Communicating & Interacting with Customers with Disabilities
A person with a speech disability is unable to produce speech sounds correctly or fluently. They often have too little voice strength or have an inability to understand certain words. Some people with speech disabilities have difficulties with articulation and stuttering.
A person with a language disability sometimes has trouble understanding others (receptive language) or sharing thoughts, ideas and feelings (expressive language).
Tips
Here are some things to keep in mind when communicating and interacting with someone with a speech or language disability.
Don’t assume that because a person has one disability, he or she also has another. Many people with speech disabilities complain that because they can’t speak well, people treat them like they are unintelligent or developmentally delayed.
Remember that anxiety can often aggravate a speech disability - being relaxed will help reduce the person’s anxiety.
Be patient and allow the person to complete what he/she are saying without interruptions.
If the person is accompanied by a support person, follow the same guidelines as when an interpreter is present. Speak to and look at the person with the disability and not the support person.
If you don’t understand, ask the person to repeat the information. Sometimes it is helpful to use “yes” or “no” questions.
Some persons with speech disabilities use a communication board, symbols or cards to help them communicate. When asked, use these devices as instructed.
Did You Know?
Stephen Hawking, a world-renowned theoretical physicist, communicates using computer speech synthesizers.
When asked about his celebrity status, Professor Hawking said, “I think that people are fascinated by the contrast between my limited physical powers such as my difficulty to speak and the vast nature of the universe I study”.
Professor Hawking is a Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University (a position once held by Isaac Newton). In 2008, he accepted a Distinguished Research Chair at the University of Waterloo.
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