Many communication differences need nothing from you but patience and honesty. A person with a speech disability, whether from cerebral palsy, a stroke, a stutter or something else, is used to being rushed, interrupted and finished for. Give them the time. Do not complete their sentences, do not nod along when you did not understand, and do not hand the call to someone else. If you missed something, say so plainly: “I did not catch that, would you say it again?” Repeat back what you understood. Offer a written follow-up for details. The queue is real, and it is not the caller’s fault.
Some people communicate with a device or a board: a tablet that speaks typed text, a letter board they point to, a picture system, or an app. Augmentative and alternative communication, usually shortened to AAC, takes time to compose. Wait for the whole message. Do not read the screen over their shoulder and answer before they have finished, and do not touch the device. Speak to the person, not to the device or to anyone with them.
Deaf, hard of hearing and speech-disabled people may also call you through a telecommunications relay service. In Minnesota, dialing 711 reaches relay. You will hear an operator explain that a relay call is coming, and then relay the caller’s words. Answer as you would any call, speak directly to the caller in the first person, and pause for the relay. Never hang up because you think it is a sales call. A hung-up relay call is a closed door for someone who did everything right.
Finally, many disabilities are non-apparent: chronic pain, epilepsy, diabetes, hearing loss, learning disabilities, mental health conditions, brain injury, long-term effects of illness. Someone who “looks fine” and asks for a written summary, a seat, a break or extra time is not asking for a favor. Take the request at face value and focus on what would work. Nobody owes you a diagnosis to be treated well, and asking for one is not your role.
