Aspects of living with a disability part 8; How to appropriately approach a physically disabled person.

 hmm, I find myself here again plotting over another blog. My best piece of advice here is don't walk away from them and let them finish their conversation (if they're verbal). If they're not verbal it is still nice for them to be acknowledged. For example, when I was going through school, I had two disabled friends who were non-verbal. One had epilepsy, and one didn't. They both could communicate by making noise to varying degrees. However, they couldn't communicate through spoken word. But a lot could be said from their facial expressions. If you are interacting with someone who is verbal like me, it is much easier to facilitate a proper conversation. But the problem that I have most of the time is that people cut me off or I don't get to finish my side of the conversation. This is highly irritating because it commonly leads to miscommunication between parties. As physically disabled person we may not be able to do much physically; however, our power of observation and imagination usually make up for that physical barrier. On the contrary, it does not mean that we cannot be smart people, as there is a stigma surrounding the fact that we are dumb. 

My next piece of advice is don't assume; always ask. If the person does not want to tell you for privacy reasons, they or their carer (if not verbal) will state that they don't feel comfortable answering the question. The best thing to do in this situation is politely resume what you were previously doing, as some of these questions can feel confronting for a physically disabled person to answer. And for now, I will have to leave you saw I, unfortunately, have other things to attend to 

Thanks, 

Stephanie:)