Why do we celebrate disability pride month?

Disability Pride Month occurs every July to commemorate the passing of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on the 26th of July 1990.

Disability pride month is dedicated to changing the stigma surrounding disabilities, challenging how people think of and define disabilities and celebrating disabled people, their identities and culture, and their contributions to society

Below we have listed 11 etiquette tips when interacting with disabled people, to make sure disabled people are seen as people first.

Number 1: Patience

Be patient with people; not everyone has the same skills you do. Have patience if someone takes longer with a task than you expect, or if they struggle with communication.

Number 2: Ask, don’t assume

Everyone needs help sometimes, disabled or not. But don’t assume someone needs help because they’re disabled – if they look like they’re struggling, ask them if they need help, just as you would anyone else.

Number 3: Respect

Which leads to the next point: give disabled people the same respect you would anyone else. Speak directly to us, not our carers, partners, or interpreters; treat us like the adults we are; and respect our autonomy and personal space.

Number 4: Don’t touch aids

A person’s aids – wheelchairs, canes, hearing aids, glasses, insulin pumps, whatever it may be – is a part of their person. Do not touch or move them without their explicit permission, just as you wouldn’t grab someone’s arm without permission.

Number 5: Don’t block access

Please don’t leave objects near doors or in hallways. An average wheelchair user needs 1.5 metres or five feet of space to comfortably get through somewhere – twice as much as an average person walking unassisted. Just because you can step around e.g. a box doesn’t mean we can get a chair around it.

Number 6: Lifts, ramps, and disabled toilets

Being able to get around and go to the toilet, even on days where I can’t use stairs, means that I can continue to live my life and do my job. It also means that I can use the bathroom while at work, which is always convenient.

Number 7: Understanding for invisible disabilities

There is no such thing as ‘looking disabled’ – disability is a wide spectrum covering physicals, sensory, mental, and learning impairments. Just because someone doesn’t fit your definition of disability does not mean they don’t need certain accommodations. People know what they need; let them tell you, and do your best to help them.

Number 8: Understanding for varying disabilities

Not all disabilities are consistent. I myself have a wheelchair and a cane, and even then I can sometimes walk unassisted. If you see someone stand up briefly from a wheelchair, or do something they said last week they couldn’t, remember that disabilities are varied. Someone may be able to stand or take a few steps, but not walk around for a full day, or maybe they can walk around on a good day, but not on a bad one.

Number 9: Minding your business

People do not owe you their life story. Do not ask disabled people invasive personal questions. Many people are happy to talk about their disability, but ask respectfully and do not push the issue if someone says they don’t want to talk about it. 

Number 10: Trust

Trust that people know their own health better than you do. Trust that they know what accommodations they need and do not question it. Also do not offer advice when you have not been asked; their treatment and management of their condition is between them and their medical team, and unless they have invited you into that conversation, you should stay out of it.

Number 11: Kindness

And this is the whole point: be kind to people. There is no one disabled experience, and while these points work generally, all accommodations and interactions should be tailored. Ask people what they need, do what you can to meet those needs, and if they tell you that you did something wrong, apologise honestly and move forward knowing that you have learned something good.

The reporting tool for students with disabilities which allow students with disabilities to voice their concerns in an open manner without judgment, here- https://www.abersu.co.uk/changeaber/campaigns/disabledstudents/

Remember, there are visible disabilities as well as non-visible disabilities, meaning not all disabilities are apparent.

We at the SU hope you have had a very happy Disability pride month