If you’re wondering how to communicate with individuals with disabilities who have companions or aides, it’s good to remind yourself who it is you’re looking to communicate with. If the answer is not the person’s companion or aide, it’s better not to assume the person you’re looking to speak with is incapable of hearing, understanding, and/or speaking. Making assumptions about a person's ability to communicate is offensive and ineffective.
Even if the recipient of your communication uses an interpreter, be sure to look at and speak directly to the person you’re wanting to converse with instead. Communicate as you would with anyone else – by speaking directly to the recipient, which is a respectful way to approach a person with disabilities, and it helps you avoid offending others. This applies regardless of what a person’s disability is, whether related to mobility, speech, language, cognitive ability, vision, or hearing.
The following are some quick pointers to use when speaking with people, even if they have a companion or aide:
If you find it difficult to understand the person you are attempting to communicate with, just be honest and ask if there is something or someone who can help. There are many ways to communicate and a person who has difficulty speaking usually might gladly share which method works best if the need arises.
As a general rule, speak to and treat the person as you would anyone else, or the way you want to be spoken to or treated. Just as you wouldn’t want a waiter asking your significant other what you’d like to eat at a restaurant, and your significant other assuming what you would like to eat, you shouldn’t speak to a person’s companion or aide about matters that pertain to the person.