Last week we shared some tips to help health care providers improve communication with patients with hearing loss. This week, thanks again to medical student Zina Jawadi, we’re sharing tips–for everyone–about how to communicate supportively to people with any disability. She reminds us, “Accommodation and inclusion demonstrate an acknowledgement that disability-related struggles are real and show genuine compassion, consideration, and care. Navigating a world not designed for people with disabilities is difficult, and small steps can go a long way.”
She offers these practical, small steps you can start taking now:
- Do react supportably and unquestioningly to a disability disclosure.
- Do not disclose someone else’s disability without permission.
- At work, ask how you can make the environment more accessible and the team more inclusive.
- Avoid referencing the one person you know who has a similar disability unless there is something relevant to that person.
- Do not describe people with disabilities as inspirations for getting through their daily lives.
- Do ask for guidance around language to describe a disability.
- Do not assume people feel comfortable discussing or answering questions about their disability.
- Be proactive about accessibility when planning for events, work environments, and classes.
- Provide open captions for all videos and speakers. Turn on captions when available.
- Provide written descriptions of photos.
- Ensure that documents are accessible to screen reader software.
- Consider noise and potential stimulation that may overwhelm someone.
Read more insights from Zina Jawadi here.------------------------------
Penny Schnarrs
Virtual Communities Program Manager
Association of American Medical Colleges
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