Suffolk University - Interacting with People with Disabilities

Information for Faculty/Staff

Interacting with People with Disabilities

General Considerations
	Do not assume a person with a disability needs your help; ask before doing. If you offer assistance and the person declines, do not insist. If the person accepts, ask how you can best help and follow directions.
	When introduced, offer to shake hands. People with limited hand use or artificial limbs can usually shake hands. It is an acceptable greeting to use the left hand for shaking.
	Treat adults as adults. Avoid patronizing people who use wheelchairs by patting them on the shoulder or touching their head. Never place your hands on a person’s wheelchair, as the chair is a part of the body space of the user.
	If possible, sit down when talking to a person who uses a wheelchair so that you are at the person’s eye level.
	Avoid actions and words that suggest the person should be treated differently. It is appropriate to ask a person in a wheelchair to go for a walk or to ask a blind person if he or she sees what you mean.
	Speak directly to the person with a disability. Do not communicate through another person. If the person uses an interpreter, look at the person and speak to the person, not the interpreter.
	If you are a sighted guide for a person with a visual impairment, allow the person to take your arm at or above the elbow so that you guide rather than propel.
	When talking with a person with a speech impairment, listen attentively, ask short questions that require short answers, avoid correcting, and repeat back your understanding if you are uncertain.
	When first meeting a person who is blind, identify yourself and any others who may be with you.
	When speaking to a person who is deaf or hard of hearing, look directly at the person and speak slowly. Avoid placing your hand over your mouth when speaking. Written notes may be helpful for short conversations.
Treat people with disabilities with the same level of respect and consideration that you have for others.

General Considerations
	People with disabilities are people first. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) officially changed the way people with disabilities are referred to legally and reinforced the model: the person first and then the disability (e.g., "student with a disability" rather than "disabled student"). Use the word disability when referring to someone who has a physical, mental, emotional, sensory, or learning impairment.
		Do not use the word handicapped. A handicap is what a person with a disability cannot do.
		Avoid labeling individuals as victims, or the disabled, or names of conditions. Instead, refer to "people with disabilities" or "someone who has epilepsy."
		Avoid terms such as wheelchair-bound. Wheelchairs provide access and enable individuals to get around. Instead, refer to a person as someone who uses a wheelchair or someone with a mobility impairment.
Taken from Disability Services Faculty Guidebook, University of Oregon Revised September 2002