All People with Disabilities

Not all disabilities are visible. People with disabilities may have more than one disability.

Notice if there is something unusual in the person’s interactions. This can include actions, nonsensical words, babbling, yelling, laughing, ignoring, pacing, overreacting to touch, making loud or unusual sounds, and even flat affect/no expression. The behavior may look different from all other people with disabilities.  

Not everybody identifies themselves as having a disability. If you are not sure, ask them about their needs for support: Do you need me to slow down? Do you need an interpreter? Check for understanding: Can you tell me what I just said?

If someone says a person is different, ask: How is the person different? Sometimes family members have a disability themselves and do not recognize that their adult child also has a disability.  

Find out how the persons’ disability affects them. Ask the person how they would like to communicate and what supports they might need.

Ask what families and care providers or personal care attendants do when the person is distressed. Recognize how the individual self-soothes and provide that environment, if you can.

When you speak or write, put the person first, and then the disability. Examples: Kelly has cerebral palsy vs. the person with CP. Mark has a disability vs. the disabled man. This respectful approach is called person first language. Avoid outmoded or insulting phrases like handicapped, wheelchair bound, suffering from, or mentally retarded.

Trauma affects our brains. Traditional investigative approaches can cause additional trauma by activating people with disabilities’ trauma related protective responses (fight, flight, and/or freeze): fighting (can look like aggression), fleeing (leaving/running away), or freezing (which can look like disinterest or compliance).

All behavior is communication –a person may be angry, upset or ignoring you – these behaviors are communications about their internal state.

People with disabilities may be able to understand what is said more than they are able to express themselves. The person may need more time to process. Wait at least 6-10 seconds before moving on.

People with disabilities are usually not acting in a certain way to make your job more difficult or because they are being defiant. There’s often another root cause. Don’t take it personally.

People with disabilities who seem particularly reactive may have learned that they are safer if they can keep others pushed away with their behaviors: If I’m a big enough monster, I might be safer.  

People with disabilities may be extremely sensitive to sound, touch, textures, lights, harsh/loud voices, too many people in smaller spaces, people too close, or groups of responders towering over the person.  

People with disabilities may have difficulty with change and may be frightened of people in uniforms.

People with disabilities have often experienced medical trauma, so EMTs/paramedics/first-responders may have a more challenging time.

People with disabilities may not be able to read facial expressions and their responses may indicate disinterest when they are actually experiencing panic, terror, and/or fear.  

Softening your approach can minimize re-traumatizing people with disabilities and improve your interactions.  

Like most people, individuals with disabilities often want someone to be interested in them, to understand their fears, and to believe them. Show this understanding with your words, your facial expressions, and your body language.

Talk to the person with the disability first, instead of family and/or care providers/personal attendants.

Be receptive to the dynamics and approach with an open mind. Each situation may need to be treated differently.

Defer to the parent/care attendant who seems most knowledgeable about how to interact with and respond to the person with disabilities.

If there is a conflict between the parent/care attendant and individual with disabilities, it’s usually easier to remove the parent/care attendant than to remove the person with disabilities.

The parent/care attendant may be as escalated as the person with disabilities, due to trauma, stress/distress, or feelings of helplessness. They are likely to need empathy and understanding too.

The less chaotic and stressful the setting, the more people with disabilities will be able to communicate. Turn down the volume of TVs/radios and your walkie-talkie/radio. Limit the number of people responding or watching and limit your own movements.

Assume each person with disabilities has experienced trauma. The calmer and less reactive you are, the calmer and more responsive people with disabilities may be.  

Use a quiet, gentle, and accepting demeanor and give adequate space. Bigger emotions tend to require bigger physical space to contain.

Model calmness. Take 4 deep breaths to settle your own response to the situation. People with disabilities, and even infants, are likely to mirror your own calmness or distress.

Talk slowly, in plain, easy to understand language, using a normal and everyday tone of voice.

Offer concrete choices to make people with disabilities feel more comfortable: Would you like a drink? Would you like to sit in this chair or somewhere else?

Explain why you are there and what your role is in easy to understand language. Push past your fears of doing or saying something wrong.

Sit at eye level with people with disabilities but recognize that eye contact may be very difficult for some people. This can also be due to cultural beliefs.

Don’t pretend to understand the person’s speech if you do not. They will know, and it will erode trust.

With people with disabilities, first talk about neutral things that are appropriate to their age: movies, music, or other activities.

Give direct answers to questions, and don’t try to make things sound better than they are.

We can’t promise that everything will be OK, and even small exaggerations may lead to distrust.

Time

Slow down. Going too fast can escalate a crisis.

Let people with disabilities know that you will wait as they take their time to explain. Allow the person time (5-10 seconds) to process, ask questions, and to say no to something they do not want to do. This also helps the person regain some control.

To reduce pressure, use language such as: When you are ready, or First we will…

Acceptance

Avoid assumptions. People with disabilities may or may not be able to follow directions or understand what you say. Every person with a disability will be different, and what you think you know about a situation may be completely wrong.

Treat people with disabilities as you would any other person. Use age-appropriate, plain, direct, and everyday language. Avoid baby talk-they are adults and should be treated as such.

