The following suggestions contribute to better communication with people using wheelchairs:

• The most basic? Focus on the person, not their disability.
• It is polite to shake hands with a person with a disability, even if the person has limited arm movement or uses a prosthesis.
• Before you come to help, always ask the person in the wheelchair if they want your help. Maybe help isn't needed, or it's unwanted.
• Do not hang or lean on someone's wheelchair. They are part of someone's personal space, so they must not be shaken, leaned on, etc.
• Speak directly to the person in the wheelchair, not to someone nearby, as if the wheelchair user does not exist.
• If the conversation will last more than a few minutes, sit down so that you are at eye level with the person sitting in the wheelchair. Both parties will be spared a stiff neck!
• Do not humiliate or be protective of the person in the wheelchair by patting them on the head.
• When explaining a route to someone, think about things like distance, where sidewalks are recessed or ramps are in place, weather conditions, and physical obstacles that may impede movement.
• Do not discourage children from asking the person in the wheelchair about their wheelchair. Open communication helps to overcome prejudices driven by fears or misconceptions.
• When the person using the wheelchair "transfers" from it to the car or to a chair, bench, toilet, bed... do not move the wheelchair out of their reach. If they do have to be removed for some reason, ask the person using the wheelchair for their opinion.
• It's okay to use expressions like: "walk by" or "let's go for a walk" when talking to a person in a wheelchair. She understands it as expressing the idea of moving in the same direction.
• People who use wheelchairs are of different physical abilities. Some people who use wheelchairs can walk with help or for shorter distances. They use a wheelchair because it helps them conserve strength and move more efficiently.
• Don't think of people in wheelchairs as "sick." Wheelchairs are used to help people adapt to or compensate for damage to the organs of movement, which can occur without the occurrence of infectious diseases. Some of the causes can be, for example: spinal cord injury, stroke, amputation, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, polio, heart disease, etc.
• Watch your prejudices! Don't think that using a wheelchair is a tragedy. When properly equipped and chosen, a wheelchair can actually mean freedom, allowing the user to move freely and engage fully in life.
• Don't pet guide dogs or other assistance animals… They work.                                                                                                                                                    
  

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