To evaluate our attitudes towards people with disabilities, ask ourselves the following questions:

     Do I avoid eye contact when talking with people with disabilities?

Do I hear myself saying, "She can't do that because she is disabled," before I have met the person?

     Do I feel sorry for people with disabilities?

     Do I find myself thinking of the disability before I think of the person?

If we answered “yes” to any of these questions, think about why we answered that way.

Despite our best intentions we may hold stereotypical attitudes that dramatically distort our interaction with people with disabilities.  Our attitudes may be natural and innocent, perhaps derived from fear, guilt, or inexperience, but as forms of prejudice they can be devastating to a person with a disability.

We may also have heard myths and misinformation about people with disabilities (e.g. that people who are blind have better hearing). With no other information about people with disabilities, we accepted such information as the truth.

The wrong attitudes can be more disabling than any condition.  They can lead us to isolate and segregate people with disabilities.  Revising our perceptions, our language, and our behavior is a first step.