At Best Home Care, our mission is to help those in need of support have access to professional home healthcare services. We understand that a person's needs can range from child and pediatric home healthcare to senior homecare to homecare for individuals living with a disability. And we do everything in our power to help professional caregivers provide services in a way that greatly improves the quality of life for each and every client. Of course, certain aspects of caregiving must be approached with sensitivity. One aspect would be discussing disability in a way that does not demean or undermined an individual.
Here are some tips on how to approach the topic of disability with clients and family members:
- Use Specific Language: When speaking to or about someone living with a disability, try not to refer to the individual as a disabled person, but rather a person who is living with a disability. This puts the focus on the person rather than the disability.
- Avoid Certain Terms: Saying words like “stoke victim” can make a personfeel defined by their disability. When you, as a caretaker, stop defining and identifying people by their disability, they will be less likely to do the same.
- Do Research: If a client or loved one struggles with something that you don’t fully understand, take the time to do some research and find out just what they are dealing with on a day to day basis. Being informed already makes you more empathetic and gives you a chance to see things from the person's perspective. A good rule of thumb for discussing disability is to put yourself in the person’s shoes first.
- Remember We Are All People: Whether or not you are living with a chronic illness, we all deserve and want to be treated as human beings. Simply being respectful and remembering that we are all equal is a great place to start!
For more questions on discussing disability and choosing the right words, contact the support team at Best Home Care today. If you or a loved one is an individual living with a disability and in need of professional homecare, visit our website to view our services and resources for clients and caregivers.
