Disabled or not, everyone has both the power and the responsibility to make society more inclusive for everybody.

In order to truly understand diversity and embody inclusivity, we need to learn how to turn good intentions into proactive behaviors. Here are some ideas to help you behave inclusively toward people with disabilities:

1. Don’t Assume What Is or Isn’t Possible

Disabilities affect all different types of people. So, although those with disabilities may share some similar experiences or challenges, they represent a highly diverse group of individuals. They may come from different cultural, educational, or socioeconomic backgrounds, and they may live with a physical, cognitive, or other type of disability that has varying effects on their daily life. And, of course, a person’s disability may not necessarily be obvious to the outside observer.

All of that in mind, it’s often inaccurate—and offensive—to presume what someone’s capabilities are. For example, someone who has hearing loss may be perfectly adept at reading lips, so it may come across as condescending to speak very loudly or make broad gesticulations when speaking to them.

2. Use Appropriate Language

Part of the reason that people with disabilities face stigma is that many terms to describe them are demeaning or dehumanising. Using more inclusive language can help combat this stigma and make people with disabilities feel respected and valued.

Instead of using common descriptors, it’s often best to simply refer to someone’s disability for what it is. If someone wears a trach collar, call it a trach collar. If they have cerebral palsy, call it cerebral palsy.

Another problem is that language surrounding people with disabilities often focuses on the disability, rather than the person. A disability may be part of a person’s identity, but it’s not who they are entirely. Instead of describing someone as “wheelchair-bound,” you could simply say that they “use a wheelchair.” 

3. Get Creative!

It’s pretty standard for employers to offer “reasonable accommodations” for people with disabilities, but what that entails may be highly variable depending upon the person and the position they fulfil.

Start with the job posting. Ask yourself what skills, behaviours or abilities are really necessary for the position, versus those with which you can dispense. Consider, for example, whether you can create opportunities for flexible hours or online work. It’s also a good idea to make sure that portals for online applications, as well as office computers and programs, are accessible for disabled users. For instance, you can make a point of ordering larger monitors for desktop computers so they are more accessible to those with partial sight.

4. Equal Opportunity Goes Beyond Hiring

Unfortunately, it’s more common for people with disabilities to get overlooked for promotions. Of course, this has negative repercussions for everyone because it makes people with disabilities feel less valued and included, which often also lowers engagement and productivity.

Make sure that people with disabilities are equitably promoted and given opportunities for growth. Reduce bias as much as possible by conferring with colleagues of diverse backgrounds and evaluating your reasoning for making decisions. In addition to cultivating diversity in leadership roles, this is a way to help spark motivation and create a model of inclusion for others.

5. Seek Input From People With Disabilities

It seems obvious, but it’s worth pointing out: The best way to create an inclusive environment for people with disabilities, is to ask people with disabilities. Foster an environment of inclusivity by asking employees with disabilities how they would like their disability to be addressed (if at all), what accommodations or support they might need (if any), in addition to how well they feel the organisation promotes accessibility and inclusion.

When it comes to inclusion, implementation of policies is arguably more important than the policies themselves. It’s important to recognise the value of inclusion, yes. But without adopting inclusive behaviours and ensuring that people at all levels of an organisation are doing the same, it’s impossible to truly engage employees and therefore reap the benefits of diverse work teams.

Of course, in order to adopt these behaviours, we have to be willing to accept that our biases play a role in our perceptions and relationships. Remind yourself to take small steps every day, so you can begin to challenge these biases and reform any unhelpful habits.

From lived experiences to listening to the disability community, One Young World has come up with a 10 step process (similar to the above, but on a wider scale), we can support to make our world more accepting and inclusive of people with disabilities.

1. View the disability community as a valuable consumer

It’s still progressive to see the disability community as a targeted audience and consumer. Despite being the biggest minority population in the world, they are the most under represented when it comes to marketing products. Part of this stems from the fact that there is huge diversity within the disability community, however, those consumer segments (and their families) still have significant purchasing power. Models with disabilities are slowly being incorporated into fashion and marketing commercials, but this needs to become the norm, and not seen as future-forward thinking.

