How Do I Interact With People With IDD

How do I interact with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities? This is a question a lot of people without much experience with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities do not know the answer to. Some people need to be educated on this. I have seen too many times people getting scared when someone with an intellectual and developmental disability comes up to them for something. If they work in an area that someone with a disability might walk in and start talking to them they need to be educated how to act and interact.

I have seen almost every interaction imaginable when I go out to stores with my friends with disabilities. It ranges from the more extreme running away when they talk to them or just ignoring them or actually being extremely friendly and helpful. This would help people with disabilities feel much more comfortable going out into the community and interacting with other people. It helps when I am with them, because they know they are not dangerous, but that just shows how ignorant some people can be.

I wish there was more stress on interacting with people with disabilities when children are young and in elementary school. This would help public knowledge that they are not some sort of monster that you need to avoid, they are just friendly people in a lot of cases. If someone smiles at you and says, “Hello, how has your day been?” how harmful can it be to just smile back and say, “Great, how about yours?” Disability or not they are still people with feelings. If this question can be answered for everyone then these people will get to be happy interacting with others in the community and feel more comfortable in the community. I think it is important for everyone to feel welcome and comfortable in the community.

I really hope one day this question will never have to be asked again. I hope that it will just become second nature to everyone and they will get to live happily together with everyone. I hope nobody ever gets bullied because they have a disability in the future and that everyone knows how to interact appropriately with them.