List of handicapped

1)People Who Are Blind or Who Have Vision Impairments
2)People Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
3)People with Invisible (Hidden) Disabilities
4)People with Mental Retardation
5)People with Psychiatric Disabilities
6)People with Muscular or Neurological Limitation (Systemic Disabilities)
7)People with Mobility Impairments
8)Learning Disabilities

Communicating with Disabled People

• Be patient and listen attentively
• Use a normal tone of voice when extending a welcome
• Do not attempt to speak, or finish a sentence, for the person you are speaking to
• Never ask "what happened to you?" Restrain your curiosity.
• Address a disabled person by their first name only if you are addressing everyone else with the same familiarity.
• Speak directly to a disabled person, even if they are accompanied by an interpreter, personal assistant or companion.
• Never make assumptions about what anyone can do (or cannot do!).

Meeting People who are Blind or Visually Impaired

• Identify yourself clearly and introduce any other people present. Clearly indicate where people are located. (In work situations it's important to do this at the start of a meeting.)

• If speaking in a group it is helpful to identify the name of the person you are speaking to. People should introduce themselves before speaking.

• To shake hands, say "Shall we shake hands?"

• Before offering assistance, ask the individual how you may help. If the person asks for assistance, ask, "May I offer you an arm?" rather than taking an arm. This enables you to guide, rather than "propel" the person.

• Remember that most people with impaired vision do have some residual sight.

• If you are guiding someone, tell them when steps, stairs, ramps or other obstacles occur, and whether they are up or down.

• When you are offering a seat, guide the person's hand to the back or arm of the seat, and say this is what you are going to do.

• If leaving someone with a visual impairment in an area unfamiliar to them, inform the person you are leaving and connect them with someone else.

• When entering an unfamiliar area, give a brief description of the layout.

• Where someone might normally take notes, ask if they would like to tape the meeting or conversation.

• Provide written communication in an accessible format and, if possible, in the person's preferred format, such as floppy disk, in large print, on audio-cassette or in Braille.

• Papers for meetings should be available in advance, including minutes and any papers to be tabled. (These can be emailed if the person concerned uses a computer that has speech related text or is linked to a Braille printer.)

Meeting People who are Deaf or Hearing Impaired

• There are many different degrees and types of deafness and different ways for deaf people or those with hearing impairments to communicate. Some people who are profoundly deaf (usually from birth) use Sign Language as their first language.
• Try not to feel uncomfortable about communicating with a deaf or hearing impaired person, even if the communication feels awkward at first.
• If you do not understand what someone has said, ask him or her to repeat the sentence. Do not pretend you have understood when you have not.
• Ask the person to tell you how they prefer to communicate.
• Speak one at a time at meetings or gatherings. This enables lip-reading or interpreter communication.
• Written notes may help you present complicated information.
• Make sure a deaf person is looking at you before you begin speaking as he or she may need to lip-read. A gentle touch on the shoulder or arm will capture their attention.
• Keep background noise as low as possible.
• Check regularly that you have been understood.
• Stick to the agenda.
• Book interpreters or other support in advance.
• For interviews and meetings use a qualified Sign Language interpreter.
• If a sign language interpreter is present, speak to the deaf person, not the interpreter.
• Use an induction loop, enabling hearing impaired people to tune in their hearing aids directly to speakers and minimise background noise.

Meeting People who Lip-Read

• Many people reinforce what they hear with lip-reading. A few deaf people with no hearing at all use this alone. This is a demanding and tiring skill.
• Look directly at the person you are speaking to.
• Do not speak with your back to a light source as this will put your lips in shadow.
• Make sure you are visible and in good lighting when talking.
• Speak clearly and at an even pace, but do not distort or exaggerate your lip movements.
• Stop talking if you must turn away.
• Do not use exaggerated gestures.
• Do not block your mouth with your hands, cigarettes or food.

Meeting People who are Deafblind

• While deafblindness is a combination of hearing and sight impairments, remember that deafblind people are not always completely deaf or blind. In fact, most deafblind people do have some residual hearing or sight or both. The advice provided in the sections on people with impaired vision or hearing may, therefore, also apply.
• A deafblind person may speak to you but may not hear your voice. Let the person know you are there. Approach from the front and touch the person lightly on the arm or shoulder to attract their attention.
• Many deafblind people need to be guided. Individuals will have their particular preference as to how they wish to be guided. Some deafblind people experience poor balance.
• A deafblind person may be supported by a communicator-guide, or interpreter. Remember to speak to the individual rather than their assistant.
• Do not grab or "propel" a person. Let them know you are offering to escort them by guiding their hand to your elbow.

