it's reassuring to know that college students with disabilities coming to the U.S. will find campuses that are well equipped with a wide range of support. Can you tell us a little bit about some of the actual rules prohibiting discrimination in higher education in relation to disabilities? Sure, I would be happy to. There are two laws in particular that address higher education. One is the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Title II of the ADA, as it's referred to, covers state-funded schools such as universities, community colleges, and vocational schools. And Title III of the ADA covers private colleges and vocational schools. And the second act is the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, specifically Section 504 of the Act, where schools receiving federal dollars, regardless of whether it is a private or public institution, is also covered by the regulations of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, requiring schools to make their programs accessible to qualified students with disabilities. Another act that I want to talk about very briefly is the Air Carrier Access Act, because we know the majority of our students with international students and many students who are traveling out of state are going to fly on a U.S. carrier or perhaps an international carrier coming into the U.S. The Air Carrier Access Act prohibits discrimination in air transportation by domestic and foreign carriers. Contact for questions pertaining to the air transportation information. You can call the Department of Transportation Aviation Consumer Protection Division for questions about air travel. Also, the website, www.transportation.gov, can give you more information on access to air travel. That's great. Thank you so much. It's good to know that there are those rules and systems that are in place and students can investigate on their own if they're interested in specific details. But the information that, in fact, there are systems that persons with disabilities are incorporated into the basics of what access people need is very important. Thank you very much. So this is great information and a lot to absorb. I'm sure there are other websites that students can go to if they want to learn more. Yes, absolutely. U.S. laws that have the most impact on higher education, as I mentioned, the Rehabilitation Act of 1993 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, have websites. And one of the best websites that has the U.S. disability laws is www.ada.gov.cguide.pdf. This guide provides general information on all of the acts in the U.S. that address discrimination against persons with disabilities, such as telecommunications, fair housing, air carriers, voting. Lots and lots. Yeah, all kinds of information on anti-discrimination in education and architectural barriers and all of those things. Okay, that's incredible. Great resource for the students. Thank you. And we will post those. We will be able to post that information. Okay, with so much information out there, how do international students with disabilities choose the right program and university for each individual? Anna, can I start with you there? As a leader on accessibility issues on your campus at the University of Maryland, what's your perspective on this? Great, so I'm glad to give you some perspective and some points to look at through this. So, students with disabilities, they don't need to do anything different in order to apply or get accepted in the United States. And there's no restrictions on type of college and program that students can apply. So, they can really choose any program as any other student. And the admissions process is really the same for all students. So, we definitely encourage all students with disabilities to also look at the education USA state.gov website with all the steps that are really needed to apply to come to the U.S. The, I'm going to be highlighting some of those aspects today that I think is more important, especially when choosing a specific university. And the first step is really to research your options and identify what best fits your needs and your interests. And part of the process is going to be really to learn more about all the disability services available in different campuses. And also, what are the different schools and programs, you know, often in terms of accessibility. So, some of, you know, aspects to consider for a lot of students might be programs, the type of program, the cost, the size of a university, and the type of, again, the transportation services offered, the housing availability. So, there's a lot of aspects to consider. But I want to highlight that one, you are applying to American University. One of the questions that you often get is that disclosing the disability at the application process. So, if students are not required to disclose the disabilities, actually against the law to, for a university or campus, to disclose, to ask for a student to disclose their disability as part of the application forms, or any of the admission procedures, including any, you know, of the interviews. And it's really a choice for the students, if they want to disclose their disabilities. Because this ability sometimes is so part of students' identities, sometimes they might want to disclose that as part of their personal statement, or essay, as part of the application. But again, that's a personal choice and it's not a requirement. And other instances that students might want to disclose their disability is when they are applying for a university or scholarship, where they know that they are looking for diverse applicants, or they know that there is a scholarship that specifically seeking students with disabilities. So, disclosing the disability is really going to bring them to an advantage. And one time when the students are going to actually be needing to disclose their disabilities is when they are requesting a specific accommodation or a service. So, I definitely recommend that students have their documentation ready when they start the application process. And that can be a letter from a medical provider or a psychiatrist explaining the condition and what kinds of accommodations they need. Because