Tips for Interacting with People with Disabilities

Who are People with Disabilities and Other Activity Limitations?

About 30 percent of people living in the United States experience some difficulty with “basic” movement, or cognitive, sensory, or emotional limitations. The most common, reported by more than 20 percent of those surveyed, relates to basic physical actions such as walking, bending, and reaching. About 13 percent reported problems with vision or hearing, and about three percent reported emotional or cognitive difficulties. (Altman 2008) Even these numbers are not inclusive of a variety of people with functional limitations; for example, those with speech and language limitations.