Do not stop people with disabilities from self-soothing behaviors like rocking, fidgeting, pacing, twirling, or hand flapping, unless they are at risk of physical injury.

Try not to be reactive to the way people with disabilities are demonstrating their grief, loss, and trauma.

Focus on the strength of people with disabilities and build rapport to reinforce a healing experience. For instance, a Deaf people with disabilities may not have American Sign Language (ASL) fluency but may be skilled at drawing or gesturing and thrives in a safe space.

Safety

If the person with disabilities is acting out their distress, and it is safe, give them more physical space and don’t crowd or back the person into a small space/corner. Disengage a little and monitor for continuing safety.

Avoid concealing your hands, making sudden movements, and touching the person without asking for consent (‘May I…”).  

Carry squeeze balls or other sensory items in your trunk/bag for people with disabilities to keep their hands busy and to soothe overstimulated neurological systems.

Let people with disabilities control the situation as much as possible, where they want to sit, when they want a break, if they want a fidget device.

Some people with disabilities may need a safe family member/care provide/personal attendant to be with them.  

Say the person with disabilities’ name to get their attention and then make your request.

Talk quietly and check for signs of understanding by asking the person to repeat what you just said.

Don’t talk too much or too fast. The best way to pace a conversation is to speak slowly and clearly.

People with disabilities need plain and clear language. Be literal. Instead of hold your horses, say: Please wait two minutes. Avoid sarcasm, metaphors, or jokes. This will likely make a difficult situation more confusing.

Use pictures. Carry a pad and pencil so you can draw what you are trying to share with people with disabilities who think visually.Make a booklet or lanyard of common scenes i.e. pictures of people with disabilities sitting together. Or use a communication board (https://lingraphica.com/free-communication-boards/).

Find out as quickly as you can how the person’s disability impacts their capacity for understanding what is being said.  

Become familiar with how the person communicates and/or their speech patterns. Some people with disabilities communicate by using sign language, pointing to letters, communication devices (such as communication boards, iPads, cell phone applications, or other technology), or using gestures, facial expressions, or vocalizations.

People with disabilities’ actions and/or easy to understand words may be the only way they know how to express complex feelings like fear, anger, confusion, and distress.

If you are unable to understand, consider calling in a neutral party who knows how to communicate with people with disabilities, such as a speech therapist, interpreter, family or care attendant. (For official interviews, do not call in the person who reported the abuse).

After the person with disabilities finishes a thought, wait 5-10 seconds before you start talking in case they have more to share.

If you think you heard the person correctly, ask: Are you saying this…, did I understand that correctly?

Never complete the persons sentence, interrupt, or take away access to communication devices or supports.

Unless the person with disabilities requires an interpreter, DO NOT let someone speak for them.

Pay attention to how people with disabilities act instead of just what they say. Notice their body language, facial expressions, and eye contact. Remember some people with disabilities will not be comfortable with eye contact; some discomfort may also be due to cultural beliefs.

Assume that people with disabilities understand you, until you learn otherwise, although they may not respond in a typical way or follow directions well. A person’s disability does not make them incompetent.

If the person is stuck on one topic, listen and affirm what they are saying. It may help them move past it.

Recognize that many people with disabilities are trained to comply or have a desire to please. Let them know that it’s OK to say: I don’t know.

If the reported crime did not involve physical pain, people with disabilities may not understand what the problem is. You may have to explain what happened and why it’s not OK (or against the law).  

Keep the meeting space free of distractions. Leave a clear path to the exit.

Phrasing questions

Use fewer pronouns to avoid confusion. Instead of: DID she go with her? Ask: DID Bianca go with Robin?

Talk about the facts. You have bruises. Do you know how you got them? Use plain, short, to the point directives and questions.

Many people with disabilities are visual learners, so a lot of verbal commands and rapid-fire instructions are difficult to process. They may not hear, understand, or remember what you are telling them.

Avoid leading questions. People with some disabilities (cognitive, intellectual and developmental) are easily influenced, tend to comply or acquiesce, and want to please.  

Keep questions neutral and free of suggestions. Example: Do you like Mary? Instead of: Is Mary mean to you?

Use concrete language instead of abstract. Concrete language is about what people with disabilities can see, hear, smell, touch, or taste. Rather than: How tall was Tom? Give concrete reference points. Ask: Is Tom taller than you?

People with disabilities may remember when things happened in relationship to their daily schedules: their favorite televisions shows, when they go to day habilitation and come home, when they have physical therapy, and other regularly scheduled events. Instead of: What time was it? Try: Was it before or after dinner? What was on TV? Who was home?

Offer two choices that are both fine. Would you like to start talking now, or would you like to start talking in a few minutes?

No can be a favorite word of people with disabilities. Use open-ended questions, or questions with two choices. Were you at home or with Yasmin? Were you at home alone or with another person?    

Sometimes people with disabilities may have difficulty understanding your questions. Try asking several times, in different ways, changing a few words each time. Has anybody ever hit you? Has anybody ever touched the private parts of your body (or the parts of your body covered by a bathing suit?)