students can start requesting accommodations when they are already completing their English proficiency tests and some of the admissions requirements tests, such as the TOEFL, the SATs, the ACTs, the GREs, whatever is required. And some of the testing accommodations for those standardized tests might be more time for a test, more breaks for a test, or even the ability to use technology or require an alternative format for testing. Another aspect that is important for all of you to know regarding application is that you have the right to have an accessible application. So, if the application materials and online platforms are not accessible, you should tell your admissions counselor and describe what do you need. So, for example, if a student who uses a screen reader, if that software cannot read an application form, they should request an access for an alternative format such as braille or large print. And because there are so many different systems in U.S. universities and there is difference in accommodations, and also there is such a difference in the different educational systems abroad, students often ask us what are the most common types of accommodations. And one of the most common types of accommodations that students receive in the U.S. is extra time for tests and exams. So, there are different types of accommodations for that, including acquired space or using technology doing tests. Another common type of accommodation is a really accessible format for printed materials, such as books or even any of the online based materials that faculty, user and courses, students may request that in an alternative format, depending on what their needs are. Also, interpreting, captioning, real-life translation is also available. And a lot of schools also provide adaptive technology and software such as screen readers, magnifiers, text-to-speech software or speech-to-text software, so there's a lot of different technologies available. Also, accommodation that is very common is early registration, and that really supports students early in the registration process to schedule their courses in a way that really best fits their needs. So, if you can decide what courses you want to take, if you want to have break-in between classes, or if you want to take courses in a specific time of the day, that really allows students to plan their schedule better and make it more workable. And there's also many non-academic accommodations, like housing accommodations such as hams, accessible bathrooms, and also transportation accommodations as well as having an animal on campus. So, those are some examples. Do all schools have the same accommodations? No, actually, that's something that I definitely recommend students to contact. These ability support services or these ability resources, and the universities they want to apply, because the college and universities have very distinct services, and it's different. It varies from university to university. There are a lot of different universities that have different services. It's not exactly the same, you know, there's such a variety of schools. And I'll just mention too, when you look at the legal requirements, so the federal laws are the minimum standards that the schools are required to meet, and some states and cities and local authorities even have stricter requirements in terms of some of the ADA codes and things. That's fantastic. And then the campuses also have an interest in being a more friendly university for students with disabilities, so it really depends. Yeah, and one of the things that you mentioned earlier, I think is important to state again, is that as part of the culture of American universities, the students are actually required to be in charge of their education. So if students with disabilities who need them, once they admit it, they're going to need to contact their disability support service and be part of the process to request accommodations, negotiate accommodations, and plan, you know, for implementation of those accommodations. So if I'm hearing you both correctly, well it's completely up to the student as part of the application process. Whether he or she says, I'm going to talk about my disability or not, it sometimes can be a very good idea in the sense of researching your options and understanding what accommodations specific universities have above and beyond any minimum standards that they have to offer, right? And that clearly in the U.S., all of them see this as important, but they can differ just in what they have. And then beyond that, students have to, you know, take responsibility themselves for making sure that they engage the campus on what their needs are. Correct, and the process negotiation is extremely important, and actually because the students sometimes are not going to know because they come from their countries with not the same accommodation they can actually receive in the U.S. So I encourage students to actually look at the pros and cons of different universities and discuss that with their Education USA advisor. Do you want to talk a little bit about, because you use Education USA, are our resources for students with disabilities are something that we're proud of and that we want to make sure that, you know, are out there for students and for universities and for anyone thinking about what are best practices for, you know, institutions in making sure that we include persons with disabilities? Yeah, and definitely I think that all over the world, Education USA advisors can support, you know, students with disabilities on the application process and really to look at all those options, you know, and understanding because it's really unique the way how accommodations, and it's not because, you know, I specifically believe some people can get so many different accommodations because it's really need-based, it's an individualized process. So when you speak, you know, let's say, when you speak with your Education USA advisor in your country, you know, you'll be able to share more about what your needs are and they can support you to really look at the pros and cons. That's great. So also I want to mention that Mobility International USA has excellent information, articles, and