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Common Courtesies

In general terms, when meeting with disabled people, bear the following in mind:

• Offer assistance, but wait until your offer is accepted before you help.
• Do not assume you know best how to help someone - ask.
• Treat adults as adults; e.g. call a person by their first name only when being as familiar with others. Don't use gestures more appropriate to children, e.g. patting a wheelchair user on the head.
• Make appropriate physical contact as you would with anyone else, e.g. shaking hands.
• Talk directly to the disabled person, not their companion. Occasionally intermediaries, such as a personal assistant, will communicate a disabled person's point of view. However, your focus should always be the disabled person.
• Do not be embarrassed about using common expressions, such as "see you later", which may relate to a person's disability.
• Do not make assumptions about the existence or absence of disabilities. Some people have hidden disabilities, such as epilepsy or mental health problems.
• When planning an event, ask advice from disabled people where appropriate and advertise the facilities available at the venue. If this is not done, disabled people may not risk coming to the event.

 

« Disability Etiquette

This information is provided by the Personnel Department