This guide is for fire protection personnel and students who are participating in the Fire Safety Solutions for Oklahomans with Disabilities project. As a participant in this project, you will work with people with disabilities.

Who are people with disabilities?

According to the 2000 United States Census, 32.6% of Oklahomans reported having a disability. Of that total, 16% have some form of sensory disability and 30% have some physical disability.

Persons with disabilities are also more likely to be in low-income and low-education brackets, so their chances of dying or being injured in a fire may be even more compounded.

Having a disability does not automatically mean that the person is blind, deaf, or in a wheelchair. Disabilities encompass a wide range of impairments. It may not be apparent to you that some people have disabilities. People with disabilities may include people like the following:

• A construction worker who is becoming increasingly hard of hearing because he works around loud machinery every day
• A young woman with cerebral palsy
• A senior citizen who wears hearing aids
• A senior citizen who has rheumatoid arthritis and can¿t get around as well as he or she used to

What is this guide for?

This guide gives you guidelines on how to interact with people with disabilities. This guide helps you to know what to expect when you visit the home of a person with a disability, how to communicate effectively with a person with a disability, and how to react to situations you may encounter.

How do I use this guide?

You should read this guide from cover to cover because you cannot be certain that you will only work with people who are blind or with people who are deaf or with people with mobility impairments.

Why should I read this guide?

Social etiquette and working with people may seem like common sense. But working with people with disabilities introduces many new environmental variables, such as guide dogs and interpreters. You may find that when you work with people with disabilities you feel uncertain of acceptable social etiquette because the situation is new to you.  

By reading this guide you can be prepared to work with interpreters and to respect the work of a guide dog. The working experience can be positive for everyone. 

In addition, you need to learn the terms considered improper, discriminatory, and out-of-date so you can avoid insulting people with disabilities. If you use these terms you are demonstrating a lack of respect because such terms cause hurt feelings. As in any working relationship, hurt feelings can lead to lack of cooperation, which could lead to the failure of this program. Remember, you need to be respectful of people with disabilities even if you do not believe that such terms are unacceptable. Simply put: The use of such terms IS unacceptable.

What will be covered in this guide?

This guide covers basic social etiquette, greetings, providing information, requesting information, working with guide animals, and working with an interpreter.