Disability Etiquette: How to Respect People with Disabilities

Etiquette Basics

1. Use person-first language.
2. Speak directly to the person, rather than through an interpreter or friend.
3. Make eye contact with the person, regardless of the disability.
4. Ask before you help; the person will request assistance when needed.
5. Treat people with disabilities just as you would anyone else.

Never make you own judgement, but always in polite way ask if he or she need your assistance.

1. Build awareness and Perception of rights of persons with disability. Some employees may be consciously or unconsciously be biased about their disabled counterparts.
2. Make use of assistive technology.
3. Focus on health and well-being.

1. Find commonalities before thinking about differences.
2. Do not victimize people with disabilities.
3. Don’t assume they see their disability as a tragedy.
4. Adjust posture to be eye-level.
5. Make eye contact; never avoid someone with a disability.

Disabled people have agreed 12 basic requirements to ensure equality for all within our society.

• Full access to the Environment (towns, countryside & buildings)
• An accessible Transport system.
• Technical aids and equipment.
• Accessible/adapted housing.
• Personal Assistance and support.
• Inclusive Education and Training.

Issues and Challenges

• Health:
• Education:
• Employment:
• Accessibility: Physical accessibility in buildings, transportation, access to services etc still remain a major challenge.
• Discrimination/Social Exclusion:

The model says that people are disabled by barriers in society, not by their impairment or difference. Barriers can be physical, like buildings not having accessible toilets. Or they can be caused by people’s attitudes to difference, like assuming disabled people can’t do certain things.

For many people with disabilities and those who care for them, daily life may not be easy. Disabilities affect the entire family. Meeting the complex needs of a person with a disability can put families under a great deal of stress — emotional, financial, and sometimes even physical.

According to the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the most common disability type, mobility, affects 1 in 7 adults. With age, disability becomes more common, affecting approximately 2 in 5 adults age 65 and older. The most common type of disability in younger adults is cognitive disability.

Avoid smoking, chewing tobacco, consuming alcohol and narcotics. Avoid X – rays, and exposure to any kind of radiation. Avoid exposure to illnesses like measles, mumps etc, especially during the first 3 months of pregnancy. Avoid sexual contact with a person having venereal disease.