great videos featuring international students with disabilities that came to the U.S. And their website is miusa.org and I encourage you to look at the YouTube videos, their Facebook page because they have excellent, you know, resources for students with disabilities planning to come to the U.S. as well. Thank you so much, Ana, for so much and for so much, you know, useful and informative information. Tilly, I'd like to turn to you now. I know that as an international student studying in the United States, you have an inspiring story to share with our viewers. Could you talk a little bit about your journey to Stanford and why you chose to study in the United States? Going back a couple of years now, I think I was about 12 when I decided that I really wanted to come to the U.S. to study and whether it was high school musical or just this overwhelming sense that U.S. campuses were such welcoming and inclusive places, but I decided that that was what I was going to do and that gave me a real drive and a goal to focus on throughout my high school studies. And to be absolutely honest, in the beginning people would laugh in my face because for one thing, coming to the U.S. to study is not something that is done from where I'm from in Central England and that added a complication of having a severe physical disability. They just thought it was the most ridiculous idea they'd ever heard. But that kind of pushed me a bit more to prove that I was going to make this happen. So I worked hard through my exams, achieved a teeth well. I was very thankful for that. And I was then accepted onto the Sutton Trust U.S. program, which is a program in the U.K. that is run in partnership with the Fulbright Commission and I believe they've worked... This was a real... I see this program as accused of unlocking this whole world of U.S. college admissions. Suddenly there was other people that shared this dream with me and there was people that I could go to with questions about admissions. But the interesting thing was that I believe I was one of the first students to join the program who has disability. And so navigating the process from this perspective was a learning experience for us all. I had the chance to come over to U.S. as part of the program and spend a week at Yale University and tour the campuses on the East Coast. And that really gave me the opportunity to firsthand what U.S. campuses had to offer in terms of accessibility. And the overwhelming sense that I got was that I couldn't really do wrong. Obviously it varies from campus to campus but they were all incredible places and really incredible people who were willing to do the extra mile to make sure that I could be part of their community. But after that, that was an incredible experience. I came home at the ACT accommodations, as you mentioned earlier. And Stamford was, it was always my dream to come to California. In my heart of hearts, this is where I wanted to be. Maybe because snow and my electric chair really don't mix too well. And so the sunshine is very nice. But I never allowed myself to dream that it would ever be Stamford. Big ambitions. This seemed just like one step too far out of my reach. But down the Sutton Trust, they came through and they said, why don't you give it a go? And so I submitted my restrictive early application application to Stamford University. And I did choose to disclose my disability within my essay. I was like, so I feel this is a huge part of who I am. And yeah, around almost exactly the area today, I received my acceptance letter, which was just a huge, huge achievement for me, obviously. But also a testament to the amount of support that I received from family, friends, my household, and all the people that believed in me and my dream. Tilly, your story is really impressive and inspiring to us all. I wonder if you can go into some of the details about practical issues. How did you secure housing and find a place to live? Have you been able to take part in extracurricular activities? And have you gotten the right support? What about the international travel? Was that difficult? And do you have tips for any of our viewers? Sure. So just to begin, I'm just nearing the end of my first quarter at Stamford. And it has been the most incredible few months. It really has been life-changing already. You've combined classes, incredible peers, and the craziest, most wonderful campus events. So it has been amazing. But of course, the world challenges on the road to just in here. And I think a big question for me for a long time was how I was going to receive support for personal care, as this is something that I require 24-7. And so this is just my personal experience. Coming from the UK, I worked with the authorities in the UK to receive funding for my personal assistance. And it was a very long time, but I was approved to have my care funded. So I have support for personal assistance 24-7 while I'm here at Stamford. But obviously, this will vary from country to country. And student to student. My front end comes from the UK. But my only advice is to get the ball rolling as soon as possible. Start asking questions. Start letting people know what your plans are and finding solutions. And then they're on to housing that was really exciting for me. I couldn't wait to live in dorm. This was a real priority that I was able to live within a dorm and not in some separate accommodation because of my disability. And so I worked with the Office of Accessible Education here at Stamford. And they were super helpful. Really early on, I let them know what my needs were. And nothing was ever a problem. And transitise whatever I asked for. They'd done it before for a previous student. So nothing was a big deal to them. I have an amazing setup. I'm here in my room now. I have a private room for myself and my personal assistant. But within a dorm. So I live among my peers and it's really exciting. Academic accommodations, pretty similar. Being an international student doesn't really factor by this point because I'm not a Stamford student and that's all that matters. I'm entitled to the same thing. It's my fellow students with disabilities here. So I just went through the same process