How to interact with people with disabilities

Filed under: Disability
1 Comment

Haddayr Copley-Woods has an awesome and entertaining piece on Minnesota Public Radio about how to interact with people with disabilities.

(That page provides both audio and a transcript.)

My favorite bits:

DON'T 'Help' without asking. If someone in a wheelchair has rolled up to a door, they probably have some sort of a plan.

And:

DON'T Ask strangers intrusive personal questions such as "what's wrong with you." Sure, you are curious. I myself find some fashion choices curious, but I have learned to live with mystery.

One Response to “How to interact with people with disabilities”

  1. cj

    The whole “don’t help without asking” put me in awkward position because of deeply ingrained habits: I open the door for everybody! I didn’t realize that I was being glared out for being…well…mannerly. It’s hard to tell someone, “No! I’m not doing is specifically for YOU! I’m just kind of freakishly out-going, and had way too many grandmothers who were all sticklers about courtesy.”

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