Devoted to Corporate Attorneys, Corporate Lawyers, and Corporate Counsel

The Disability Accommodations Coordinator at Stanford University gave a talk on August 23, 2006 on how to interact with persons with disabilities.

One should use language that gives a person with disabilities positivity and dignity.  For instance, don't say:  "handicapped", do say:  "person with a disability"; don't say:  "that deaf guy", do say:  "the man in the blue shirt who is hard of hearing".

There is no need to avoid common uses of words relating to a person's disabilities.  For instance, when interacting with a person who is blind, there is no need to avoid the use of the word "see".  Another example, when interacting with someone who uses a wheelchair, there is no need to avoid the word "walk".

When interacting with a person with disabilities, do not assume the person needs assistance.  Ask if the person needs assistance prior to providing assistance.  If a person uses a wheelchair, do not touch or lean on the wheelchair.  If a person is blind or visually impaired, there is no need to speak loudly; speak in a normal volume.  If a person is hard of hearing and uses an interpreter, it is assumed that anything said will be interpreted so do not say anything that is not intended to be translated.

There are some disabilities that are not visual so if there appears to be a strange request for an accommodation such as the need to have a lounge chair with an umbrella while in direct sun, do not assume that the person does not have any disability just because there is no visible disability.