that we discussed. And it sounds like we have a lot of tough exams and extra time. So really simple. But again, just meeting your student early and all will be well, I believe. And then one thing about international travel. This can be quite daunting for a lot of people with disabilities. Particularly if you have an electric wheelchair like I do, for example. It can seem like quite a tricky challenge. But you do have to plan ahead. You might have to bring a lot of extra luggage. The rest of the people. But I find it really exciting. And you just have to plan ahead. The airlines I found in my experience are amazing. As long as they're what you're entitled to, they will support you. And this should not detail you from looking into your study because it already for me has been a life-changing experience. That's fantastic. Thank you so much. That's really inspiring. Thank you, Tilly. I think it's now a good time for us to move to some of our online questions. Remember to our viewers, if you have a question you want to ask Tilly, Anne or Anna, just write in the comment section below. Please tell us your name and where you're watching from. Okay, our first question. Marco from Brazil would like to know about services for students with ADHD and dyslexia. What sorts of accommodations can they request from colleges and universities? Anna, do you want to start with that? I think it's a great thing for people when they go to the university to write, actually, just the diagnosis by itself. It's not exact what people are going to use to determine accommodation. But students who have dyslexia or learning disabilities, they might receive as an accommodation extra time, for example. They might also use and take advantage of software that do a tax to speech. So those are some of the two examples that I can give for someone that has dyslexia. Also, no taking might be a common accommodation for some students with that type of disability. But again, I just want to say that, again, it's going to be part of the negotiation with the student with that. So the students need to talk about what their needs are, right? It's a needs-focused. It's not about a diagnosis. It's saying, what are my needs? And then to approach the university about that and link it to things that will help address those needs. Yeah, correct. And as I mentioned before, in Mobility International USA, they actually have some specific articles on the database that actually talk specifically about accommodations for a specific disability. And those will be the most common ones. Okay, excellent. Thank you very much. Omar from Jordan is asking if there are grants or scholarships available for international students with disabilities. Anna, can I start with you again? I think that different colleges, they might have specific scholarship for students with disabilities. So once you have identified your colleges, you should definitely specifically ask them if they offer anything, any specific grants or specific scholarship for students with disabilities. And that really varies. Ann, you want to add? I'm not familiar with specific opportunities. I was going to also add that given Tilly's situation, talking to their own government to see if there are opportunities there. There are also sports opportunities for students with disabilities. I was going to say you were a Paralympian. Yes, I'm a Paralympian. I started my Parasport Development while I was at the University of Illinois as an undergraduate student. I benefited from the same Disabled Student Services office as we've been talking about here many years before the Americans with Disabilities Act. We had a history of accommodating students with disabilities on some of our college campuses and sport was very much a part of that, sport and recreation. So in some instances, if you're coming over as a student athlete, there may be grant opportunities there as well. You just have to check with your own countries, sports authorities, as well as the college that you're looking at. And I assume it goes beyond sports that students should be thinking about all kinds of things they're interested in. So extracurricular activities, what's there that students shouldn't think a person with disability faces barriers to say, well, what accommodations are there and what are people thinking of and if they haven't thought about it, can I negotiate about that? Anna, is that a reality? Yeah, I would say yes. I agree with that. Another point on scholarships is that a lot of universities might have, they might want to increase their diverse student population. So remembering that diversity is also part, disability is also part of diversity and that students should also seek that. If scholarship doesn't say specifically disability, I think that that's another opportunity to do that. Thank you very much. So a viewer writes, I'm deaf and rely on sign language to communicate. Do colleges and universities provide sign language interpreters? Yeah, sign language is something that is interesting. Why? Because sign languages, there are different languages around the world. So one thing that is important is that for the deaf communities that they actually have to be proficient in English. In English and American Sign Language. Not American Sign Language, but there is different ways to provide speech to text so students can get the information. So there is several services that universities use like transcribing, type well as an example of those. Some universities have a program for real-time translation that they call CART that some universities offered for deaf students, not only international students, deaf students who are international as well. But students who are definitely entitled to translation or interpretation and captioning definitely is another one that once you have, you can provide the captioning and transcripts as well for videos. That's fantastic. Thank you. Our next question is from Beth from Guadalajara, Mexico, who would like to know, how can a student find information on how universities can cover special needs besides accommodations? Is this information listed on their websites? Or whom should a prospective student ask? Tilly, can I turn to you and say, in your