• General Tips
• People First Language
• Disability Etiquette
• Looking Beyond the Wheelchair

General Tips

When You Are With A Person Who is Deaf or Hard of Hearing

• Look directly at the person to whom you are speaking and speak at a regular pace. If a sign language interpreter is present, talk directly to the person who is deaf, not to the interpreter.
• If you don't know sign language, use paper or pencil. Be considerate and try to make the person feel comfortable and confident in dealing with you.
• Be flexible with your language. Rephrase, rather than repeat, sentences that the person does not understand.
• Be aware of false interpretation! A nod of the head does not necessarily mean, "I understand".
• Do not shout, hearing aids make sounds louder NOT clearer.

When You Are With A Person Who is Blind or Visually Impaired

• Speak directly to the person, using a normal tone of voice.
• Do not be afraid to use terms such as "see you soon".
• Offer assistance, but be guided by the individual's response.
• Be specific in giving directions. It is useless to point or give visual landmarks. If the individual needs to make a turn, state whether it should be left or right.
• Walk alongside and slightly ahead of the person you are assisting. Never hold the person's arm while walking. Let the person who is blind hold your arm. The motion of your body tells the person what to expect.
• Assist the individual on stairs by guiding a hand to a banister or rail. When providing assistance in seating, place the person's hand on the back or arm of the seat.
• Do not leave a person who is blind in an open area. Instead, lead the person to the side of a room or to a chair or some landmark from which he or she can obtain a direction for travel. Always let the person know that you are leaving.
• If the person has a guide dog, walk on the opposite side of the dog. Do not pet a guide dog.

When You Are With A Person With A Physical Disability

• Talk directly to the person in a wheelchair, rather than to someone else. Most people who use wheelchairs are fully capable of speaking for themselves.
• Sit down when speaking with someone who uses a wheelchair or stand a short distance away so the person does not have to look sharply upwards.
• Do not push or touch a person's wheelchair, it is part of the individual's personal space. Providing assistance should be done only after asking the person if assistance is needed and how assistance should be provided.
• People who use canes or crutches need their arms to balance themselves, so never grab them.
• Keep ramps and wheelchair-accessible doors unlocked and unblocked. Displays should not be in front of entrances, wastebaskets should not be in the middle of aisles, and boxes should not be stored on ramps.

When You Are With A Person With A Mental Illness

• Stress can affect a person's ability to function. Try to keep pressure of the situation to a minimum.
• Do not hurry the person; this may increase the person's anxiety.
• Listen to the person and allow some venting of feelings.

When You Are With A Person With A Cognitive Disability

• Speak to the person in clear sentences, using simple words.
• Do not use baby talk or talk down to the person.
• Remember that the person is an adult and unless you are informed otherwise, can make his or her own decisions.
• It can be difficult for people with cognitive disabilities to make quick decisions. Be patient and allow the person to take his or her time answering questions.

When You Are With A Person With A Speech Disability

• Give the person you full attention. Do not interrupt or finish the person's sentences.
• Do not pretend to understand if you don't. Ask the person to repeat what you did not understand.
• Speak directly to the individual, not to a communication device or a companion.

When You Are With A Person With A Learning Disability

• Ask the person how you can best relay information.
• Do not be surprised if you tell someone very simple instructions and he or she asks you to write it down.
• Be direct, a person with a learning disability may have trouble grasping subtlety.

When You Are With A Person With A Traumatic Or Acquired Brain Injury

• Be patient, a person with a brain injury may be unable to follow directions because of poor short-term memory.
• The person may have trouble concentrating or organizing his or her thoughts, especially in an over stimulating environment.
• A person with a brain injury may have poor social skills, such as making inappropriate comments. Understand that these behaviors are a result of the injury.

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People First Language

People First language puts the person before the disability. It uses words to describe what the person "has" not what the person "is".

Think people first. Say "a person with a disability" instead of "a disabled person or a handicapped person".

The definition of the word handicap, as a noun, is a game in which forfeits were held in a cap. The word has been used to refer to a person with a disability having to beg on the street with a "cap in hand".

Do not use words like "unfortunate", "afflicted", and "victim". Use common sense. Avoid terms with obvious negative connotations such as "crippled", "deaf and dumb", "lame", and "not normal". If you are not sure how to refer to a person's disability, ask. And, if the disability is not relevant to the conversation, why mention it at all?

Never refer to a person as "confined to a wheelchair". The wheelchair enables the person to get around, it's not confining. The person "uses" a wheelchair.

It is fine to use expressions when talking to people with disabilities. For example, saying, "see you later", to a person who is blind is completely acceptable.

Many people who are Deaf consider themselves part of a culture. They refer to themselves as Deaf with a capital "D", and may be offended by the term "hearing impaired".

Examples of People First Language to Use Instead of Labels that Stereotype:

Individuals with disabilities, are not conditions or diseases, they are human beings. The best way to talk to a person with a disability is to talk the same way as you would anyone else.

For more information, see Disability Is Natural's "People First Language".

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Disability Etiquette

• Don't assume a person needs help just because the individual has a disability.
• If you offer help, wait for permission and listen for instructions.
• Always identify yourself and others with you when meeting someone with a visual disability.
• Speak directly to a person with a disability, not to the individual's companion or interpreter.
• Offer to shake hands when meeting a person with a disability.
• Treat adults as adults. Address people with disabilities by their proper titles.
• Never patronize people with disabilities by patting them on the head.
• Do not touch a person's cane or lean against a person's wheelchair. People with disabilities consider their equipment part of their personal space.
• Listen intently to a person who has difficulty speaking and wait for them to finish.
• Ask closed-ended questions, yes/no questions, or those that require a nod of the head.
• Do not pet or feed service animals without permission.
• Place yourself at eye level when speaking to someone who uses a wheelchair.
• You do not have to use an exaggerated voice if a person is wearing a hearing aid.
• Relax when you are around a person with a disability. They want to be treated as equals, because they are equals.

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Looking Beyond the Wheelchair

• If you want to offer assistance, ask the wheelchair user if they would like assistance before you help. Your help may not be needed or wanted. Also, if you go ahead and help, you may cause a safety problem.
• The wheelchair is part of the wheelchair users personal body space...unless invited, please don't lean on the wheelchair, it's equivalent to leaning on someone's shoulder.
• Speak to the person using the wheelchair, not the able bodied person who may be with them.
• If the conversation may last for a while, consider sitting down (on a curb, chair, etc.) It puts you on the same level as the wheelchair user. Kneeling is ok if you're feeling subservient.
• Don't demean or patronize the wheelchair user by patting them on the head.
• Don't discourage children from asking questions about the wheelchair or disability. Open communication helps dispel fearful or misleading attitudes.
• When a wheelchair user transfers out of their wheelchair to another seat, bed, or car, don't move the wheel chair out of reaching distance unless asked to.
• Feel free to use words like "walk" or "run", these are every day expressions.
• Some wheelchair users can walk but use the chair to move long distances more quickly or easily. It's probably not a miracle if the person suddenly starts walking.
• Don't assume all wheelchair users are "sick". Wheelchair are used for a variety of non-contagious disabilities.
• Using a wheelchair is a means of mobility. Please don't assume that using a wheelchair is a tragedy.

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