An estimated one billion or 15% of the world’s population experience some form of disability or the other. About 26.8 million people with disabilities live in India alone. 13.4 million of them fall in the employable age group of 15-59 years and as many as 9.9 million are either non-workers or marginal workers. Over a decade or more, a lot has been done in the field of disability in terms of awareness generation and advocacy for inclusion. Yet the hiring numbers in the IT-BPM and associated industries have remained exceedingly small. India’s IT-BPM industry currently employs nearly 3.9 million people; however, the representation of PwDs in this is less than 1%. One of the primary reasons for most people with disabilities living on the periphery of employment scenario is probably because one, of the discomfort one feels while interacting with them and not being aware of how to communicate with them and two, the obvious challenges of unavailability of skilled candidates for recruitment.
This handbook offers basic knowledge of proper and acceptable etiquette when interacting with individuals with disabilities. The objective is to remove communication barriers and promote understanding and acceptance of individuals with disabilities within the companies.
Just because someone has a disability, don’t assume s/he needs help. Adults with disabilities want to be treated as independent people.
People with disabilities are the best judge of what they can or cannot do. Don’t make decisions for them about participating in any activity.
Respond to their requests graciously. When disabled people ask for accommodations at workplace, it is not a complaint. It shows they feel comfortable enough to ask for what they need.
People who are blind know how to orient themselves and get around.
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