researching schools, where did you look for information? I know you worked with EducationUSA as well, but how would you go about doing this? Absolutely. I always think the best place to start is with the university itself. You can get a lot of information from the other websites such as Mobility International USA that I use. And that was amazing. But once you have your baseline information, the best thing that you can do is contact the school directly. And if you're comfortable, be specific about your needs. You know, say, this is me, this is what I'm looking for. Can you provide this kind of support? And chances are they'll get back to you and say, yes, this is what we can offer. So that would be my advice to contact the school directly and see what is an offer. One other thing I would like to mention that I missed earlier was that as well as the accommodations that I received for housing and academics, there is also an office here at Stanford called the Diversity and Access Office, which basically provides support to students with the things that they want to do. So outside of the classroom, whether this be fountain hopping or the dorm's winter ski trip, this office will find ways to include students with disabilities in extracurricular activities and anything else that they want to get involved in on campus. And again, that's another person that you can contact. I'm sure other schools have a similar person in that role. So that's a good piece of information there. Thank you, Tilly. Very valuable. Anna, is that something that you'd say is pretty typical for universities that they have that kind of office or that kind of function? Yes. And you know, most offices are at least as disability services office or disability support services. You know, if you go online and Google for disability service, accessibility service, you know, students will easily find that. And I know that you have, we have Tilly with us today, but I also encourage students to go online and try to find student organizations and contact students to get a little bit of the perspective from the students on that campus and that might be, you know, around transportation. It might be around, you know, getting around campus, about transportation around campus and going off campus for activities. So you've got to think about your whole experience in living and I think students will be the best ones to share about their experience. That's a great tip and I'm sure universities would be, you know, most of them would reach out to students and say, hey, can we establish a connection? Let's find someone for you to speak to. There are clubs. There are, I mean, I'm sure that there are vehicles for students to find other students with, you know, similar questions. Yeah. And if you, if students go to, you know, fortunately today, you know, there's so much available online. So usually universities, they do have a list of their clubs and their student organizations and I can guarantee at least in my experience working with students, if you contact a student asking, you know, I want to apply, what is your experience? They will tell you and they will tell you, I know this person, you know, and often most universities also have undergraduate student organization that is an advocate group on campus or a graduate student governance group that they can also reach out to and say, you know, what are the, you know, the benefits, what are the challenges of being at your university? This is who I am. This is what I'm considering it. And also looking at students at a specific field of study, you know, that you want to look. But I think, like, getting the student perspective is very, you know, important. That was one of the strategies that I used when I came, you know, decided to come. That's great advice. Thank you. So our next question, online viewer Annie is wondering what Tilly's biggest challenge has been. How does the accommodation process differ from what you were used to in the UK? Okay, so I'm very lucky that I come from a country in the UK that also has great resources and services with those with disabilities. So for that perspective, yeah, I am very fortunate that I've grown up with really great experiences. So from that perspective, it was wonderful to know that the US also was able to provide, you know, that same level of support to me and in some areas even maybe more. So that was a really, a really reassuring to know, definitely. And the biggest challenge, I think in the early days of this whole journey, five, six years ago, it was getting people to believe in my dream and see that I was getting to make this happen. Because as I said, it was such a crazy thing for me to think about doing. You know, just generally coming from a low income family, it seemed just completely impossible. And with my disability, people just couldn't understand how I was going to make this happen. But it was a long journey. It was challenging, but it was so exciting. And I just loved to immerse myself in the whole process and find ways to prove there's people wrong that doubted. So yeah, I said that was a challenge, but it was also added to that sense of achievement once I arrived here and it's all happening. That's fantastic, Hillie. Thank you very much. Another viewer writes, I have a support dog to assist me. Can I bring the dog to the United States? Will colleges let me live with my dog on campus? And do you want to, have you ever, have you seen that? Yes, yes. Students who have service dogs to assist them living independently with a disability, absolutely. In this country, we recognize service dogs. As, you know, as part of the student's life and there is anti-discrimination law that covers service dogs living in campus housing and in public, you know, private housing off campus as well. So those dogs would be able to accompany the students. Now, in some instances, there might be a quarantine period. I'm not sure how international students navigate that. I haven't dealt with that before. So that's something to ask and to find out as part of the process. Yeah, depending on which country you're coming from if there's a quarantine requirement. And if service dogs are even perhaps, you know, not required to go through