Disability Etiquette

• Use direct language: person with a disability or disabled person

• NOT handicapped, not crippled

• Avoid cutesy alternatives:

• NOT differently abled, not physically challenged NOT special needs

• NOT wheelchair bound. We’re wheelchair users

• NOT crazy, psycho, lunatic, stupid, retarded

• Our use of in-group language doesn’t give you permission to use it

Ask First

• Don’t touch us w/o asking; inc. wheelchairs, walkers, other equipment

• Don’t pat us on the head or shoulder or hand or anywhere else

• Don’t take our photos without our permission

• Ask before you “help”; don’t assume we’re struggling

• Check your assumptions about what constitutes “struggling”

• Don’t assume that the reason we approach a peacekeeper is because of our disability

• If we accept an offer of help, don’t assume you know what we need

• Don’t substitute your judgment for ours

• Wait to be told what we need

• Again, don’t grab us or our equipment without permission

• How could I be most helpful right now?

More

• Don’t try to connect with us around the disability

• Don’t pet service dogs or ask to pet them or try to bond around them. They’re working and it’s exhausting to field constant requests

• Don’t ask about equipment unless you have an actual need to know

• Don’t ask intrusive or personal questions

• Don’t assume that someone using a service doesn’t need it because they don’t “look disabled”

• Hidden disabilities can range from heart disease to MS to bi-polar disorder to chronic fatigue to environmental illness

• Identify yourself & your role

• Describe what’s going on

• Don’t grab our arm to guide us, let us take yours

• All the same rules about not touching or helping without permission apply

Deaf and Hard of Hearing

• Masks prevent lip-reading

• Don’t shout

• Talk to the us, not the interpreter

• Make eye contact before you start

• Don’t assume lip-reading, but also don’t cover your mouth when speaking

• Always have a paper and pen handy so that you can communicate in writing

• Know where the Deaf seating area is at a rally, where interpreters will be, in case you’re asked

Sensory Processing, Anxiety, Autism and Similar Conditions

• Don’t yell at us; it will just make us feel more overwhelmed

• If possible, step aside out of the crowd to quieter space.

• Be calm and ask if you need to repeat what you said.

• Don’t touch or grab us to “help” us to understand.

A march or rally can be overwhelming for anyone; it can be almost impossible for people with sensory processing issues. We may seem rude, detached or unresponsive when we may just be trying to make sense of all that incoming data. Imagine standing in the middle of a crowded circus midway with flashing lights, loud noises and lots of people and trying to understand what someone is instructing you to do.

Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, Environmental Illness

• Don’t wear perfume or cologne,

• Don’t use scented products

• Wash your clothes with fragrance-free detergent, fabric softener

• Don’t touch us without permission, since you may transfer substances to us or our clothes that make us sick.