Tips for Interacting with People with Disabilities

ANSWERS TO DISABILITY SAVVY QUIZ

All the answers are true except for the following, which are false:

8. If service counters are too high for people of short stature and people using wheelchairs, step around the counter to provide service. Keep a clipboard or other portable writing surface handy for people unable to reach or to use the counter when signing documents.

10. Kids are curious about life and have natural uninhibited curiosity when they see someone with a disability. Scolding kids about asking questions makes them think there is something bad about disability. Take clues from people with disabilities; most do not mind answering kids’ questions.

12. Leaning or hanging onto a person’s wheelchair is similar to leaning or hanging on a person and is generally considered annoying. The chair is part of the personal body space of the person who uses it. Stand next to the person’s wheelchair rather than leaning or holding onto it.

19. A slow response or lack of response does not necessarily mean the person is not aware of you or what you said. Allow time for people to answer.

When communicating with people who have speech disabilities…

20. Do not interrupt or help people finish their sentences.

When communicating with people with hearing disabilities…

26. The majority of people who are deaf do not read lips, and those that do never do so with 100 percent accuracy. The typical accuracy rate is 20 to 40 percent. Even the best lip-readers pick up less than 50 percent of words spoken.

28. Use a normal tone of voice unless you are asked to raise your voice. Shouting or exaggerating your words will be of no help.

29. If a person who is deaf is using a sign language interpreter, always speak directly to the person, not the interpreter.

When offering assistance to a person who is blind…

35. When offering assistance as a guide, ask,“Would you like to take my left (or right) arm?” and allow people to decline or accept.

40. When making change, count bills separately and identify each denomination as you hand them bills back to the person. This is not necessary with coins since they are known by touch.

42. When asked, read ALL information to a person who is blind. This allows them to judge what is essential material.

Regarding disability-specific language, the following are all acceptable terms…

50. People are not “bound” or “confined”to wheelchairs. Wheelchairs are used to increase mobility and enhance freedom. It is more accurate to say,“wheelchair user” or “person who uses a wheelchair.”

51. “He had polio.”

52. A person who has had a disability since birth has a congenital disability.

53. Dumb, deaf mute, and dummy imply an intellectual disability occurs with a hearing loss or a speech disability. Instead use: a person who has a speech disability, or is hard of hearing, or is deaf.

54. A person without speech or a person who has speech impairment.

55. A person without a disability as compared to a person with a disability.

57. Use the word “patient” only when a person is actively being seen or treated by a health care provider.