that same process as regular pets because of their function. Got it. That's, that's very good advice. It's, I know that, and in transportation, it's also very common now to see service dogs on planes, on buses, on, I mean, everywhere, right? Yes, yes, yes. The person with the disability has a right to bring their service dog with them everywhere that they go. Right, right. Yes, it's fantastic. And that includes classes, you know, that they've been classes and buildings on campus as well as their housing and restaurants and all public accommodations. Where the student goes, the service dog goes as well. Yes. Correct. That's fantastic. Thank you, but thank you very much. So our next question. Do colleges and universities have accessible transportation to get around campus for, for, for persons with disabilities? Ana, do you want to start that? Yeah, I would say that, that's part also of the law, you know, that transportation needs to be accessible. But, you know, I would definitely ask, there's such a variety of, you know, campuses all over the US and, or different sizes, you know, for us, for example, we are a campus of 50,000 people and we have a pretty significant, you know, transportation system on campus, which include regular buses, includes shuttles, includes fire transit. And then, you know, because we are also in the DC metropolitan somewhat area, you know, there is metro access, you know, there is also access to the public transportation, which also is accessible. You know, the public transportation in US is required, you know, as well. And I think you can speak a little bit more on that. And, but, you know, it's required to, you know, meet accessibility guidelines in general. Do you want to add? Yes. Well, I'll just add, so students will be looking at a whole variety of factors, right? In addition, their disability is certainly one part of one factor that they'll be considering. They'll also be considering their academic, you know, preferences and what they want to study and which schools offer the best academic programs for them. Also, they may want to look at climate and weather. And in the US, we have, you know, very sunny, warm, comfortable weather all year round in the southern parts of the US. And then we have in the very northern parts of the country, very snowy, cold weather several months out of the year. So depending on a student's disability, those things will present different challenges. That doesn't mean that you can't, you know, function or have a perfectly positive experience. I know when I went to the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana that we had a lot of snow every winter that I was there. But the transportation system was accessible and there were other ways to manage, you know, getting around campus or dealing with the inclement weather on those campuses. But as Anna said, it does differ from campus to campus in terms of the size and number of students at a campus and whether or not there's even a transportation system at all there. So there are lots of things to consider. Also rural settings versus city settings. In a city like Washington D.C., as Anna said, our transportation system, public transportation is 100% accessible. In a college campus like UC Berkeley out on the West Coast, 100% accessible. But if you look at New York City, if you're going to school at a university in New York City or Boston or even Chicago, the public transportation systems because of their age and when they were built are not 100% accessible. So those are things that may or may not impact you as a student, but certainly things you want to be aware of. So again, do your research, know the place, ask the questions, engage. It's important for students to be very on top of this because even though there are great services, the specifics do vary. That's great advice. And I think another aspect that is related to transportation is where students are going to be leaving. I think Tilly just mentioned that. So if you are going to be leaving on campus, a lot of American universities, they do have a lot of availability for housing on campus and they also have a lot of off-campus housing. And some universities might have a restriction that graduate students, for example, can only leave off campus, that undergraduates have priority to leave on campus. So but that is something that I shouldn't be the disability who definitely can benefit as on-campus housing can negotiate as part of their accommodations. They're interesting. And in fact, I think that's something that Tilly mentioned, right? Tilly, you said that you actually engaged the school and said it was a priority for me to be in a dorm. Yeah, during my college search, I came across a number of campuses which had amazing accommodation for students with disabilities, but it was entirely separate to the rest of the student body. You know, a fantastic little apartment maybe, but I really wanted to have that full, particularly freshman experience within the dorm and that was a real priority. So again, yeah, I just reached out. I was honest. I said, this is what I'm looking for. Is this something that you can support me with? And yeah, here at Stanford, I'm able to do that. So it's, yeah, it's amazing. That's great. Thank you so much. So our next, we've got another, we've got a lot of very good questions. The next one is, as an international student with a disability, is it difficult to get health insurance in the United States? Anna, is that something you'd like to talk about from a campus perspective? Do you have anything? Or Andy, you want to start? I had it to that. Yeah, I would say that, you know, I think it's part of, I can even refer to my own process of applying here as an international student. I think for every international student, having health insurance is going to be a priority. Now, how a student go about acquiring the health insurance might differ. Till you apply recently, you know, to, you know, I don't know if you can speak a little bit more about, you know, the process of, you know, having health insurance as one of the requirements. Yeah, sure. So at Stanford, I'm not sure about the universities, but it is required that every student has a substantial health