Now that we’ve explored a bit about who our customers may be, let’s learn more about communicating and interacting with customers with specific disabilities. First, let’s look at some best practices for communicating and interacting with anyone with a disability.
Be respectful.
Dismiss your stereotypes and avoid making assumptions about a person’s disability or capabilities. Many people with disabilities often talk about being frustrated when people assume what they can or can’t do.
Speak directly to a person with a disability and not the support person, companion or interpreter. While this can sometimes be challenging, ignoring or talking over the person with the disability is patronizing and an affront to their dignity.
Did You Know?
When speaking about persons with disabilities, take care to choose the right word.
Use “disability”, not “handicap” or “handicapped”.
Don’t use terms like “mentally retarded”, “slow”, “delayed”, “suffering from”, “mute”, “crippled” or “confined to a wheelchair”. These words are demeaning and disrespectful to persons with disabilities.
Remember to put the person first. It’s proper to say “person with a learning disability” rather than “learning disabled”.
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