How to Interact With a Disabled Person in the Workplace
Disabled people are still people too. While you are at work with a disabled person, they should be treated like any other person, keeping their disabilities in mind. Most of the time, disabled people, whether mentally or physically disabled, want equal treatment not special treatment.
- Relax. Just because they are disabled doesn't mean that they can't do the job. They were hired for a reason so teach them to do their job and let them do it.
- Look at the person not the disability. While a person's disability may define their capabilities, it doesn't define the person.
- Keep in mind that a disabled person has an equal right to employment without harassment or varying treatment.
- Treat the employee as if you would all other employees handling assigned tasks. If there is a mistake, pull them aside as you would anyone else and tell them about it. Just because they are disabled doesn't give them the right to not do the job properly or not be told that it is being done incorrectly. They need to have the ability to fix their mistake as any other employee would.
- Respect the person's capability devices such as text phone, wheelchair, or phone. Hearing aids should also be respected as people wearing them often have sensitivities around radio equipment and other items like walkie-talkies that emit a sound wave.
- Invite the disabled person to help improve access to things within the place. They would know best how improvements could be made.
- Allow them the opportunity to decide how best to do things. While it might not seem appropriate to you, it is what works best for them. As long as the end result of the task is being completed that is what matters.