5 Tips to Interacting with Special Needs Persons

I am someone who used to become quite nervous and scared when interacting with persons who were obviously "mentally disabled," but after working as a therapist for autistic children for about four years, I have learned how to deal effectively with special needs populations in general.

The first thing that a person needs to know is to have compassion on these populations. Neither they, nor their parents, chose their conditions. They are doing the best they can, and if they could be like everyone else, they would gladly do so. However, they have certain disabilities, outside of their control, that make life for them more difficult in some ways.

The next thing to remember is to have patience with these populations. They are trying to understand others and learn as best they can, however, they again have disabilities outside of their control that make learning difficult. Be patient and repeat things if you have to, and you will be rewarded.

The third thing to know is to focus on things that special needs persons can do, rather than what they cannot do. While special needs persons look different and it is easiest to notice what they cannot do so well, instead notice that they are willing to make casual conversation. All humans enjoy casual conversation, and their ability to ask things in a blunt manner can bring added enjoyment to any person's day.

The fourth thing to remember is that it is very rare for special needs persons to have a "special gift" of some kind, like the ability to do math to a very high level. This stereotype most probably arose from the depiction of special needs persons in movies, who typically have some sort of seemingly magical gift.

The final thing to remember is that special needs persons are people just like you and me, and they do want to be treated like human beings. While they may look and act different, they want all the other things that other humans want: love, affection, attention, companionship, enjoyable hobbies, and productive activities, just to name a few.

If you follow these five simple steps, you will find that interacting with special needs persons suddenly becomes a joy and adds to the wonderment of life. While at times it may be difficult to keep your patience, just hang in there because very often this population will surprise us with what it can do. Most people spend most of their time focusing on what this population cannot do. Shift your focus, and get ready to be surprised!