Tips for Interacting with People with Disabilities

People with Disabilities and Activity Limitations Are a Part Of Every Segment Of the Population

Individuals with disabilities live in the country and the cities, go to school and work at home and in high-rise buildings. Most people with disabilities and activity limitations are integrated into and are actively involved in all parts of our society.

All efforts to improve programs and services for people with disabilities should use a broad definition of “disability”that includes people of all ages, from early life to old age, and with full range of learning, understanding, emotional, hearing, speaking, visual, and physical abilities. If you think about those who have a disability, are likely to acquire a disability, people close to you who are affected by disability, then disability affects or will affect you.

People with disabilities and people who are aging will soon constitute the majority of the population. If you live long enough, you may age into disability. As time changes our bodies, activity and functional limitations become common. There is an 80 percent chance that you will experience a temporary (sprained ankles, broken bones, significant joint pain, etc.) or permanent disability at some point in your life.

Incorporate people with disabilities and activity limitations into the fabric and the culture of programs and services, so that the issues are not viewed as “special,”“sidebar,” or “in addition to,” but part of the daily radar screen of business as usual.