Dealing with Disabled Persons Who Are Wheelchair Bound

处理那些不得不坐轮椅的残疾人

陈豪在北京的ABC美国公司工作，他在走廊上遇到了刚吃完中饭回来的美国同事Amy。

(Office ambience)

C:Amy，吃过饭了吗？

A:I did. A group from the office went out together. We missed you.

C:我今天特别忙，所以从家里带了便当。

A:You have a worried look. Is anything wrong?

C:你可真是好眼力。我们部门昨天来了位新同事，是坐轮椅的残疾人。今天中午大家都出去吃饭了，办公室只有我们两个人。

A:That was a good opportunity for you to make her feel welcome. Was there a problem?

C:跟她在一起，我觉得很不自在，不知道怎样做才得体。

A:What happened?

C:因为只有我们两人，所以我上来先自我介绍。

A:That's exactly right. Why was that a problem?

C:我记得你说过，自我介绍的时候应该主动跟别人握手。

A:That's correct.

C:但是我不知道她能不能握手，所以就没有把手伸过去。

A:What happened?

C:结果她也介绍了自己，然后主动跟我握了手。

A:You handled that exactly right. If she had not been able to shake hands, she would not have offered hers.

C:那以后遇到残疾人，是不是都要等他们先伸手呢？

A:Yes. You never want to make assumptions about what someone in a wheelchair can or cannot do.

当天下午下班前，陈豪来到Amy的办公室。

C:Amy, 你现在有时间吗？

A:Come on in. Tell me what else happened with your wheel-chair bound co-worker.

C:她在我后面热饭。微波炉的位置挺高的，我不知道她需不需要帮忙。

A:What did you do?

C:后来看她要把饭盒放进微波炉里确实很吃力，所以我就说，“May I help you?” 需要帮忙吗？

A:Your instincts were on target. You were right to ask her before you took action.

C:可是当时我就傻傻地站在那儿，挺别扭的。

A:What happened next?

C:她表示了感谢，然后让我帮她把饭盒放到了微波炉里。

A:By asking her if you could help, you gave her the option to accept or reject your offer. Persons with disabilities are accustomed to doing things for themselves.

C:我也是这么想，残疾人其实都是很独立的，而且能到咱们公司来工作，一定很有能力。

A:People with disabilities appreciate offers of help, but don't like others to make assumptions about what they can or can't do.

C:下次再遇到残疾人，我该怎么做呢？

A:It is quite simple, when you introduced yourself, you let her instigate the handshake. When it appeared that she might have difficulty with something, you asked her if you could help.