Autism Soccer: Get your Message Across: Reaching out to People with Disabilities

Communicating effectively is the key to create a good rapport with people with disabilities.

Awareness has truly done some wonders in today’s society. People today are more aware of how words can affect others, and how some delicate subjects are to be treated with care. Disabilities are getting a big deal of attention and old methods of approach are starting to lose strength. If you’re one of those who came here looking for a new way of reaching out to autistic people, you should be proud of yourself. Hopefully, this guide will be useful for you!

Back in the day, archaic categorizations were a commonplace. Doctors used them to diagnose and sort disabilities cases. The first example of these misused terms is “mental retardation” as a way to refer to intellectual disabilities. Nowadays this concept is seen as a terrible insult to a variety of different conditions, and people organized campaigns to “end the word.” Same happened with physical disabilities (whether caused by accidents or by birth).

Luckily, these perceptions are changing, and now there are many initiatives to properly approach disabled individuals in a way that’s comfortable for them. Let’s take a look into some of the proper ways of reaching out to and bond with people who might be in need of support.

1.- Don’t address the disability: there might be some people who are okay with talking about their condition and sharing their experience with you. However, others might not feel the same way. Avoid questions about their conditions at first. Focus on the person, not the disability!

2.- They need accommodations, not fixing: perhaps you might consider it’s natural to desire to be “normal,” but this doesn’t necessarily apply to them. If you’re considering communicating and understanding them, forget about that idea of “normal.” What’s it anyways? It sounds like the type of thinking ableism is based on, and we are trying to stay away from that.

3.- Don't ask. Listen!: bear in mind they’ve been through a lot of judging and discrimination because of their disability. Don’t expect them to talk to you about their lives openly, but engage them in casual conversations that will help them feel comfortable.

4.- “Mental age” doesn’t exist: often people catalog others by their academic capabilities, like reading or math skills. This outdated concept defines people as being “childlike” because of their intellectual disability. Adults with mental disabilities are as equally mature as any other regarding emotional thinking. Be careful with associating intellectual skills with maturity. These two are not related whatsoever.

5.- Offer them spaces: to provide accessible environment should be everyone’s goal. It’s not about changing the environment (which should be ideally made for all) but creating spaces where they’re comfortable enough to develop and open up. Reaching out is also about the creation of welcoming places for people with disabilities.

Each individual has its way of living with their condition. Be considerate of them, and they’ll find an open door whenever you’re around. Also, don’t let this knowledge get to you only, be sure to share it so others can understand as well. From the sum of little actions comes significant changes. Be a change factor for a better tomorrow!