Disability Resource Center
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The Center For Accessible Living is the disability resource center of Kentucky. Let us be the first and last place you turn to for everything disability.
From resources and events in your area to legislation and national disability news that will effect the disability community, we're your source for information. Our newsletter will let you know what's new with the Center, and the For Sale page is a unique bulletin board to sell and buy adaptive equipment and other disability related products. Be sure to check the calendar for upcoming events at the center and in the area.
Need information about disability related services, resources, support groups, or just general information about certain disabilities? Can't find it on our web page? Check out our growing Links page or call us. Our staff's expertise will lead you in the right direction. We are ready to assist you with information & referrals, technical assistance, advocacy, or help teach you the skills needed to live more independently. While our direct services are for individuals with a disability, we are happy to inform and educate the community at large and be the leading disability resource for the non-disabled as well.
For Sale
1982 Chevy Van
Raised roof & equipped with an electric/hydraulic chair lift.
Contact Bob Maurer, Cell 724-6983, Work 371-5253.
Jazzy scooter
(rarely used) $600 Contact the Murray office for additional information 1-888-261-6194
Wheelchair lift
Indoor or outdoor use, Bought new for $7000. Used for only two months indoors. Asking $4000
Contact David Allgood at the Center for Accessible Living 502-589-6620
Invacare Storm TDX 3 powerchair
Less than one year old, midwheel drive, and full recline. Bought new for $12,000. Asking $4000
Contact David Allgood at the Center for Accessible Living 502-589-6620
Quickie 2 manual chair
Excellent condition. Asking $1000
Contact David Allgood at the Center for Accessible Living 502-589-6620
Power Scooter
Was bought 2 years ago for $5,000, now asking $1,200! Very little use, Great Shape!
Please call Anita Solomon at (502) 451-4967
Power Wheelchair
Innvucare power chair. $500.
Call C.A. at (502) 599-2808 or (502) 599-1985.
Disability Etiquette
General Etiquette
Basic Guidelines
People with disabilities want to participate equally with the rest of the community. They are people first, with various hopes, dreams, fears, hobbies, jobs and interests. Many times their disability is not what they identify with the most, it is just a part of their whole self. When referring to a person who has a disability make reference to the person, then the disability. Say a person with a disability rather than a disabled person
A person who has a disability is not necessarily chronically sick or unhealthy. He or she is often just disabled.
A person is not a condition, so avoid describing a person in such a manner. Do not present someone as an epileptic or post polio.
Common Courtesies
Do not feel obligated to act as a caregiver to people with disabilities. It is alright to offer assistant to a person with a disability but wait until your offer is accepted before you help.
Leaning on a person’s wheelchair is similar to leaning or hanging onto a person and is usually considered rude. The chair is part of one’s body space. Do not hang on it.
When offering assistance to a person with a visual impairment, allow that person to take your arm. This will enable you to guide rather than propel or lead the person. Use specific directions, such as left one hundred feet or right two hundred yards when directing a person with a visual impairment.
When planning events which involve persons with disabilities, consider their needs before choosing a location. Even if people with disabilities will not attend, select an accessible spot.
To get the attention of a person who has a hearing impairment, tap them on the shoulder or wave. Look directly at the person and speak clearly, slowly and expressively to establish if they read lips. People with hearing impairments who read lips rely on facial expressions and body language for understanding. Stay in the light and keep food, hands and other objects away from your mouth.
When talking to a person in a wheelchair for more than a few minutes, place yourself at eye level with that person. This will spare both of you a sore neck.
More Tips for interacting with people with disabilities
Listen to the person with the disability. Do not make assumptions about what that person can or cannot do.
When speaking with a person with a disability, talk directly to that person, not through his or her companion. This applies whether the person has a mobility impairment, a mental impairment, is blind or is deaf and uses an interpreter.
Extend common courtesies to people with disabilities as you would anyone else. Shake hands or hand over business cards. If the person cannot shake your hand or grasp your card, they will tell you. Do not be ashamed of your attempt, however.
If the person has a speech impairment and you are having trouble understanding what he or she is saying, ask the person to repeat rather than pretend you understand. The former is respectful and leads to accurate communication; the latter is belittling and leads to embarrassment.
Offer assistance to a person with a disability, but wait until your offer is accepted before you help.
