How to Ask Disabled People Questions in Public

As I’ve been working this summer and around people who haven’t ever seen me and my service dog, I am reminded of the curiosity people (especially kids) have. I, personally, don’t have a problem answering questions when they are asked privately in a respectful manner. In fact, I love educating people about disabilities and service dogs.

However, there are some things to keep in mind. When approaching someone with a disability, please treat them like a human. Look them in the eyes, ask their name, ask how they’re doing. Try not to make them feel that their disability is their only personality trait. After that, if you’re still curious ask “Are you comfortable if I ask you questions regarding X?”. This way, the disabled individual can have a chance to say whether they are comfortable sharing or not.

Now to the disabled people who feel constantly bombarded by questions, remember you aren’t obligated to share anything you’re not comfortable sharing. I encourage you to remember not everyone knows social etiquette and to remind those that some members of the disabled community may not be comfortable sharing this information.

I hope these tips are helpful. I also want to mention that we all have amazing resources at the tip of our fingers and can educate ourselves. It’s not always on the disabled people to do the educating, even if they are happy to do it.