cartoon of young people with disabilities

Working with young people with a disability

Strategies

The biggest barrier that faces people with a disability is often the attitudes of other people!

The most important thing to remember is to show respect, acceptance and dignity to all young people you work with, including young people with disabilities.

Here are some tips to help you communicate and work with people with a disability.

Be supportive  
Be supportive and welcoming. Remember that the young person may be feeling nervous if it is their first time in visiting your service. Try and reassure them and get them involved in group or team activities or introduce them to some of the other young people using your service.

If you normally shake hands with young people, then you can offer to shake hands with someone with limited hand use or an artificial limb, or shake their left hand. If the person cannot shake hands you can touch the person on the arm to welcome them.

Ask before you assist
If you think someone needs help, ask them, don't assume that they need your help. If they say yes, ask them what they want you to do before you act. If they say no, accept their answer, rather than keep asking them, eg. "Are you sure? I don't mind."

Focus on the person
When speaking with a young person with a disability who is accompanied by a parent, carer or friend speak directly to the young person with the disability. If you have a conversation for more than a few moments with someone in a wheelchair or sitting down, pull up a chair or squat down so you are communicating at eye level.

Don't bombard them
Don't overload them with too much information or questions. Pace yourself according to their level of comprehension and confidence.

Respect personal space and property
Never lean on a wheelchair as it is the personal space of the owner. Never move personal property such as a wheelchair or walking aid away from a person with a disability, as they will usually feel more comfortable if it remains within their reach.   Don't offer to hand their equipment to them unless they request it.

Hearing impairment

  • Try and minimise noisy surroundings and distractions such as loud music when you are communicating.
  • To get their attention tap the person lightly on the shoulder or wave your hand.
  • Face the person and speak slowly. Don't eat, smoke or put your hands near your mouth when you are talking to them. Make sure you are in a lighted area.
  • Remember that not all deaf people can lip read.
  • Don't shout as this makes it harder to lip read and can interfere with the sound through a hearing aid.
  • You can always write something down if you are unable to communicate.
  • Consider whether a TTY phone system would be of benefit to your service. (A TTY phone system is designed for people who have a hearing or speech impairment. TTY works by sending typed messages between two people who have TTY phones).
  • Have a website that is compatible with voice activated software. (This software audibly reads out written text on websites).

Visual impairment

  • Ensure your promotional material is printed on white paper in a plain font such as Arial and at least 12 point.
  • Don't presume that someone with a visual impairment is completely blind. Ask them what they can see. For example they might not be able to recognise someone across a room but can see printed material when held very close.
  • To guide someone in a particular direction always offer your arm, rather than grabbing their arm or pushing them in the direction.
  • When meeting someone identify yourself and others who are in the room. When communicating in a group setting say their name before asking a question or speaking directly to them, so they know you are speaking directly to them.
  • When purchasing computers for the use of your clients choose a larger monitor.
  • For a first time visitor, describe your venue setting and the equipment and facilities that are available and their location in the room. For example "the kitchen is on your left hand side".
  • Don't leave someone in an open area without saying that you are leaving and leading them back to a landmark so they know where they are.
  • Guide dogs are specially trained to assist, they are not pets. Don't pat them or feed them while they are in their harness as this will distract them from their job. Make sure other young people in the group know how to treat the guide dog.

Speech impairment

  • Don't feel embarrassed or guilty if you can't understand the person you are speaking to. Don't pretend to understand them if you do not. The person with a disability has, most likely, experienced this before and won't be surprised if they are sometimes not understood. Be patient and repeat what you have understood, their response will provide some guidance as to whether you were correct in your understanding.
  • Be patient and wait for the person to finish what they are saying rather than interrupting and trying to guess what they are saying.
  • If you are having trouble communicating try asking questions that require only a short answer, or use other communication methods such as writing or letter boards.

Learning disability or intellectual disability

  • Don't rush or overload the person.
  • Use clear language and check that they have understood what you have said.
  • Be patient and allow them extra time.

Brain Injury

The Brain Injury Association of NSW provides the following advice to services who work with a young person with a brain injury: 23

  • If the young person has difficulty concentrating then provide a regular routine in your program, give verbal reminders and reduce distractions including noise distractions.
  • If the young person has difficulty understanding other people's point of view or talks over other people in a conversation then verbally prompt them to consider the views of others and encourage them to take turns in conversations.
  • If the young person behaves in inappropriate ways then provide clear, non-threatening feedback about the behaviour and suggest alternatives.
  • If the young person loses their temper easily then encourage the person to walk away from what is making them angry and talk with the person about what may make them angry and help them work out how to avoid these things.
  • If the young person finds it hard to remember appointments or the things people say then remind the person verbally, provide a regular routine at your program and encourage them to use a diary to remind themselves of tasks and events.
  • If the young person gets tired quickly or takes longer to do activities then schedule in extra time for each activity or break the task into smaller sections and have regular breaks.

Mental illness
For information on working with young people with a mental illness please see the separate section in this manual.

Sometimes people feel nervous or uncomfortable around people with disabilities because they don't know what to do or what might offend them. If you don't know what to do just ask. Let them know that you are available, approachable and willing to help. For example you can say 'If you need anything just let me know."

Don't be embarrassed if you say the wrong thing that relates to their impairment such as "see you tomorrow" to someone who is blind. The person has probably heard this before and won't usually be offended.

Be yourself. Talk about the same things as you would with anyone else.

Confidentiality
Young people with a disability have the right to access your service without having to share unnecessary personal information such as details about their disability.

A person with a disability can experience discrimination, or simply be sick of being constantly asked about their disability, so they may be unwilling to provide you with details about their disability.

If you feel you need to know about a disability to improve the way that you provide your service or activity you can ask the young person directly.

For example you may need to know about physical barriers that could prevent them from participating in a particular activity and whether any extra assistance or support is required.

You should respect the privacy rights of people with a disability.

At the same time you don't need to ignore the disability or pretend that it does not exist.