Communicating Effectively with People with Disabilities

Communicating successfully is essential to providing services to the public or doing business. People with certain disabilities might communicate in different ways. What does it mean for communication to be “effective”?

Simply put, “effective communication” means that whatever is written or spoken must be as clear and understandable to people with disabilities as it is for people who do not have disabilities. This is important because some people have disabilities that affect how they communicate.

Effective communication means that whatever is written or spoken must be as clear and understandable to people with disabilities as it is for people who do not have disabilities.

State/local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations must make sure they communicate effectively with people who have communication disabilities. This applies to communicating with the person who is receiving the covered entity’s goods or services as well as with that person’s parent, spouse, or companion in appropriate circumstances. Documentation of a disability is generally not required except in employment accommodation requests and exam and course modification requests if the disability is not obvious.

Because the nature of communication differs from situation to situation, effective solutions may differ too. For example, buying a car is more complex than buying dinner and requires different solutions.

The goal is to find a solution that fits the circumstances and results in effective communication.

Examples of Communication Aids and Services

• Qualified Sign Language interpreters

• Video remote interpreting

• Notetakers

• Braille or large print materials

• Captioning

• Accessible electronic and information technology

• Other similar services and actions

Some solutions to communication barriers are relatively simple and straightforward:

Other solutions may be needed where the information being communicated is more extensive or complex.

Choosing Communication Aids and Services

To decide what aid or service is needed to communicate effectively:

• Consider the nature, length, complexity, and context of the communication.

• Consider the person’s normal methods of communication. For example, sign language interpreters are effective only for people who use sign language.

  • Unless certain exceptions are met, state/local governments must give primary consideration to the person with a disability’s choice of communication aid or service (see “Who Decides?”).

  • Businesses and nonprofits that are open to the public should work with the person with a disability whenever possible to decide what aid or service is appropriate.

Who Decides?

When choosing an aid or service, title II entities are required to give primary consideration to the choice of aid or service requested by the person who has a communication disability. The state or local government must honor the person’s choice unless it can demonstrate that another equally effective means of communication is available, or that the use of the means chosen would result in a fundamental alteration or an undue burden (see “Sometimes a Specific Communication Aid or Service is Not Required”). If the choice expressed by the person with a disability would result in an undue burden or a fundamental alteration, the public entity still has an obligation to provide an alternative aid or service that provides effective communication if one is available. The cost of the auxiliary aids or services is the responsibility of the local government agency.

Title III entities are encouraged to consult with the person with a disability to discuss what aid or service is appropriate. The goal is to provide an aid or service that will be effective, given the nature of what is being communicated and the person’s method of communicating. The cost of the auxiliary aids or services is the responsibility of the business.

Who Pays?

A consumer cannot be charged extra to cover the cost of any services needed to communicate effectively. These costs should be considered a part of the overall cost of doing business. For small businesses, there may be tax credits and incentives to help offset these costs. Check with a tax professional or with the IRS for more information.

Reasonable Advance Notice

You may require people who need aids or services to request them in a reasonable amount of time in advance, based on the length of time you will need to get the aid or service

But a person might make a walk-in request for a communication aid or service. You still need to provide that aid or service as best you can.

Friends and Family as Interpreters

Historically, many covered entities have expected a person who uses sign language to bring a family member or friend to interpret for them. These people often lacked the impartiality and specialized vocabulary needed to interpret effectively and accurately. It was particularly problematic to use people’s children as interpreters.

The ADA places responsibility for providing effective communication, including the use of interpreters, directly on covered entities. They cannot require a person to bring someone to interpret for them. A covered entity can rely on a companion to interpret in only two situations.

(1) In an emergency involving an imminent threat to the safety or welfare of an individual or the public, an adult or minor child accompanying a person who uses sign language may be relied upon to interpret or facilitate communication only when a qualified interpreter is not available.

(2) In situations not involving an imminent threat, an adult accompanying someone who uses sign language may be relied upon to interpret or facilitate communication when a) the individual requests this, b) the accompanying adult agrees, and c) reliance on the accompanying adult is appropriate under the circumstances. This exception does not apply to minor children.

Even under exception (2), covered entities may not rely on an accompanying adult to interpret when there is reason to doubt the person’s impartiality or effectiveness. For example:

• It would be inappropriate to rely on a companion to interpret who feels conflicted about communicating bad news to the person or has a personal stake in the outcome of a situation.

• When responding to a call alleging spousal abuse, police should never rely on one spouse to interpret for the other spouse.

Sometimes a Specific Communication Aid or Service is Not Required

Businesses and state/local governments are not required to provide aids and services if providing them would place an “undue burden” on the business or government. An undue burden is a significant difficulty or expense. Whether an undue burden exists varies from entity to entity— and sometimes from one year to the next.

For example, it might be an undue burden for a small retail store to provide a sign language interpreter without notice for a routine transaction. But the store may be able to use paper and pen to write back and forth to complete the transaction.

Communication aids or services are also not required in the rare situations where they would fundamentally alter the nature of the goods or services you provide to the public. A "fundamental alteration" is a change that is so significant that it alters the essential nature of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations offered. For example, providing an ASL interpreter during a planetarium projection showing may be a fundamental alteration, as lighting the dark room to see the interpreter may fundamentally alter the experience.

If an aid or service would result in an undue burden or fundamental alteration, an alternative aid or service needs to be provided if possible.