Disability Etiquette: A Primer

The Disability Access Office in San Antonio, Texas, has published The Disability Etiquette Handbook. The handbook, which is on the web, covers a variety of issues. We thought we’d give you a sample.

Reception Etiquette

Greeting someone with a disability often makes a person without a disability awkward and uncomfortable. That doesn’t make you a bad person, just someone who needs some education. Here are a few tips on reception etiquette from the handbook:

• Use a normal tone of voice when extending a verbal welcome. Don’t raise your voice unless asked to.

• When you’re introduced to a person with a disability, it’s appropriate to offer to shake hands. People with limited hand use or who wear an artificial limb can usually shake hands.

• Shaking hands with your left hand is acceptable.

• If someone can’t shake hands, touch him on the shoulder or arm to welcome him and acknowledge his presence.

• When talking to a person with a disability, look and speak directly to her rather than through a companion who has accompanied her.

• If an interpreter is present, speak to the person who has scheduled the appointment, not the interpreter. Always maintain eye contact with the applicant, not the interpreter.

Interview Scheduling Etiquette

Applicants with a visual or mobility impairment may telephone before an interview to request information. The handbook provides some helpful hints:

• When giving directions to a person in a wheelchair, consider distance, weather conditions, and physical obstacles like stairs, curbs, and steep hills.

• Use specifics like “turn left at 100 feet” or “turn right at two yards” when directing a person with a visual impairment.

• Be considerate of the additional travel time that a person with a disability may need.

• If an interview site is inaccessible (for example, there are steps without a ramp or the building doesn’t have an elevator), inform the applicant about the barrier before the interview and offer to make arrangements for an alternate interview site.

Interview Etiquette

You shouldn’t be embarrassed if you happen to use accepted common expressions. Relax. If you say things like “See you later” or “Gotta be running along” that seem to relate to the person’s disability, the handbook says you shouldn’t worry or get tongue-tied about it. A few other pointers are listed below:

• When talking with a person in a wheelchair for more than a few minutes, use a chair, if possible, to place yourself at his eye level to facilitate conversation.

• When greeting a person with a severe loss of vision, always identify yourself and others who may be with you. (For example, “On my right is Penelope Potts.”)

• When conversing in a group that includes a visually impaired person, give a vocal cue by announcing the name of the person to whom you’re speaking. Speak in a normal tone of voice, indicating in advance when you will be moving from one place to another, and let it be known when the conversation ends.

• Listen attentively when you’re talking to a person who has a speech impairment. Keep your manner encouraging rather than correcting. Exercise patience rather than attempting to speak for someone with a speech difficulty. When necessary, ask short questions that require short answers or a nod or shake of the head. Don’t pretend to understand if you’re having difficulty doing so. Repeat what you understand, or incorporate the interviewee’s statements into questions you ask. Her reactions will clue you in and guide you toward understanding her.

Bottom Line

At the end of the day, the ADA is about one thing: good business. If someone with an impairment can make a contribution to your company, then he should be considered for a job on an equal basis with everyone else. Learning interviewing and communication techniques with potential employees who are disabled (or for that matter, current employees who have an impairment) is no different than learning any other skill to get the job done. You train yourself to learn the latest operating system on your computer; you should also train yourself to tap into the fullest available labor pool possible.

The Disability Etiquette Handbook has specific sections on interviewing people with mobility aides, vision impairments, or speech impairments and those who are deaf or hearing- impaired. It’s a terrific resource. Go to www.sanantonio.gov/ada/handbook Front.asp. You’ll be glad you did.