Comments on: 7 Things NEVER to Say to People With Disabilities

By: ELIZABETH SALES

ELIZABETH SALES — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 22:56:30 +0000

I am the mother of twins with ADHD and Mild LD that seems like
it is getting worst. I wondered is there a Web Page started by
anyone so everyone can help each other. For example when
you find companies who are willing to work with different “disa
bilities ” let us know. It would really good to talk with others to
get help through some of the road trips that you find yourself
on as well as find the companies who are willing to work with
a diverse work force.

By: Cissa Bipolar

Cissa Bipolar — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 18:30:11 +0000

Hi, there, I’m really glad someone started talking about invisible disabilities. It feels really lonely no to be understood by those around you when you’re bipolar. It’s something you just can’t predict, and it’s really hard to control. I feel I had much I could contribute with in the companies I worked, but, unfortunately, my sharp collocations simply fly off my lips and hurt people. It’s terrible to live working on your words constantly, before they leave your mouth. It’s tiresome and joyless. In order not to be taken wrongly and have to explain my acts and thoughts constantly, I decided to work on my own. Bipolarity is an illness not everyone understands, and it really annoys me when I hear jokes including words that reach some of these invisible disabilities. So, othe things people should stop saying are: She’s so bipolar…/ This computer is esquizophrenic today…/ Hey, “mongol”…

Tks for the opportunity to unburden,
Cissa

By: rayine rainbow

rayine rainbow — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:01:24 +0000

I am also a person with ADHD/ and back problems, all of them are invisible..I am 62 years old so I was mostly raised before they had a name for what I had besides lazy, not working up to your potential, wandering, daydreaming etc..I was luckly though I had a mother who never made a big deal of it and knew for so reason I couldn’t do the same as my brothers..So, here I am years later in a job in the workforce, only able to get a part-time one..After a domestic volience and a divorce, from lack of self-esteem…That I loved..and am told by a co-worker oh! we don’t think of you as disabled all of the moment checking me and listening everything I say to people.We worked with the public…My supervisior didn’t..Now, I am someplace else and I have a supervisior that is a dream, checks things I do., quietly tells me if I’m doing something wrong..is always around for questions…and am treated very good..just as all of the other employees..Disabled or Not…

By: Linda Bumpass

Linda Bumpass — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:49:26 +0000

Thanks for the article! I second what Lisa said and have had many interesting side trips too!:) Many years ago, I used similar wording to #4 with a colleague who had survived polio only I worded a bit differently. I had been with some female visitors who were discussing what an inspiration the man was and really raving about him. I was lost upon hearing them for about a full minute because they did not mention his pronounced limp or they polie. I was baffled at their tone of voice. His disability had become completely invisible to me such that I couldn’t immediately connect why they were speaking that way about him. I talked with him about it later. In his case, my perception of him was exactly the way he wanted to be seen — as only himself. This article raised my future awareness in that others might not feel the same though.

By: Lisa Morgan

Lisa Morgan — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:49:57 +0000

I would love to see more education in the workplace about the invisible disabilities. Because I am articulate and successful, most people don’t know that I have ADHD, or how much harder I have to work to stay organized, get things done on time, or concentrate in a noisy environment. Since I don’t have a special parking place and seem bright, I sometimes feel as if my struggles don’t count. Yes ADHD is like driving a vehicle with a formula one engine and the steering linkages of a school bus. We need to make a long more effort to stay pointed in the right direction and wind up where we want to go. Of course we do have some interesting side trips!

By: Meredith

Meredith — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:57:23 +0000

From an employer HR perspective I have to agree with the comments above. While some on here have posted you personally don’t mind the term handicap or certain phrases that can be stated, in the workplace making these comments is setting up a complaint, maybe even an external complaint to the EEOC or the state’s human rights department.
While one comment may not be be severe or pervasive enough to get it into court, the comment can be seen as insenstive, and a lot of time has been put out by HR and perhaps yourself to investigate, review policies, and end you up in a harassment training. It’s good to be proactive sometimes and remember work is not the same as seeing someone in the grocery aisle.

By: Robin

Robin — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 05:45:28 +0000

I had the wonderful, wonderful opportunity (early in my HR career) to work in a public bistate agency that was well-known for its record of hiring, promoting and retaining people with both physical and other “disabilities”. In fact, I put the word “disabilities” in quotations specifically because it was during my tenure there as an HR professional that I learned that “disability” is SO, SO often relative, and not necessarily physical. Looking back now on those years, I often think more about the “disabilities” that plagued many of my able-bodied and otherwise-abled colleagues! (Laugh)

But the organization that I worked for was indeed at the forefront in this arena, and to this day I give it and my former colleagues the highest praise where disabilities acculturation is concerned. It simply, simply “was” a “thing” in our workplace. But it was never, EVER, a “big deal”. People taught, and people learned from one another. And so on and so forth, and it basically worked out quite, quite well.

Kudos to the authors of this insightful piece!

By: Kalyana krishnan

Kalyana krishnan — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:54:39 +0000

2. “Oh, if you just have faith, you can be healed.”

This point is a cultural thing for example in India, this statement would be viewed as empathiser because every Indian irrespective of religion connects all events to hand of God. Hence no hurt or offence wld be inferred. Also it is a very common statement amongst Indians.

By: E Noonan

E Noonan — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 08:23:31 +0000

I dislike the idea that one person or one group speaks for all with disabilities. I have no problem with the word “handicap”, and I never hear anyone scream about handicap placards for cars.

I am more aggravated by the idea that all handicaps are visible, and that a wheelchair is used as the icon. Many of us have disabilities that truly limit us — heart disease, lung disease, etc., yet get short shrift in the whole discussion.