Disability Etiquette Quick Tip
General Communication Tips:
- Ask individuals with disabilities if they need help before providing them with any kind of assistance.
- Talk to students with disabilities directly, rather than speaking to them through their interpreters or companions.
- Refer to student's disabilities only if their conditions are relevant to the conversation but avoid negative descriptions of their disabilities.
Visual impairments:
- Use descriptive speech. For instance, if telling students where an object is located, say what direction it's in and how far away it i
- Avoid summarizing if reading content to students who are visually impaired. That way, they get the full benefit of the content just as the person reading it does.
- Offer your arm, rather than grabbing students, when guiding them.
Hearing Impairments:
- Face students when speaking with them so they can see your lips, and avoid talking while chewing.
- Speak clearly and at your normal volume, rather then yelling. Raise the volume of your voice only if asked.
- Write what you need to say on paper if deaf students with whom you're trying to communicaton don't read lips well and you can't sign.
- Raise a hand when trying to speak or be recognized in a group setting, so that deaf students know who is speaking. Repeat questions from the audience to give deaf students a chance to read your lips.
- Speak directly to students who use interpreters, rather than speaking to them through their interpreters. Look at the deaf students, not their interpreters, when addressing them.
Learning Disabilities:
- Offer directions or instructions both verbally and in writing, and be willing to read them out loud if asked.
Mobility Impairments:
- Sit or otherwise position yourself at the height of people sitting in wheelchairs when speaking to them.
Speech Problems:
- Listen carefully, then repeat what you think you heard to avoid miscommunication.
- Ask individuals politely to clarify or repeat anything said that you did not understand.
Psychiatric Disabilities:
- Speak in a clear, calm and respectful tone when providing information.
- Allow yourself time to address questions, even if you think that you have explained yourself throughly.
Universal Design:
Universal Design is "the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extend possible, without the need for adoption or specialized design."
Posting course documents online is an example of a UD approach because it affords students a choice. They can read the information visually, translate it to Braille, or can listen as it is read out loud by a computer program.
Special Thanks to the UAA Disability Support Services for providing this information.