Meeting People with Speech Difficulties

• Be attentive, encouraging and patient, but not patronizing.
• Slowness or impaired speech does not reflect a person's intelligence.
• Refrain from correcting or speaking for the person. Wait quietly while the person speaks and resist the temptation to finish sentences for them.
• If you need more information, break down your questions to deal with individual points that require short answers.
• If you do not understand what someone has said, ask the individual to say it again. Never pretend to understand when you do not.
• Meeting People with Mobility Impairments
• Do not lean on a wheelchair. A wheelchair is a user's personal space.
• If you are talking for more than a few moments to someone in a wheelchair, try to position yourself so you are at the same level, or at least ask the person if they would like you to sit down.
• Be aware of your manner when you kneel or crouch to speak with the person. Do not alter your treatment of the individual. Treat adults like adults.
• If there is a high desk or counter, move to the front.
• Never touch or move crutches, canes, or push a wheelchair without the user's consent.
• Offer a seat to as someone who does not bring their own.
• Speak directly to a wheelchair user, not to their companion.
• Unless you know it is easy to move around your building in a wheelchair, offer to help. Heavy doors or deep-pile carpets are just some of the hazards to watch for. Do not assume ramps solve everything; they may be too steep or slippery.
• Do not be offended if your offer of help is refused. Many wheelchair users prefer to travel independently whenever possible.

Meeting People with Learning Difficulties

• Many people born with learning difficulties, those in the early stages or dementia or people who acquire a brain injury, live full and independent lives in the community. Most can make their own choices, with varying levels of support. The following may apply to any of these individuals:
• Begin by assuming the person will understand you.
• Speak to the person as you would anyone else. Do not assume you can predict from your initial impression what the person will or will not understand.
• Keep all communication simple. Avoid jargon.
• Consider putting information in writing, including your name and phone number.
• Provide straightforward summaries of written information.
• You could offer the person an appropriate record of a conversation (for example, an electronic version, or "easy to read" notes) so they can consider it again later and keep a record.
• Meeting People with Mental Health Problems
• Someone experiencing the emotional distress and confusion associated with mental health problems may find everyday activities very hard. Often the most significant disability people with mental health problems experience is created by the attitudes of others.
• Be patient and non-judgmental.
• Give the person time to make decisions.
• Provide clear and timely information with the aim of ensuring people arrive at a meeting as unstressed as possible.
• Remove any sources of stress and confusion, for example, noise, flashing lights.
• A person may require an advocate to help access information, or attend meetings or interviews.

REFERANCES:
http://www.opm.gov/disability/appempl_4-09.asp
http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/735/files/avw-02-types%20of%20disabilities.pdf
http://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/Drafts/PWD-Use-Web/
http://www.employers-forum.co.uk/www/bcidn/guides/eu-report/communicating.html

blind people background research

Helen Keller:

• Helen lost her vision and hearing in 1882.
• Helen met her life teacher in 1887.
• Helen wasn't abel to understand the meaning of words until the water bump on her hand. Her first understanding word was "water".
• Helen’s progress from then on was astonishing. Anne taught Helen to read, firstly with raised letters and later with braille, and to write with both ordinary and braille typewriters.
• Mary Swift Lamson who was to try and teach Helen to speak. This was something that Helen desperately wanted and although she learned to understand what somebody else was saying by touching their lips and throat, her efforts to speak herself proved at this stage to be unsuccessful. This was later attributed to the fact that Helen’s vocal chords were not properly trained prior to her being taught to speak.
• Helen entered Radcliffe College in 1900 and graduated from Radcliffe College in 1904, becoming the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.
• Helen’s first book “The Story of My Life” which was published in 1903.
• Helen Keller played a leading role in most of the significant political, social, and cultural movements of the 20th century. Throughout her lifetime (1880-1968) she worked unceasingly to improve the lives of people who were blind and deaf.
• The John Milton Society for the Blind was founded in 1928 by Helen Keller to develop an interdenominational ministry that would bring spiritual guidance.
  

IF Helen Keller were born today her life would undoubtedly would be completely different. Her life long dream was to be able to talk, something that she was never really able to master. Today the teaching methods exist that would have helped Helen to realise this dream. How technology that enables blind and deafblind people, like Helen, to communicate directly, and independently, with anybody in the world.

In Helen’s own words:

“The public must learn that the blind man is neither genius nor a freak nor an idiot. He has a mind that can be educated, a hand which can be trained, ambitions which it is right for him to strive to realise, and it is the duty of the public to help him make the best of himself so that he can win light through work.”

John Milton
*An English Poet who lost his sight after he turned forty (1651), and was blind when he wrote his epic poem Paradise Lost, which reflects the inner soul's "Celestial Light" to "see and tell of things invisible to mortal sight."

References
The life of Helen Keller, http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/publicwebsite/public_keller.hcsp

John Milton, http://www.satanic-kindred.org/milton.htm

not just a cell phone

I have been thinking if a phone is not just a phone but also a house key, a personal bank access system, a tracking device. then, what happened?







-thesis thought process

thesis thought

are blind people happy about being blind? do they actually wish there is a way out for them to
"feel" what they can't see?

surrealism??

I have been thinking about how do I tell my story. A quick thought came to my mind while I was scrabbling for ideas.
a door-shape suitcase contain different types of keys. ( does a screwdriver count as a key? ) There will be another door/box/book inside of the suitcase.