Have you ever known anyone who had a “can do” attitude? It’s widely known by healthcare professionals that the power of positive thinking and a healthy attitude can have tremendous influence on one’s quality of life no matter their circumstance, affliction or disability.

The mission of local nonprofit Arkansas Can Do, Inc. is to increase the positive perceptions of all people regarding the vitality, importance and value of persons with disabilities. The mission is being accomplished through a statewide multimedia campaign and educational workshop on “people first language” and disability etiquette.

People first language means putting the person before the disability, because a disability is a secondary attribute that should not define someone. Labels can be dehumanizing. Consider the following examples.

• She is a child who stutters.
• She is a stutterer.

First and foremost, a little girl is a child with a lot of other attributes. She could be an excellent painter or singer. She might love to play soccer and collect Polly Pockets. She enjoys sewing with her grandmother and digging up worms in the garden. She just so happens to stutter also. It should not define her identity though.

Arkansas Can Do, Inc. has partnered with several groups including AR Disability Coalition, AR Governor’s Developmental Disability Council, AR Parent Advisory Council, Inc., Choices in Living Resource Center, Disability Rights Center of AR, and U of A Partners for Inclusive Communities to produce a video called Disability Etiquette: It’s Common Courtesy. It can be viewed freely or ordered through the website.

AR Can Do, Inc. advocate Dennis Carrow explains why teaching disability etiquette is so important. “Much like we approach any educational format in how to teach others to be polite, understanding, patient…Do to others as you would have them to do you. The principle that reflects character and compassion will enrich their lives and the lives around them,” he says.

Dennis shares, “I suppose the initial inspiration (for my involvement with AR Can Do, Inc.) began from a personal experience of having sat in a doctor’s office and receiving the news that my daughter had a developmental disability. From that point in my life my wife and I faced many inward struggles. Many of the struggles were simply being ignorant of what to do given our unexpected circumstance. It is not that things were “bad,” they were just different and we did not know what to do. Through years of living with an individual with a diagnosis of having a disability we discovered that most of those (with whom) we came into contact were uneasy when around others that had a disability. This led to my involvement with the Arkansas Can Do organization because the mission is educating our society regarding disability etiquette. The video was a vision that would enable us to reach the masses with the message.”

“Just watch it! Think about your personal struggle when faced with a situation that you are uncertain what to do. This video will enlighten parents, teachers, support professionals, and every individual that has or ever will interact with someone who is diagnosed with a disability to know how to relax and simply be a friend and neighbor,” asserts Dennis.

The video addresses several of these key concepts and more when it comes to disability etiquette.

• See the person not the disability.
• Use people first language.
• Speak directly to the person not their interpreters or caregivers.
• Use normal communication skills and voices.
• Identify yourself and shake hands.
• Don’t touch adaptive equipment or service animals.
• Offer assistance and wait for direction.
• Educate yourself and avoid stereotypes.

There are people of all abilities and ages in the video providing great examples and illustrations. It is less than 30 minutes long. There is also a brief practical application quiz at the end of the video, so the viewer can check if they learned the valuable lessons presented.

One of the phrases in the video is “Labels are for jars, not people.” Teaching children about disability etiquette helps them see the people they meet for who they are on the inside. They are more than the words used to describe them. They are people first.