disability awareness sensitivity

8/2/2019 Disability Awareness Sensitivity

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Creating sensitivity towards Disability

Presented By


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Facts about Disabilities One in every five people have a disability.

The San Joaquin Valley has a higher percentage of residents withdisabilities than California as a whole.

In Modesto, nearly 9% of children have a disability, along with 24%of adults, and 47% of those are 65 and over.

There are over 500 known disabilities. Common disabilities include:vision, hearing, speech, amputee, physical, and developmental.


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Today we will give a general overview of

some of these disabilities.

In general, people with disabilities are like

everyone else.

They have needs and wants.

They need to love and be loved, have fun,

earn a living, and have goals and dreams.


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Disability vs. HandicappedA disabilityis a condition that limits a persons

ability to walk, talk, see, hear, or reason.

A handicap is an imposed barrier that restricts aperson.

People with disabilities are handicapped by

societys mistaken beliefs about their disabilities.Its up to everyone to help make sure disabilitiesare seen as challenges not burdens.


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Words Are Powerful Tools 1. Language reflects societys beliefs.

Thats why its so important to say

the person with mental retardation

and not the mentally retardedperson. Always put the person first.

2. Emphasize abilities. No one wants

to be known for what he or she

cannot do.

3. Dont underestimate people withdisabilities. It is wrong to assume a

persons physical disability has

lessened his or her mental ability.

4. Avoid labels. Never refer to peopleby their disability. For example,dont say the handicapped, the

crippled, the blind, etc. 5. Often people use negative

language without even realizing it.Listen to yourself and make changesas necessary. Make sure to emphasizethe positive.

6. It is okay to feel nervous oruncomfortable around people withdisabilities, because its humannature to have those feelings at first.


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Interacting With People With Disabilities

Speak directly to the person with adisability rather than through acompanion or interpreter who may be

present. Find the best way to communicate.

The person may want to sign,fingerspell, lip read, or write notes.

Speak normally-dont yell orexaggerate as this distorts your face

and the way words sound. If you offer assistance to a person

with a disability, wait until the offeris accepted, then listen or ask forinstructions. Assisting without

permission may cause serious injury.

Offer to shake hands or tradebusiness cards when introduced.People with limited hand use or an

artificial limb can usually shakehands. Offering the left hand is anacceptable form of greeting.

Use body language. It offersimportant clues about what you aresaying.

Face the person and keep your face infull light.

Address people with disabilities bytheir first name only when extendingthe same familiarity to all others.


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Interacting With People Who are Visually Impaired

Always identify yourself and others

who may be with you when meeting

someone with a vision impairment.

When conversing in a group,remember to identify the person that

you are speaking to. When dining

with a friend with a vision

impairment, ask if you can describe

what is on their plate. Never touch someone with vision

impairment unless they know you are

there.

Offer your arm. Dont propel or leada person with a vision impairment.

When accompanying a person with a

vision impairment, offer to readsigns, menus, etc., and on the streetwarn of any unusual hazards.

Dont stop helping abruptly. Let theperson with a vision impairmentknow before you leave.

If you meet someone with a guidedog never distract, pet, or feed thedog. Remember to keep other petsaway. If a service animal isdistracted, It may inhibit the service

animal from doing its job.


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Interacting With People With Physical Disabilities

Do not lean or hang on someones wheelchair. Bear in mind that people with

physical disabilities treat their wheelchairs as extensions of their bodies.

Never patronize people who use wheelchair by patting them on the head.

Never move adaptive equipment outside the persons reach.

Be careful when assisting someone who uses adaptive equipment. Ask how the

equipment works if you are unfamiliar with it.

Place yourself at eye level when speaking to someone who uses a wheelchair,

scooter, crutches, etc. Prevent a strained neck by standing a few feet away when talking to an individual

in a wheelchair.

For long talks, its best to find a place to sit down.


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Interacting With Persons Who Have A Speech Impairment

Listen attentively to people who have difficulty speaking and wait for them tofinish. If necessary, ask short question that require short answers or a nod of thehead. Never pretend to understand; instead, repeat what you understood and allow

the person to respond.

Stay calm. The person with a speech impairment has been in this situation before.

Dont shout. People with speech impairments often have perfect hearing.

Be patient and give your full attention. People with speech impairments want tobe understood as badly as you want to understand them.

Dont interrupt. Dont finish sentences or supply words. This can be frustrating.


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Interacting With Persons Who Are Hearing Impaired

Tap a person with a hearing impairment on the shoulder or wave your hand to gethis or her attention. Look directly at the person and speak clearly, slowly, andexpressively to establish if the person can read lips. If so, try to face the light

source and keep hands, food and other objects away from your mouth whenspeaking. If a person is wearing a hearing aid, dont assume they have the abilityto discriminate your speaking voice. Never shout to a person with a hearingimpairment, just just simply speak in a normal tone.

Find the best way to communicate (sign, lip read, write notes, etc.)

Rephrase rather than repeat. If the person didnt understand you, then try usingdifferent words to express your ideas.

Use body language. It offers clues to what you are saying.


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Interacting With People Who Have Mental Impairments

People with mental impairment learn slowly and have a harder time using their

knowledge.

Be clear and concise - dont use complex sentences or difficult words.

Dont talk down to the individual - in other words dont baby talk. This wont

make it easier to understand.

Dont take advantage of the individual. Never ask a person with a mental

impairment to do anything that you wouldnt ask a friend to do.

Be understanding and patient. People with mental impairments are often aware oftheir limitations, but they have the same needs and desires as everyone else.

People with mental impairments have an impairment of the mind that can make

daily life more difficult. If someone is obviously upset, stay calm. Getting upset

yourself wont help matters. Offer to help by contacting a family member,

counselor, or friend.


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Learning More About People With Disabilities

Listen to a disabled personone in your neighborhood, your church, or aroundyour place of employment and ask them about their lifenot about the medicalaspects of the disability. When we compare what we found out, well have notheard from a couple of experts, but from enough people to realize that there aredifferences and similarities.

Read a book or watch a video about a person with a disability. JohnHockenberrys, Moving Violations is a good book: When Billy Broke HisHead and Kiss My Wheels are good videos. Consider whether the experiencesare typical or atypical and why.

Some people with disabilities insist that there are many positive aspects to the

experiences of being disabled. Discuss why they say this. Survey your neighborhood: cars parked over sidewalks, unleashed dogs, curb

cuts, and branches that can hit a blind person.

Find a curb cut. Is the cut flush with the street at the bottom, or is there still alip? Is the curb cut broken? Would it be easy to use in a wheelchair? Are carsparked in front of it, making it unuseable?


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THANK YOU

disability awareness sensitivity

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