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How Not to Be Awkward around Your Disabled Colleagues/Students
I know all about awkward — being visually impaired means I deal with awkwardness in almost every stranger interaction I have. Just ask the five people I literally bumped into while crossing campus during rush hour, or the shop owner who had to pick up the display of motor oil I knocked over while looking for bananas.
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, so I want to take the opportunity to talk about what it means, to me, to be a blind person working in higher education. Currently, I serve as the Military and Veterans Resource Manager at Grand Valley State University near Grand Rapids, Michigan.
People try to shake my hand, and I just keep talking. Often, I run smack into displays in stores or crash into folks coming out of the restroom. The worst is explaining to people why I need a ride to an event because I can no longer drive.
The other day, I actually put on my pants backward and almost walked out the door that way.
But with time, my visual disability is something I’ve had to learn to figure out. Because the alternative is to sit at home, socially isolated, collecting social security. And that’s just not me!
