Etiquette

Introduction

An excellent document created by United Spinal Association in the US ‘Disability Etiquette: Tips on Interacting with People with Disabilities’ can be found here. The main points relevant for interacting, teaching and learning from this document are summarised below supplemented by advice received from WESC and the Exeter Deaf Academy.

 

Do not assume that people who have obvious impairments need help.

  • Ask someone if they need help.
  • Some people may have invisible impairments; don’t assume that someone using accessible parking spaces or accessible toilets is not impaired just because their impairment is not obvious to you. If someone experiences chronic pain or arthritis they may need to use accessible toilets so that they can use the handrails to lift themselves on and off of the toilet.
  • Students with disabilities will be much better judge of what they can and cannot do than you.

 

Physical contact

Never touch a person’s assistive equipment without their express permission.

  • If you push someone's wheelchair without their permission this is no different from pushing an able bodied person out of the way.
  • If you move someone's crutches, or cane you are removing their ability to walk and leaving them stranded.
  • Assistive equipment is often very expensive and if it is damaged the owner will have lost their mobility. If someone has asked for your help listen to the instructions they give you so that you don’t inadvertently damage their equipment.

 

Avoid physical contact unless you have the person’s explicit permission.

  • Even the most innocuous physical contact can cause problems for people with impairments; people may need their arms for balance or they may experience pain you are unaware of.
  • If you need to attract the attention of someone who is Deaf then either wave to attract their attention or touch them on the upper arm but nowhere else.
  • Do not touch someone who is blind or visually impaired without asking them if it’s okay to do so. If you have been asked to guide somebody who is blind, guide their hand to your elbow, explaining what you are going to do first. If you need to leave a blind person tell them you are going.

 

Speaking to individuals with disabilities or impairments

  • Always interact with the student themselves rather than their sign language interpreter, personal assistant, parent or guide.
  • Some disabilities can cause information to be processed slowly. A student may have dyslexia, autism spectrum disorder or they may have had a head injury, which might mean they take longer to absorb instructions or information. If this is the case they may ask you to repeat what you said or ask you to write the information down so that they don’t forget it.
  • Irrespective of how friendly and approachable you think you are, some students will find you intimidating as a figure of authority. These students may prefer to communicate with you via email or they may wish to have a friend accompany them to talk to you.

 

Deaf and hearing impaired

  • If you know that a Deaf student, who uses BSL, will be attending an event such as an open day, offer to arrange for a professional interpreter to be present. You cannot rely on a student’s parents to translate for them because parents are not professional interpreters and are unlikely to have the BSL vocabulary required to relay technical and subject specific information. If the student lip reads ensure that you face student at all times when you are addressing or presenting to them. In each case ask the student, in advance, what form of communication works best for them.
  • Individuals that have some hearing, for example if they use hearing aids or have cochlea implants, may still not be able to hear sufficiently well to pick-up on the tone your voice or intonation and so may take what you say literally.
  • If you cannot understand something that a Deaf or hearing impaired student has said do not be too embarrassed to ask them to repeat it.
  • If the student has not understood something that you have said try to rephrase it rather than simply repeating it.

 

Speech impairments

  • If a student has a speech disability it may take them longer to speak than is usual. Be patient and wait until the student has finished, don’t try to anticipate what they are going to say and finish the sentence for them.
  • If possible, try to communicate in an environment that is quiet.
  • If you don’t understand what the student has said ask them to repeat it, do not just nod to give the impression you have understood.

 

General advice

  • Avoid asking intrusive questions about a student’s impairment; if they want you to know details they will tell you.
  • Do not assume that the student has told other members of the class about their impairment, so do not single them out in a class. Assume that all the information you know about the student is confidential until you are told otherwise.
  • Try to avoid language which implies that students have a deficit; it is much better to ask ‘how can we help?’ than ‘what do you need?’ An excellent guide on disability terminology and how to use bias free language can be found here.
  • You do not need to modify your everyday language when talking to an individuals with impairments, for example it is fine to say ‘see you later’ to a visually impaired student or ‘have you heard about X’ to someone with limited hearing; they will understand the context and know that this is just a figure of speech.
  • When talking to somebody who is using a wheelchair or someone of short stature try to sit down so that you are at the same height as them or take a step back so that they don’t have to strain their neck to look at you.
  • Some people may behave in a way that seems odd to you; they may be unsteady on their feet, slurring their speech, they may appear detached or may shake. These behaviours may be a consequence of a number disabilities including Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, mental health conditions or it might be due to side-effect of medication. If you’re sufficiently concerned ask if they are okay, but don’t assume that they are intoxicated.

 

Assistance dogs.

The disability charity Scope provide the following advice about assistance dogs.

  • Treat the dog as a working dog, not as a pet.
  • Do not distract or pat the dog without the owner’s knowledge and permission.
  • It is good practice to provide a bowl of water for the dog.
  • If you are walking with someone who has an assistance dog, walk on the opposite side of the person from the dog.

 

 

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