How To Get To Know A Disabled Person

When you first meet someone who is blind, deaf, or in a wheelchair, what is your initial reaction? Curiosity? Sympathy? Awkwardness? If you experience any of these emotions, you are not alone. Chances are you don't regularly associate with someone who is disabled, so these feelings are quite common.

Having been blind since birth, I have encountered a wide range of reactions, from curious stares when i walk down the street with a cane or holding someone's arm, to amazement at being able to feed and dress myself. Most people don't intend to be rude or insensitive, but just aren't sure what to expect. Here are four points to keep in mind if you should happen to meet a disabled person.

1. Disabled people can lead active lives. With few exceptions, a disability does not prevent someone from working, raising a family, or taking part in social activities. Many sports and recreation programs have been adapted to accommodate a person with a disability, including baseball, golf, water skiing, biking, and swimming. Instead of concentrating on the disability, look at the person the same way you would any other acquaintance.

2. It's all right to ask questions. Many people are afraid of offending someone by asking about their disability. When meeting anyone for the first time, it's natural to be curious about who they are, where they're from, and what they do for a living.

The same is true for a disabled person. Asking questions is usually acceptable, as long as you use common sense. Don't, for example, ask a blind person how he feeds and bathes himself. Instead, find out what equipment or techniques he uses in his job and at home, how he gets around town, how does Braille work, etc.

3. Offer assistance when necessary. You see a woman in a wheelchair having trouble entering a building or negotiating steps. You'd like to help, but don't want to embarrass her. What should you do?

It's usually appropriate to lend a hand if someone is having obvious difficulty, but keep in mind that not everyone will be willing to accept your help. It's not much different than pulling over and offering assistance to a motorist with a flat tire. Unless the woman in the wheelchair is in danger, it isn't necessary to press the issue if they refuse your help. You did your part.

4. Remember that we all have obstacles to overcome. No matter who we are, each of us has a weakness or challenge to face. How do you feel when you are treated differently for being bald, short, or heavyset? Like you, a disabled person would much rather be accepted for who they are, rather than be pitied or shunned because of a disability. Many friends and colleagues have said to me, "I often forget that you are blind." To me, that is the ultimate compliment.

Meeting someone with a disability doesn't have to be an intimidating experience. Asking questions, offering assistance, and putting yourself in their shoes can go a long way toward recognizing them as people with normal thoughts and feelings who just happen to have a disability. Who knows? You might make some new friends in the process.

About The Author

Stephen Michael Kerr is a blind radio broadcaster and freelance writer. He has launched a free e-mail newsletter on sports and recreation for people with disabilities. For more information about disabilities or the newsletter, e-mail Stephen at:

stevekerr@ev1.net

---

A Lasting Leadership Lesson: How One Leadership Talk By George Washington Saved The Revolution

A Lasting Leadership Lesson: How One Leadership Talk By George Washington Saved The Revolution (And Our Fledgling Nation) From Catastrophe.Leadership lessons come in many guises. One unforgettable... Read More

Managing Monsters in Meetings - Part 6, Deadlocked Discussions

Although a meeting is a vehicle for resolving differences, it can break down when the participants become mired in a disagreement.Approach 1: Form a subcommitteeAsk for volunteers... Read More

Top 25 Leadership Quotations

Ponder what it takes to be a true leader with these practical quotes that will lead you to a more precise understanding of the secrets to successful... Read More

People Problems -- Understanding the Dueling Paradigms

You've spent the last 12 years riding your technical skills up the corporate ladder.Now the payoff -- you're a manager.Congratulations.You get the perks: Big title. Big paycheck.... Read More

Professional Organizations: Join or Fold?

All of us join professional organizations for a reason--a friend belongs, we need to for credibility, etc. Many times we let years slide by and we don't... Read More

Stepping Into Leadership and Being The Source Of Your Success

Why is it that we often wait until we have achieved a level of success in network marketing before we feel as though we have earned the... Read More

3 Ds For Leadership Action... Dedicate, Direct, Dialogue!

"...And winged hope, with heart of fire, To gain the bliss of thy desire." - William WinterAre you among those leaders who daily lament the general lack... Read More

What Does Exceptional Business Success Require of Us?

To excel in business we need conscious command of all our faculties, mind, body and heart to ensure our work/life balance. Then we can seize the moment... Read More

Leadership Development for Success

In today's highly competitive world, there is a lot of pressure on leaders to create highly productive organizations. To be successful with this task, leaders will need... Read More

Asking for Help

For many of us, asking for help is a difficult concept. It can require a certain amount of vulnerability. We may feel as if we are admitting... Read More

The Flexible Leadership Workshop

The Leadership ChallengeLeaders in today's society are faced with an increasingly complex challenge: To deliver business results in the face of rapidly changing conditions, while building team... Read More

Strengthening Leadership Development with Employees

Within every business lies a network of people who are working to make their employer successful. Because growing business requires more employees, employers need to seek prospective... Read More

E=MC - Is It In Me?

How many times have you seen the E = MC2 formula and wondered what it might mean to you?Old Einstein had a lot more up his sleeve... Read More

Leadership: Seed or Fruit?

Purpose: Learn immediately if you are fostering leadership or ignoring it. Discover the power of nurturing your people.It was an enormous redwood tree. And due to regulations... Read More

The Incandescence Of The Human Spirit

There lives within every individual a power, an energy, an incandescence of spirit that is being constantly held in check, like a dimmer switch turned way down.A... Read More

The Three Factors of Leadership Motivation

Leaders do nothing more important than get results. But you can't get results by yourself. You need others to help you do it. And the best way... Read More

The Leader Within

Each and every one of you has hidden deep inside a different person a person that is robust insightful originative, a person that you have forgotten that... Read More

Using Your Intuition

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure." -Nelson Mandela, Inaugural Speech, 1994Intuition is divine guidance.... Read More

Develop a We Focus And Not a Me Focus

____________________________________________"There's only one thing more contagious than a good attitude ? and that's a bad attitude?Most bad attitudes are the result of selfishness." -John Maxwell ? The... Read More

Unleash It!

On airplanes, in restaurants, in the newspaper and on television, I often hear people saying their businesses are not growing to their satisfaction or that they are... Read More

In Leadership, Identifying Dreams That Lead To Great Results

History teaches that when people needed to do great things, a leader first had to gather them together and speak from the heart. This heartfelt speech was... Read More

Lead People...Manage Things

Master The Five Key Facets of High Performance LeadershipMany people in leadership positions struggle with understanding what makes a great leader. While billions of dollars are spent... Read More

Are You a Good Manager or a Great Leader?

Your word is your truth - Know that when you speak, you will fulfill your promise to others and others will know they can depend on you.... Read More

Leadership Like Water-Water Canoeing

Although world business is undergoing historic changes, the prevailing view of what constitutes business leadership is stuck in the past. Generally, business leaders view leadership as an... Read More

Building Teams and Teamwork

A tight knit team is a group of competent individuals who care deeply about each other and are fiercely committed to their mission. They are highly motivated... Read More

3 Aspects of Developing Leadership Skills

Everyone knows that great leaders are made, not born. However good that statement sounds, we still want to know how we "make" or turn people effective leaders.... Read More