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DISABILITY ETIQUETTE

JulieAnn ChavezSara Vogler

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Agenda

Overview Disability etiquette Part 1 & 2

Etiquette for specific disabilities Resources Q & A

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• Avoid excessive praise when people with disabilities accomplish normal tasks.  

• Talk directly to the person, not his or her companion.

• Treat adults with disabilities like adults

• Extend your hand to shake hands (left hands are acceptable)

• Do not do things for individuals unless they ask for assistance.

Disability Etiquette Overview Part 1

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• Not all disabilities are visible.

• People with disabilities, like all people, are experts on themselves.

• No two disabilities are the same!

• NOTE to counselors: • If a person states they have a disability, be sure

to ask if they require accommodations prior to scheduling an appointment.

• Also, if the person is under the age of 65 and receiving Social Security Disability, it is okay to ask if they have a disability and require accommodation.

• It is up to the person to disclose the information with you.

Disability Etiquette Overview Part 2

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If the person has a speech disability and you are having difficulty understanding what he or she is saying, ask the individual to repeat, rather than pretending to understand.

DON’T• Get in individual’s space • Pretend to understand and take over the conversation• Ask them to nod their heads or blink their eyes for a

“yes” or “no”

DO• Continue the conversation with patience until the person

with speech disability changes the method of communication (i.e., type on computer, cellphone, etc).

Speech Disability

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If you are speaking to a person who is blind, be sure to identify yourself at the beginning of the conversation and announce when you are leaving.

DON’T• Be afraid to use common expressions that refer to sight,

such as “See you later.” or I’ll “show” you.• Talk loud because being blind or have low vision doesn’t

mean they can’t hear you or understand you.

DO• Carry a conversation with them as you would with anyone.• Provide information such as business cards, brochures,

etc.. (extra bonus if you have documents saved without graphics or have a few documents in braille)

Blind/Low Vision

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There are different types of service dogs such as guide dogs for people who are blind/low vision, hearing dogs for people who are deaf/hard of hearing, and medical service dogs for those with medical issues.

If you encounter an individual with a service dog…

DON’T• Touch or distract the service dog. Service dogs that

are wearing their service vests are working. Distracting the service dog while they are on duty could be very costly to the person with disability.

• Assume that a person who is blind will not see you pet their service dog! TRUST ME, they know!!!

DO• Ask for permission to pet the dog ONLY if you see the

person taking the service dog’s work vest off.

Service Dogs

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If you are having a conversation with a person who uses a wheelchair or has physical disabilities

DON’T• Lean on or touch a person’s wheelchair or any other

assistive device. • Pat them on the head!

DO• Put yourself at the person’s eye level, for those who use a

wheelchair. • Walk beside them like you would with any companion.• Extend a handshake. They are not contagious.• Treat them as you would expect to be treated.

Physical Disabilities

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If you are speaking with an individual with a cognitive/developmental disability, you may need to repeat or rephrase what you say.

DON’T• Give too many instructions verbally at once, it will only

make them feel flustered.• Talk in baby language.

DO• Direct your conversation to the person with disability,

not to their companion.• Give instructions on how to perform a task one-by-one;

you may also need to give the instructions in writing, for some it may require gestures or drawing a picture.

Cognitive/Developmental Disability

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Deaf/ Hard of Hearing

If you are speaking to someone who is deaf or hard of hearing, don’t assume that

written communication is the best accommodation for the person.

DON’T• Panic• Over enunciate your words• Talk loud• Decline services

DO• Ask the person what is the best accommodation to meet their

communication needs.• Make arrangements for reasonable accommodations to settled

within

a two week time period.• Acceptable accommodations:

Written, Interpreters, Video Relay Interpreting, Ubiduo

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Disability Etiquette

Conc lus ion:

Re lax . Anyone can make m is takes . Off er an apo logy i f you f o rge t some cou r tesy.

Keep a sense o f humor and a w i l l i ngness to commun ica te .

The #1 th ing to know about D isab i l i ty Et iquette is…

i f you don’t know…ASK!

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Resources

Accessibility http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/html/adaag.htm

“Guidelines for Reporting and Writing About People with Disabilities,” produced by the Media Project, Research and Training Center on Independent Living, University of Kansas. fvkasa.org/reports/guidelines.php

“Ten Commandments of Etiquette for Communicating with People with Disabilities,” October 1995, National Center for Access Unlimited, Chicago, IL. http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/effectiveinteraction.htm

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Center for Independent Living (CIL) www.ilru.org/html/publications/directory/index.html and click

on your respective state for a complete listing of CILs in your area

National Council for Independent Living www.ncil.org/

Resources

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ADA National Network www.adata.org/Static/Home.aspx

National Federation of the Blind https://nfb.org//resources

Toolkit for working with Deaf and Hard of Hearing http://www.ageoptions.org/services-and-programs_DeafandHa

rdofHearingResources.html

Resources

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QUESTIONS?