Ask me stuff about disability, symptoms, etc, whatever you like. No holds barred. Can’t guarantee I’ll be able to answer everything but I have nothing but time on my hands.
Ask me stuff about disability, symptoms, etc, whatever you like. No holds barred. Can’t guarantee I’ll be able to answer everything but I have nothing but time on my hands.
Yeah, it was a bit of an unfair question on my part. Simple things tend to be the hardest to define, sorry! I really appreciate the insight though, thank you.
A follow-up, if you do not mind, is what do you believe should be done or avoided when attempting to offer someone help? Of course, this would vary very widely based on people’s personalities, but are there any general do’s or don’ts or a particular perspective that you might have?
No problem, thank you for asking.
The recommendations given in training courses is to always speak to the person directly and not assume things about them. A lot of disabilities are also invisible (most of them I would say), meaning someone may look perfectly fine but still be disabled. Respect their autonomy, e.g. don’t put your hands on a wheelchair without asking the person if you can help them first (and they say yes), also ask how you can help them exactly if you’re not sure bc someone might be struggling going down stairs for example, you ask if you can help, they say yes, but maybe they only want you to carry their bag and manage the stairs themselves instead of being helped down. Though usually people are not dicks about accepting any kind of help lol. and don’t treat them like children of course!