Disability Etiquette Individuals Who are Blind or See Differently • Identify yourself and introduce him/her to others who are in the group. • Offer your arm – don’t take his/hers – if he/she needs to be guided. • Guide a blind person’s hand to a banister to help direct him to a stairway. • Describe the setting, noting any obstacles. • If you are giving directions, give specific, non-visual information. • If you need to leave a person who is blind, let him know. • Don’t touch the person’s cane or guide dog. The dog is working. • If the person has a guide dog, walk on the opposite side of the dog. The same goes for a cane. • Offer to read written information. • If you serve food to a person who is blind, let him know where everything is on the plate according to a clock orientation. Individuals Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing • When the exchange of information is complex, use an interpreter. • For simple interaction, writing back and forth is okay. May use computer technology to help. • Follow the person’s cues to find out if she prefers sign language, gesturing, writing or speaking. • When speaking, do not obscure your face. • When using an interpreter, look directly at the person who is deaf. • Talk directly to the person rather than the interpreter. • Don’t decide for the person. • Before speaking, make sure that you get her attention. • Rephrase, rather than repeat, sentences. • When talking, face the person. • Speak clearly. • There is no need to shout. Individuals Who Use Wheelchairs or Have Mobility Impairments • Don’t lean over someone in a wheelchair. • Don’t push or touch a person’s wheelchair. • Keep the ramps and wheelchair-accessible doors to your building unlocked and unblocked. • When talking to a wheelchair user, sit at his/her level. • Be sure that signs direct wheelchair users to the most-accessible ways around the facility. • Don’t ask a wheelchair user to hold things for you. Individuals With Speech Impairments • Don’t interrupt or finish the person’s sentences. • If you have trouble understanding, don’t nod. Instead, ask him to repeat. • Ask him to write information down or to suggest another way of facilitating communication. • A quiet environment makes communication easier. • Don’t tease or laugh. Provided by READI-Net, a program of the Alabama Department of Rehabiltation Services For more information, call 205-290-4457. Source: “Disability Etiquette,” United Spinal AssociationLanguage and Disability Acceptable Terms Unacceptable Terms Person – person with a disability. Cripple, crippled – The image conveyed is of a twisted, deformed, useless body. Disability – a general term used for functional limitation that interferes with a person’s ability, for example, to hear, walk, learn, or lift. It may refer to a physical, mental, or sensory condition. Cerebral palsied, spinal cord injured, etc. Never identify people solely by their disability. Person who has had a spinal cord injury, polio, a stroke, etc., or a person who has multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, arthritis, etc. Victim – People with disabilities do not like to be perceived as victims for the rest of their lives, long after any victimization has occurred. Has a disability, has a condition of (spina bifida, etc.), or born without legs, etc. Defective, defect, deformed, vegetable – These words are offensive, dehumanizing, degrading, and stigmatizing. Deafness/hearing impairment – “Deafness” refers to a person who has a total loss of hearing. “Hearing impairment” refers to a person who has a partial loss of hearing within a range from slight to severe. Deaf and dumb – This is as bad as it sounds. Inability to hear or speak does not indicate less intelligence Person who has a mental or developmental disability Retarded, moron, imbecile, idiot – These are offensive to people who bear the label. Uses a wheelchair or crutches; a wheelchair user; walks with crutches Confined/restricted to a wheelchair, wheelchair-bound – Most people who use a wheelchair or mobility devices do not regard them as confining. They are viewed as liberating, a means of getting around. Able-bodied: able to walk, see, hear, etc.; people who are not disabled. Healthy – When used to contrast with “disability,” “healthy” implies the person with a disability is unhealthy. Many people with disabilities have excellent health. People who do not have a disability Normal – When used as the opposite of “disabled,” implies the person is abnormal. No one wants to be label abnormal. A person who has (name the disability). Example: A person who has multiple sclerosis. Afflicted with/suffers from – Most people with disabilities don’t regard themselves as afflicted or suffering continually. Afflicted – A disability is not an affliction; an affliction may have caused a disability. Provided by READI-Net, a program of the Alabama Department of Rehabiltation Services For more information, call 205-290-4457. Source: Disability Etiquette Handbook, City of Chicago Department of Personnel

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