Interacting with Persons with Disabilities
Many persons without disabilities feel uncomfortable around individuals
with disabilities. Although the ADA removes many barriers, the law cannot
eradicate invisible attitudinal hurdles. Sometimes, individuals avoid
people with disabilities or exhibit awkwardness towards them. Much of
this discomfort stems from misunderstanding and lack of contact with people
with disabilities. Common feelings include:
- Social Uneasiness: A sense of awkwardness and
uncertainty as to how to speak and act in the presence of people with
disabilities.
- Paternalism: A feeling that people with disabilities
are dependent and helpless and therefore in need of special treatment
or charity.
- Assumptions about Emotions: Assumptions about
how people with disabilities feel about their conditions, specifically
that they feel sorry for themselves or that they are bitter.
- Assumptions about Abilities: Assumptions about
what people with disabilities can or cannot do.
There are several steps that can be taken to help ease a sense of awkwardness.
These include the following: