The Mouseability Disability Awareness
Information Pack
Please feel free to print off your own personal copy of our Disability Awareness Pack.
We would like to thank the many charities and organisations who have helped us compile this information, which we hope will give you a better understanding of how to communicate with people who have disabilities.
All the companies listed on the MouseAbility website have confirmed that they have read and understood the information sheets below, and are positive towards disabled people.
1. Communicating with Deaf and Hard of Hearing People
2. Communicating with Blind and Partially Sighted People
3. Communicating with People who Use Wheelchairs
4. The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)
Communicating With Deaf and Hard of Hearing People
· Check that the Deaf person is looking before you start to speak. It would be appropriate to touch the Deaf person lightly on the arm or shoulder to get their attention.
· Do not shout; just speak a little more slowly.
· Keep background noise to a minimum. Some people have different levels of hearing loss.
· Stand or sit facing the Deaf person when you have their attention.
· Make sure you are standing so that any natural or artificial light is behind them, rather than them having to look into the light while trying to lip-read.
· Do not chew gum or smoke whilst conversing.
· Always look directly at the person, do not turn away whilst talking.
· Use facial expressions to convey meanings.
· If a hearing person accompanies the Deaf person avoid conversing only with them, excluding the Deaf person.
· Check the Deaf person is following what you say - lip-reading can be tiring.
· Write things down if you need to clarify them.
· Allow more time than usual for the person to absorb what you have said. Remember this is another language, English is their second.
· If you change the subject, make sure the Deaf person knows.
· Last but not least try to use short sentences and phrases - they are easier to lip-read than single words and provide the lip reader with context.
Communicating with Blind and Partially Sighted People
If you are meeting a blind or partially sighted person for the first time, you may wonder how to behave. The obvious advice to “behave normally” may not be much help. Here are some suggestions, gleaned mostly from blind and partially sighted people, to put you at your ease.
Talk naturally. Introduce yourself, giving your name and function.
Talk directly to a blind person as you would to anyone else. Maintain eye contact. Don’t talk down, or address your remarks to a companion as though the blind person was not there.
When introducing blind people to others it is helpful to indicate where they are placed in the room (describe in terms of a clock face).
Ask how the person wants to be guided - guide, do not push.
Give a tour of the room and/or building to familiarise the person with the layout. To help a blind person into a chair, put his or her hand on the seat or back of the chair and he or she will be able to do the rest.
Describe the environment and features as they are approached:
- The path slopes downhill
- Double-doors that open towards us
- Handrail on your left
- The stairs go up, etc.
Say goodbye when leaving so that the person is not left talking to themselves. Anyone feels foolish talking to an empty space.
Guiding a blind person
There are times when blind people need help from sighted people in getting around.
For walking side by side indoors or out: stand by the blind person with your arms straight and fingers pointing to the ground. Ask your partner to take your arm. He or she should hold it firmly, just above the elbow, with the fingers on the inside of your arm and thumb on the outside. Your partner’s elbow should be bent. By holding your arm like this the blind person will be half a pace behind you, making it easier to tell when you are turning, by the movement of your body. There is no need to move your arm. Check your partner’s feet are pointing in the same direction as yours; if not, you could soon be parting company!
Walking in single file: so the blind person knows to move behind you, move your arm to the middle of the back, keeping it straight. Your partner should step in behind you, still holding your arm.
Steps and stairs: whether you are going up or down, you should be one step ahead so that your partner does not take imaginary steps into space. State which direction you are going in: “stairs up”, “stairs down”.
Rows of seats: Most blind people prefer to be led into a row of seats - change sides if necessary. When you reach your row, you and your partner side-step (step-pause-step) until your partner is central to their seat, then leave the rest to them.
Guide Dogs
Provide water, do not offer food.
Do not pat the dog; it is a working dog and offering food or attention will distract it.
Never try to lead the dog by its harness. Consult with the owner on how best to offer assistance.
Remember some people are terrified of dogs; consult with your work colleagues to discuss the issue of guide dogs coming into the workplace.
Communicating With People Who Use Wheelchairs
- The key concept? Focus on the person, not on his or her disability.
- It is appropriate to shake hands with a person even if they appear to have limited use of their arms.
- Always ask the person who uses a wheelchair if he or she would like assistance. Your help may not be needed or wanted.
- Don’t hang or lean on a person’s wheelchair. A wheelchair is part of his or her own personal or body space.
- Whilst talking to a disabled person, try to talk as normally as possible and do not apologise if you use expressions such as ‘I must be running along’. Expressions are part of everyday language and the apology will probably be more offensive or embarrassing than the expression.
- If your conversation lasts more than a few minutes, consider sitting down, etc, to get yourself on the same eye-level as the person who uses the wheelchair. It will stop both of you from getting a stiff neck!
- Don’t demean or patronise the person by patting them on the head.
- Don’t classify persons who use wheelchairs as sick. Wheelchairs are used for a variety of non-contagious disabilities.
- When a person using a wheelchair ‘transfers’ out of the wheelchair to a chair, toilet, car or bed, do not move the wheelchair out of reaching distance.
- Don’t discourage children from asking questions about the wheelchair.
The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)
From October 2004 Companies and Organisations that provide services to the public are required by the Disability Discrimination Act to ensure that their services are reasonably accessible to disabled people.
For most businesses, making their premises accessible to disabled people will be a key aspect of compliance with the DDA. Installing appropriate equipment will also be of utmost importance to a company or organisation.
It is important to note that the DDA covers all forms of access to goods and services including provision of access for the partially sighted (such as assistance with form filling, signing of documents), wheelchair access, those with impaired hearing, physical disabilities such as arthritis and those with hearing difficulties, to name but a few.
Whether you are a consumer, or a business requiring a more detailed assessment, you can speak to a MouseAbility consultant free on Freephone 0800-034-0294 or e-mail info@MouseAbility.co.uk
For more specific information please refer to the DDA website www.disability.gov.uk