Felling like you belong there
Feeling welcomed

• Everyone appreciates common courtesy. A friendly smile and welcoming hello is a good starting point. Some people may not be able to return the greeting but your kindness is noticed.

• Be yourself, be natural, and don’t force
enthusiasm. Do not patronise or be over friendly.

• Interaction with people from diverse backgrounds or people with a disability can be an unfamiliar and sometimes intimidating experience for many people. Avoidance behaviour can occur. Training can help staff deal with these issues.

• People are often interested in a person’s disability or culture but staring and pointing makes people feel different. Provide staff with opportunities to find out more about disability and culture.

• Be aware of body language. It can often say more than words.

• Remember, just because people have a disability or use a wheelchair doesn’t mean they are sick. Lots of people who have a disability or use a wheelchair are healthy and strong.

• Sometimes we bring to a relationship prejudices and judgements. Commit to giving everyone a fair go. 

What can be doneAlan Parsons

Something that would be really great to see in the community would be management people assisting people from the community — with disabilities or from other cultures — to give workshops and presentations. They could train and show people that there are different ways of doing things, different engagement processes, and different methods of promoting inclusion. These people should be remunerated for their time, to be seen as valuable! The whole community could be a more inclusive place.

I guess the benchmark would be if it were possible for a business to employ a person with a disability.
That would really show that the business is disability friendly; you know there are a lot of businesses that just couldn’t do it! Being part of ‘Better Together’ is a wonderful way to explore these boundaries and see different elements of the community. Seeing elements that have never been part of the community before add value to the community. I now write disAbility with a capitol A in Ability!