HEARING DISABILITY

To assist people with hearing disabilities during an emergency situation, you must take into account the following:

• Turn lights on and off several times to call their attention.
• Make eye contact with the person even if there is an interpreter.
• Place yourself facing a light source. Do not move your head and never chew gum.
• Make gestures with your face and hands to ensure your message is understood.
• Verify if the message was understood; if not, repeat it.
• Use pencil and paper. Slowly write down the instructions allowing the person to read as you write them. This method is very useful when you have difficulties getting your message through and when it is impossible for you to understand what the disabled person is trying to say.
• Do not allow anybody to interrupt you or tell jokes while you are giving information about the evacuation plan.
• Be patient. It might be difficult for the disabled person to understand the urgency of your message.
• If necessary, separate the person from the rest of the group. Give him or her a flashlight or portable lamp to signal where he or she is and to facilitate lip-reading in the darkness.
  

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LEARNING DEFICIENCIES

People with learning deficiencies may have difficulties following orders issued by rescue brigades. For these reasons, the following may be useful for assisting these people in case of a disaster; you shoud have in mind the following:

• Their visual perception of instructions and written signs may be deficient or confusing.
• Their sense of orientation may be limited; therefore, they may need somebody to guide them.
• Information and orders should be brief. You must be very patient.
• Symbols and signals should be simple.
• If a person is capable of understanding what is being said, then it means that he or she is in better condition than one who understands only his/her vocabulary.
• You must talk to and treat people with learning disabilitiesas adults not as children.

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VISUAL DISABILITY

This disability applies to people who suffer from visual deficiency or blindness. To assist these people during an emergency, you must follow these rules:

• Announce yourself loudly when you enter the room.
• Do not shout or talk through a third person; talk naturally and directly to the disabled person.
• Do not be afraid to use words like "see", "look" or "blind".
• Besides offering assistance, you should ask for the type of help the person needs.
• Always indicate what you are going to do before doing it.
• Hold the person gently by the arm or wrist so that you may serve him or her as a guide. The disabled person may evacuate the place walking by him or herself; however, with your help he or she may note your reactions before obstacles.
• Make sure you indicate the presence of stairs, doors, narrow passages, ramps, etc.
• Assist the disabled person when sitting down by placing his or her hand in the back of the chair.
• If there are many people with visual disabilities in the same place, they should hold hands and follow the leader.
• Once safe outside the building, you must make sure that all persons are accounted for. Should there be anyone missing, leave the group under the care of other staff while the emergency passes, and seek the missing person.

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WALKING DISABILITY

Persons using one crutch or a cane are capable of using stairs without special help, as long as they can hold to the handrail and find no obstacles in the way. If a person needs two crutches, carrying one of the crutches may help him or her. Assistance may also be given by opening way if the stairs are crowded.

People who use wheel chairs know how to move from one chair to another. Depending on the strength of their arms and body, they may do almost all the work. If you help a person on a wheel chair, do not put pressure on their limbs and chest. This may cause pain spasms and block breathing. Carrying a person over your shoulders is like sitting on their chest; this may be dangerous for those individuals who also have neurological or orthopedic disabilities.

We thank the Universidad Autónoma de México: Protección Civil Universitaria de México for its contribution for this page.