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To Help or Not to Help? Just Ask!
Taking the guess work out of disability etiquette
School of Health Professions students are engaged in valuable research in a variety of areas. These stories represent the efforts of students from the Department of Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science.
Just Ask! | Getting a read on autism | The stronger side | Special teams
By Jeffrey Beeson, MU News Bureau
Should someone who is visually impaired be touched or offered a handshake? Should the door be opened by someone else for a person using a wheelchair? Some SHP occupational therapy students take on these and other sometimes touchy issues in their instructional DVD “Just Ask!” Senior Jordan Bunn worked on the project she says came from the many questions she and other students had. “A lot of these questions really hit home to us, and we’re occupational therapy students who should know these answers,” Bunn says. “I wonder how many people out there are looking for guidance.”
One of the most surprising findings, according to the students, was the wide variety of responses that the participants gave to similar questions, leading to the overall theme and title of the video. Just Ask! demonstrates how the same situation could affect a person differently depending on the type of disability, comfort level and perspective. The video advises people that it is best not to make any assumptions and that simply asking can be the most effective way to help an individual with a disability.
“Don’t assume anything,” OT student Katie Kittle says. “Take all of the stereotypes out of your mind because assumptions can just be so painful.”
For video participant Steve Cox, who uses a wheelchair, people who go out of their way to open a door for him can be more upsetting and frustrating then helpful. However, for Christy Welliver, nothing makes her happier then to receive help from someone. It gives her the opportunity to express appreciation.
“There was a time in my life that I thought I could do everything myself and many people with disabilies still say they can do it all on their own,” Welliver says. “But I love just looking up and saying thank you all day long and smiling at people and they smile back. I just love it.”
The idea for the DVD came from a 1992 video, The Ten Commandments of Communicating with People with Disabilities, that the students felt was out of date.“I think that many people who think they are comfortable find that they have something to learn from the video,” Bunn says.