Disability Awareness Sensitivity Training

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Disability Awareness Sensitivity Training

• Presented
• By
• DRAIL

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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 with disabilities 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. Handicapped

• A disability is a condition that limits a
  persons ability to walk, talk, see, hear, or
  reason.
• A handicap is an imposed barrier that restricts a
  person.
• People with disabilities are handicapped by
  societys mistaken beliefs about their
  disabilities. Its up to everyone to help make
  sure disabilities are 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
  retarded person. 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 with disabilities.
  It is wrong to assume a persons physical
  disability has lessened his or her mental ability.

• 4. Avoid labels. Never refer to people by 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
  changes as necessary. Make sure to emphasize the
  positive.
• 6. It is okay to feel nervous or uncomfortable
  around people with disabilities, because its
  human nature to have those feelings at first.

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Interacting With People With Disabilities

• Speak directly to the person with a disability
  rather than through a companion 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 or exaggerate as this
  distorts your face and the way words sound.
• If you offer assistance to a person with a
  disability, wait until the offer is accepted,
  then listen or ask for instructions. Assisting
  without permission may cause serious injury.

• Offer to shake hands or trade business cards when
  introduced. People with limited hand use or an
  artificial limb can usually shake hands. Offering
  the left hand is an acceptable form of greeting.
• Use body language. It offers important clues
  about what you are saying.
• Face the person and keep your face in full light.
• Address people with disabilities by their first
  name only when extending the 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 lead a person
  with a vision impairment.
• When accompanying a person with a vision
  impairment, offer to read signs, menus, etc., and
  on the street warn of any unusual hazards.
• Dont stop helping abruptly. Let the person with
  a vision impairment know before you leave.
• If you meet someone with a guide dog never
  distract, pet, or feed the dog. Remember to keep
  other pets away. If a service animal is
  distracted, 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 to finish. If
  necessary, ask short question that require short
  answers or a nod of the head. 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 to be 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 get his or her
  attention. Look directly at the person and speak
  clearly, slowly, and expressively 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 when speaking. If a
  person is wearing a hearing aid, dont assume
  they have the ability to discriminate your
  speaking voice. Never shout to a person with a
  hearing impairment, 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 using different 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 of their 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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Guide Dogs Fact, Fantasy, and Etiquette

• Services animals are not required to be
  certified. The person with a disability simply
  needs to have a note from their doctor or
  counselor stating that the service animal is for
  the emotional, mental, or physical well being of
  the person with a disability. This note should be
  on letterhead stationery with the doctors or
  counselors name, phone number, and address.
• A service animal must have its attention on
  several things.
• The owner and dog are a team.
• Dont distract a working dog and NEVER when they
  are crossing the street.
• Keep your dog under control when approaching a
  working dog.
• Dont feed or throw toys to a working dog.
• And last, keep in mind, most service animal
  owners are proud of them. They like to talk about
  them. If youre not sure, just ask. Its okay to
  be curious, but be respectful.

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Categories of Service Animals

• Dog Guide or Seeing Eye Dog is a carefully
  trained dog that serves as a travel tool for
  persons with severe visual impairments.
• Hearing or Signal Dog is trained to alert a
  person with significant hearing loss or who is
  deaf when a sound occurs.
• Service Dog/Animal is a dog or other animal
  trained to assist a person who has a mobility or
  health impairment.
• Autism Assistance Dog are trained to act much
  like any other service animal, but they address
  the specific needs of a person with autism,
  especialy children with autism.
• Seizure Response Dog is trained to assist a
  person with a seizure disorders.
• Therapy Animals these animals provide people
  with therapeutic contact, but are not limited to
  working with people who have disabilities.
• Companion/Emotional Support Animal assist people
  with mental or emotional disabilities to function
  independently.

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Learning More About People With Disabilities

• Listen to a disabled person one in your
  neighborhood, your church, or around your place
  of employment and ask them about their life not
  about the medical aspects of the disability. When
  we compare what we found out, well have not
  heard from a couple of experts, but from enough
  people to realize that there are differences and
  similarities.
• Read a book or watch a video about a person with
  a disability. John Hockenberrys, Moving
  Violations is a good book When Billy Broke His
  Head and Kiss My Wheels are good videos.
  Consider whether the experiences are 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 a lip? Is
  the curb cut broken? Would it be easy to use in a
  wheelchair? Are cars parked in front of it,
  making it unuseable?