insurance policy. And Stanford itself actually provides a policy that students can purchase. So as part of my financial aid, I have a health insurance policy that is through Stanford itself. So it has complete coverage. It's a great policy that works with the hospital here on campus. And also, there is, you don't have to pay a premium for pre-existing conditions. I know that was something that I was very concerned about before coming to the U.S. But as it stands, there is not an extra charge for having a pre-existing condition. And that really made it possible as well for me to come to the U.S. Thank you, Tilly. And I think that's typical that as a condition of coming to the United States, students have to get health insurance as part of this process. And that is something that is facilitated by campuses throughout the country, by universities and colleges. And so very important to ask as you're investigating where you're going to go what these provisions are. But yes, to answer the viewer's question, that is definitely something that is a part of each international student's experience when they come to campus. Everyone has to have health insurance. I think that's a requirement across the board. Correct. And I would say that most universities also have a health center that every student can take advantage of including international students, international students with disabilities as well. So that's another very important resource for the university's offer. Yeah, thank you. So our next question is what type of support do universities and colleges provide to students with mental health issues? Are there counseling sessions available on most campuses and how do you access them? That's an excellent question. So with students, they can access universities counseling centers. Also, again, it's going to vary depending on the university and its size because the university that is very large is going to probably have more staff. And they have different processes that the student can acquire counseling. And another interesting thing, too, is students with different psychological disabilities, they also can receive accommodations. Because someone can come to the US, they know how to manage their condition really well, but they might benefit from specific accommodations. So that's another point, too. A lot of times, students don't understand or don't know, they're not aware of that. I would definitely encourage students to learn more about that as well if they know that they have any specific condition that they have a concern about how they're going to manage their stress or how they're going to manage a transition. And I think that that's important for everyone, regardless if you have any kind of previous psychological condition. I think the transition into a different country, the transition into colleges, it can be different for different people and the kind of constraint and challenge is someone might face. But it's important to know that universities might have that available. For some universities, it might be part of their health center, some might have a specifically counseling center for that. And one other point that I want to make is that people can acquire disabilities or have a temporary disability when they come to the US. And that's how, so you can also go through the process of learning about, okay, I have this condition now, I know that I'm going to be having to work through this in my next five months, likely, what the university offer. And I think that's when, for advisors out there, families should understand to you that universities can also accommodate students if they acquire something while they're here, even if it wasn't a previous condition that they had before. And because they don't have to negotiate that before the missions anyway. Absolutely, those are excellent points. And I think something to emphasize is that these are things that students should not keep inside but should talk about and should look for support on. I know there's been a huge development in on campuses in the United States in general in relation to mental health services. And that's something that absolutely students have to reach out on and get and that campuses are really thinking about those services. Yeah, and I think there's a tendency to really expand those resources as part of resident life. And create a lot of preventive. So if you have an opportunity to also participate, a lot of universities offer workshops on stress management or anxiety or you take advantage of that and be proactive. I think that coming abroad, at least for me, was such a growing experience. And the times that we have the biggest challenges, being communication and seeking help, it's so important. And it's important for people to know that there are a lot of resources as well in place to support students' success on campus regarding if someone has a disability. And so we're exactly, so we're talking about both a disability that might be a psychological one and simply general mental health issues that affect everybody and where students might need additional resources, all of us. That's fantastic. One of the things that EducationUSA does is we provide pre-departure orientations for students across the world that talks about some of these things. The stress in changing countries, even students who are, say, I'm very well-prepared, I know what to expect. Sometimes the reality can be very different. You're changing a country, maybe your language, systems. There can be a lot of stress exams, all of those kinds of things. And so we want students to be prepared. So I also encourage students to attend EducationUSA pre-departure orientations to help you with that transition in coming to the United States. So another question. Tilly mentioned a personal care attendant. The questioner asks, did she bring that person from the UK or was this person hired in the United States? And what was that process like? Do you have any tips for students who might need a similar kind of service? Okay, so again, just to reiterate, this is actually believed to be one of the first cases of its kind in the UK. Providing funding for students to study abroad wasn't something that they have really done before