Recently, I participated in a training with my local Red Cross about emergency preparedness for people with disability. I found the facts in US quite surprising, some are listed below:
- People with disabilities compromise more than 19% of the population
- Among those who are 65 years old, 52% have a disabilities
- 6% of the population use a wheelchair or ambulatory aid
- Nearly 6.5% of the population have a sensory disabilities
- 7% of the total population have problems with cognitive, mental or emotional functional.
Before we move further with the emergency preparedness for people with disability, it is probably interesting to expose some misconception about people with disabilities. Among many of them are the following:
- Society must take care of people with disabilities
- People with disabilities are brave
- People with disabilities undergo a sad life and we should feel sorry for them
- People with disabilities are sick, hurting, fragile and unintelligent
- People with disabilities are sensitive and do not like to talk about their disabilities.
The attitudinal barriers can lead to some attitudes that people display when they encounter people with disability such as:
- Discrimination
- Prejudice
- Tension
- Fear
- Ignorance
- Intolerance
- Stereotyping
- Insensitivity
- Discomfort
- Shame
Maybe not all of us sure what to do when we encounter people with disability. Through the training I learned some tips that can be useful for example:
- Avoid using the term "handicapped" , "cripple", "victim", "invalid", "special" instead use the person first langguage "person with disability"
- Instead of using the term normal people use the term people without disability
- Instead of using the term "deaf and dumb, mute use the term Hearing impaired, person who is deaf
- Name the disability rather than called it diseases.
So what do we do when we encounter one? Here are some general considerations:
- Don't panic
- Do not assume or segregate
- Treat as intelligent person
- Speak directly to the individual with disability
- Identify your self
- Offer or ask if the person need assistance
- Respect personal property and space
- Be patient and polite.
For further information visits : www.wid.org
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