Access Embodiment Etiquette Living as a Diverse Human Community Experiencing the World
Too often the issues related to accessibility and the diversity of human access are ignored until they can no longer be ignored; when previously abled people
begin to experience loss of physical, visual, auditory, cognitive, or environmental abilities. People for whom the world has little or no barriers must take the
initiative to understand what life is like for people without sight, with variant levels of hearing, with severe allergies, with physical constraints (visible and
invisible), and with challenges to concentration and processing information. If you have none of these embodiment experiences - hurrah for you! Still, before
your access ability changes, learn a bit about the MANY people around you who do. Building your compassion now will save you deep embarrassment, the
ruination of relationships, and injury to others. This list of do's and don'ts is by no means exhaustive. Rather, this is a place to start building your
awareness and compassion. Want more? Contact me. -Rev. Mel Martinez, M.Div., Accessibility Coordinator, MCC General Conference 2016
Visual Embodiment
Auditory Embodiment
Do's

Do's
Step aside when a person with visual
hindrance approaches your path.
 Greet them as you would anyone else.
 When a hand is offered to shake, shake
hands.
 Talk directly to the person. Ask for their
name and get to know them.
Don'ts
 Stare. You know that feeling you have
when you think someone is staring at
you? All people feel that!
 Touch a person you do not know well.
(i.e. Don't grab their hand to shake it!)
 Pet a service animal without permission.
 Talk down to, belittle, or treat the person
as less-than.

Speak clearly and articulate your
words.
Face the person you communicate
with at all times.
If a sign-language interpreter
accompanies a person with hearing
deficiency, speak to the person, not to
the interpreter.
If written word is offered as an
alternative to speech, write clearly.
Be patient and non-anxious.




Don't



YELL. Just. Don't.
Cover your mouth when speaking.
Assume the person knows sign
language.
Environmental Embodiment
Do's

Be aware of your proximity to others when smoking. Smoke in an area away from entry/exit
doors.
 Be cautious when applying fragrance. Your perfume/cologne, plus your hair spray, plus
your hair gel, plus your lotion, plus your deodorant are compound migraine
inducers. Consider what you could do without and still be your fabulous self!
 Be aware of the ingredients of anything you offer someone else to eat. Otherwise, let them
serve themselves.
 Be willing to move if someone expresses the inability to breathe when you enter their
personal space.
 Offer a tissue if someone is sneezing.
Don'ts
 Take it personally when someone cannot enjoy your personal aromas or taste your
homemade or favorite food.
 Make fun of food or environmental allergies.
Physical Embodiment
Do's
 If you can use stairs,
use the stairs.
 Make room first and
foremost for people
using mobility
assistive equipment
(like scooters,
wheelchairs,
crutches, canes,
walkers, etc.).
 Ask if a person
needs/wants
assistance BEFORE
you assist.
Don'ts
 Push a wheelchair a
person is using
without permission.
 Move mobility
assisting equipment
without permission.
 Make assumptions
about people's
physical abilities
based on what you
can observe.
 Judge others (at all)
for matters of weight,
size, stature, ability,
etc.
Cognitive Embodiment
Do's





Greet persons as you would anyone else.
Show sympathy for expressed sadness, and
happiness for expressed joy.
Speak with both caretaker and persons being
cared for.
Follow the lead of caretakers in speech and touch.
Be patient. Be responsible for your own actions
and words.
Don'ts
 Speak to adults as if they are children...or to children as if they
are less-than.
 Stare or show contempt for outbursts.
 Speak as if the person with cognitive difference cannot hear you.
 Treat a person with cognitive difference as if they cannot
understand you.
 Take outbursts, crying, fear, or any other expressed emotion
personally.