2. Employ people with disabilities – They are ambitious and want to work

According to NPR, “fewer than 1 in 5 disabled adults are employed.” CNN Money also stated that, “disabled workers earn about $9,000 less a year than non-disabled workers, according to Census data on median earnings. That gap was under $6,000 in the early 1990s.” The disability community is still discriminated against at work from being refused a job or denied a final interview. But when it comes down to it, employers need to see a person, including their disability, as an asset and not a potential liability.

3. Increase disability representation in political settings

Can you think of any politicians or government officials who live with a disability? If you look hard enough, you will begin to see the variety of disabilities many who work inside a political office live with. However, are we encouraging younger generations with disabilities to become politically involved? How many local to national political campaigns incorporate the disability voice?

People with disabilities still encounter architectural, attitudinal and technological barriers when exercising their right to vote, including, no automatic door openers, an absence of Sign Language interpreters, no Braille signs or ramps; narrow doorways and inaccessible voting booths. In addition, voter competency for people with intellectual disabilities has been challenged, and some people were turned away. This is not okay.

4. Integrate disability history in school curriculums

How can a person with a disability acknowledge and identify with their history if it’s not widely taught? And how can the community be embraced if their civic background is never taught?  Disability history needs to be integrated within our school system for the community to be fully acknowledged. Whether this is at primary, secondary, or university level; push for your school to talk about disabilities and teach students about the history of disabilities.

5. Promote social inclusion in schools

Our overall cultural consciousness on how we treat and interact with disability needs to change. We need to celebrate our peers for their differences. If this is taught at a young age, less discrimination and more social inclusion will occur. Having kids with and without disabilities learning side-by-side helps everybody appreciate the talents and gifts all kids bring with them. As a society, we have the responsibility to promote the inclusion of our differences.

6. Employ more actors with disabilities in mainstream media

We need to see more actors with disabilities playing actual character roles of people who have disabilities. No more able-bodied actors playing a person with a disability when an actor living with a disability can be easily hired. 

How could an able-bodied actor play a character with a disability better than a person living under those circumstances? Furthermore, the media needs to do a better job at accepting disability as a human condition, instead of a flaw and imperfection.

7. Provide university scholarships to people with disabilities

People with disabilities should be awarded places and scholarships based on their abilities by their chosen school, to help with additional support they may require. They should not however, be used as advertisement of the institution, but rather acknowledged as a hardworking person who brings valuable contribution to the course.

8. Campaign to make air travel universally accessible

Many people with disabilities are active business people with vibrant careers who are respected in their various fields. That is, until they get to the airport and become dependent on the Special Services Request or cannot use the washroom once in the air.  The level of disrespect and invisibility a traveler with a disability endures can be astounding and frustrating. Many people with disabilities have to forgo traveling for long flights because they do not have access to a bathroom. 

9. Acknowledge that police brutality occurs on people with disabilities

Did you know that there is still no substantial data pertaining to police brutality and people with disabilities? Isn’t it shocking that it’s never been recorded? According to the Hill, “there are no reliable figures on just how many people with disabilities were involved in altercations with police.” Although some law enforcement agencies have acknowledged that more disability training needs to occur, each case is different due to the variety of disabilities. As a society, we should feel ashamed that these statistics aren’t being tracked, and more importantly, we have to ask ourselves why we don’t see this as a major issue.

10. Realize that People with Disabilities are Humans too

It’s interesting how we can see a person in one dimension and forget that they are a human being, intricate with multiple angles. When we see a person outside of their element, we tend to forget that their life is a culmination of different sides and not just how we see them in an isolated environment.

Sometimes people can forget that a person with a disability is first and foremost a human being with desires, talents, skills, heartache and loss, just like everyone else. At the basis of every person are the similarities we all share for being human, and that includes people with disabilities.

We need to become the voices that challenge. If you never raise your voice, then nothing will occur and no change will happen. Raise your voice so we can see a fully inclusive society and celebrate each other for who we truly are – talented and incredible human beings.