to the US particularly. So it was new for everyone. And yeah, it was pretty daunting thinking about coming across the US. And I actually employ within the US, not personally, I use an agency because I just didn't know why to begin with privately hiring PCAs and dealing with payrolls and that kind of thing. So I work with an agency. I have a small team of people that come in and they help me with all aspects of personal care. And just keep my well-turning, really, keep things moving and provide physical support. Working with an agency is a place to start. Once you have the funding in place, because it takes the stress away and everything is dealt with. And working with personal care attendants will always be, it's a challenge to find the right people and make sure that you have a secure team. Because at home, I'm used to my mom caring for me. She's cared for me for 18 years. So it was definitely a big transition not only to move countries to the other side of the world but then to have a whole new team of people helping me with day-to-day life. But it was a crucial piece of the puzzle, really, in me coming here. And it's really working out for the best of all. But that was definitely a challenge to begin with. Thank you so much, Tilly. We have one last question for you, Tilly, from our viewers. The viewer asks, what has surprised you most about studying in the United States? What has been harder than you expected and what has been easier than expected? Okay, interesting question. As you mentioned a few minutes ago, I think I was one of the people that was definitely like, yeah, I've got this, you know, I'm really prepared. I know what's going to happen. All this planning for six years, I've made every single spreadsheet to the margin. You know, I've got this. So it was definitely a shock when I first arrived in the US and had to kind of really provide to my parents. And I found that more challenging than I expected I would. And partly this is what every student goes through when they move away from home for the first time. But I think it was maybe more so even for me because I'm so reliant on the support of my parents. So we've been very close. So I think that was a big challenge. And you know, coming from the UK, before, you know, I didn't get quite similar to the US. You know, there was a new language barrier for me. So that wasn't really a problem at all. Immediately I felt welcomed by everyone campus. It's a great community. I just feel definitely a part of the whole scene. Everyone is willing to help me out with different things. You know, once I leave for class, people in my class will help me get my laptop out of my bag. They'll move to the chair for me. Things like that. They're willing to support me throughout the day so that I can be independent from my assistants and just be my own person around campus. So that was really, it's been really wonderful seeing that develop over the past few weeks. That's fantastic. Thank you so much, Tilly. Unfortunately, we are almost out of time and I would like to ask each one of our commentators if you would share a final, very brief thought for our viewers. Ann, can I start with you? Well, I would just say personally, going along, even though I didn't come from out of the country, I went to school far away from home like Tilly did where I didn't know anyone. It was such a tremendous personal growth experience and development experience and such a rich environment for me to learn in and push myself and learn from others about what would be possible for me as a young person with a disability, having the opportunity to be around other young people with disabilities my age. So I just encourage those of you who are thinking about it to really, really consider it even more seriously because it's a great, great experience and it'll be with you for the rest of your life. That's amazing advice. Thank you, Ann. Anna. Yeah, and for me, I think my biggest thing that I want to leave you with is that you really take on the admissions process and to know that that's a journey on itself and you're going to grow a lot just going through the process. For me, my first step was to learn English and I was very insecure in the beginning about am I going to be able to pass all the standardized tests? Am I going to be able to do this? Right? So really to be persistent on your goal and really take that on yourself. I would say that seek as much help as you want but being in charge of your application process because that's one of the best growing experiences and all the hurdles that you face as you in your admissions process is going to help you grow and learn what you need to be successful once you come here. I think that's, you know, and go for it. You know, this plan, you have a lot of support with Education USA in your country. I didn't have that at my time as I think there's a lot of more information today. So go for it. It is an experience that is definitely, you know, has to transform and change who I am, you know, and I'm sure that, you know, that can make a huge difference for you as well. Thank you so much, Anna. That's amazing advice. And Tilly, can I turn to you? My advice to any students considering the U.S. would simply be to plan ahead, be prepared to fight for what you believe is right and don't let your disability or any other aspect of your life be a barrier to pursue in this dream. That's inspiring. Thank you, Tilly. And thank you for joining us today. And of course, a very special thanks to our guests Ann, Tilly, and Anna. A very special thanks to our viewing groups joining us from around the world, including Education USA Columbia, Education USA Guatemala, and the U.S. UK Fulbright Commission. You can find more information about studying in the United States by visiting the Education USA website at www.educationusa.state.gov. There you can find information on the five steps to U.S. study, locate an Education USA center in your country, one of 436 around the world, connect with us via social media, learn about both in-person and virtual upcoming events, research financial aid opportunities, and much more. Thank you and please join us for future Education USA interactive web chats. Goodbye from Washington.