It is okay to feel nervous or uncomfortable around people with disabilities, and it's okay to admit that. It's only human to feel that way at first. Everyone is uncomfortable in situations they are not familiar with. When you encounter these situations, think "person" first instead of disability; you will eventually relax.
The Power of Words
Conversation
Make reference to the person, then the disability. Say a person with a disability rather than a disabled person.
When speaking about people with disabilities, emphasize achievements, abilities, and individual qualities. Portray them as they are in real life, as parents, employers, business owners, etc.
Terms which should be avoided because they have negative connotations and tend to evoke pity include:
abnormal, burden, condition, deformed, differently abled, disfigured, handicapped*, incapacitated, imbecile, maimed, moron, palsied, pathetic, physically challenged, pitiful, poor, spastic, stricken with, suffer, tragedy, unfortunate.
*Use the word handicap to describe a situation or barrier imposed by society, the environment or oneself. Do not use the word handicap in reference to a person. The term handicapped is derived from the image of a person standing on the corner with a cap in hand, begging for money.
Words With Dignity
By using Words with Dignity we encourage equality of everyone
Use Person with a disability
Avoid Cripple, handicapped, invalid
Use Uses a wheelchair
Avoid Confined to a wheelchair, wheelchair bound
Use Non-disabled, Able-bodied
Avoid Normal (referring to non-disabled persons as normal
insinuates that people with disabilities are abnormal.
Use Hard of Hearing
Avoid Deaf mute
Use Emotional disorder, mental illness
Avoid Crazy, Insane
Use Seizures
Avoid Fits
Attitudinal Barriers
Inferiority
Because a person may be impaired in one of life's major functions, some people believe that individual is a "second-class citizen." However, most people with disabilities have skills that make the impairment moot in the workplace.
Pity
People feel sorry for the person with a disability, which tends to lead to patronizing attitudes. People with disabilities generally don't want pity and charity, just equal opportunity to earn their own way and live independently.
Hero worship
People consider someone with a disability who lives independently or pursues a profession to be brave or "special"
for
overcoming a disability. But most people with disabilities do not want accolades for performing day-to-day tasks. The
disability is there; the individual has simply learned to adapt by using his or her skills and knowledge, just as
everybody adapts to being tall, short, strong, fast, easy-going, bald, blonde, etc.
Ignorance
People with disabilities are often dismissed as incapable of accomplishing a task without the opportunity to display their skills. In fact, people with quadriplegia can drive cars and have children. People who are blind can tell time on a watch and visit museums. People who are deaf can play baseball and enjoy music. People with developmental disabilities can be creative and maintain strong work ethics.
The Spread Effect
People assume that an individual's disability negatively affects other senses, abilities or personality traits, or that the total person is impaired. For example, many people shout at people who are blind or don't expect people using wheelchairs to have the intelligence to speak for themselves. Focusing on the person's abilities rather than his or her disability counters this type of prejudice.
Stereotypes
The other side of the spread effect is the positive and negative generalizations people form about disabilities. For example, many believe that all people who are blind are great musicians or have a keener sense of smell and hearing, that all people who use wheelchairs are docile or compete in paralympics, that all people with developmental disabilities are innocent and sweet-natured, that all people with disabilities are sad and bitter. Aside from diminishing the individual and his or her abilities, such prejudice can set too high or too low a standard for individuals who are merely human.
Backlash
Many people believe individuals with disabilities are given unfair advantages, such as easier work requirements. Employers need to hold people with disabilities to the same job standards as co-workers, though the means of accomplishing the tasks may differ from person to person. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not require special privileges for people with disabilities, just equal opportunities.
Denial
Many disabilities are "hidden,"
such as learning disabilities, psychiatric disabilities, epilepsy, cancer, arthritis and heart
conditions. People tend to believe these are not bona fide disabilities needing accommodation. The ADA defines "disability"
as an
impairment that "substantially limits one or more of the major life activities."
Accommodating "hidden"
disabilities which meet the
above definition can keep valued employees on the job and open doors for new employees.
Fear
Many people are afraid that they will "do or say the wrong thing" around someone with a disability. They therefore avert their own discomfort by avoiding the individual with a disability. As with meeting a person from a different culture, frequent encounters can raise the comfort level.
For More information, please visit this more comprehensive Disability Etiquette page.
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