Advisor "Do"s:
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Know there will be disagreements
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Communicate with members
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Be honest and smart
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Follow through
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Come to all the meetings
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Back us up on rules
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Advise us
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Ask us questions
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Listen
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Ask us what we want you to do
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Take advice from us
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Learn what support each person needs
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Be a friend
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Find ways to help everyone get involved
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Make sure everyone knows when and where the meeting is
| Advisor "Do Not"s
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Take over for the leader
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Dictate what we should do
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Be afraid to speak
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Make decisions without the members
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Assume that everyone agrees
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Talk too much
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Do too much for us
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Get frustrated with us
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Represent us at meetings without including us
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Prohibit one of us from participating because others in their agency or home don't want to or can't
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"Do"s and "Do Not"s When Assisting or Mentoring Individuals with Significant Disabilities
"Do"s:
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Do consider the person as a person first, as a client second, and thirdly as a consumer.
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Do make every effort to understand what the person with a speech impairment has to say.
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Do take time to listen and do not assume you know what the person wants to say.
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Do look at the person you are talking to and give him/her/them your
full attention; this means do not fiddle with paper, read, or look at
your watch.
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Do be open-minded when he/she is telling you what their vocational goal is.
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Do keep your expectations high and believe that the person has the ability to know their own capabilities.
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Do communicate with the person even if they are accompanied by a parent or an attendant.
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Do be courteous to the person.
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Do be encouraging and supportive. Avoid comments like “Come now, be realistic,” or “You know you’ll fail if you try that.”
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Do be sensitive and willing to offer accommodations appropriate to
the person’s disability. Examples include offering to read documents
to the person with a visual impairment, having a sign interpreter for
the deaf, or providing a solid writing surface for people who have
difficulty in using their hands.
- Do treat adults as adults.
"Do Not"s:
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Don’t be negative when talking to a person with a severe
disability. Negativity is stifling to a person not used to expressing
themselves.
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Don’t be loud when conversing with a person with a disability who has no hearing impairment.
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Don’t try to be a mind reader when you are listening to a person
with a speech impairment. Believe me, this can be irritating because
pretending to understand is insulting.
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Don’t underestimate the determination of the person you are talking to.
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Don’t let the appearance of the person influence you judgment of
their abilities. A good rule to remember is the old saying, “Don’t
judge a book by it’s cover.”
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Don’t be overprotective and deny the person their right to learn
even if that means failing. A mentor can point out obstacles but
should never force their opinions of what is a what is not possible.
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Don’t fail to offer appropriate accommodations if you are talking to a person with a disability.
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Don’t position yourself in such a way as to make it difficult to maintain eye contact with the person.
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Don’t talk to a person with a speech impairment in a noisy environment. If possible, talk to them in a quiet environment.
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Don’t ever talk down to a person with a disability, this includes persons with cognitive disabilities.
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