If you know who's in your group ahead of time, a short check-in with the participant, their support worker, or their teacher tells you more than any general guide can. Two people with the same diagnosis can need completely different things. Ask plainly: "Is there anything that would help you take part today?"
Even in a group that's been described to you as one category (say, "wheelchair users"), assume there are also invisible disabilities in the room: chronic illness, sensory processing differences, mental health conditions, learning disabilities. Don't calibrate your entire approach to the one disability you were told about and miss the others.
Speech, gestures, pointing, writing, drawing, an AAC device, a support person relaying, or a facilitator recording what someone tells them privately: these all count equally as a valid answer. Never treat one form as the "real" answer and another as a workaround.
Address the participant, not their support worker or companion, even if the support worker ends up relaying the answer back to you. Direct eye contact and direct address aren't always possible or appropriate (some Deaf or autistic participants relate differently), but the intent, directing your attention and your words to the participant themselves, always is.
Don't fill silence. A pause before someone responds isn't a sign they didn't understand or don't want to answer. Wait longer than feels natural, especially before repeating or rephrasing a question.
Avoid idioms, sarcasm, and rhetorical questions if you notice they're not landing. "What matters to you?" is clearer than "What makes you tick?"
"Person with a disability" rather than "disabled person," unless someone tells you they prefer identity-first language for themselves. If a participant or their community uses a specific term for themselves, use their term, not the guide's default.
Don't describe ordinary participation as "brave," "inspiring," or "amazing," and don't hold up a participant's story as a lesson for others without their consent. This centers the facilitator's comfort, not the participant's own experience. Treat participation the same way you would for any other group.
No baby talk, no exaggerated praise for basic participation, no talking about someone in the third person while they're in the room. Adjust your delivery method (see below), not your respect.
You don't need to know or reference someone's specific disability to facilitate well. What matters is how they'd like to participate, not the diagnosis behind it.
Since printables are the primary way this population engages with the material, the physical design of the worksheet carries most of the accessibility weight. Use this as the production checklist.
| Element | Standard |
|---|---|
| Body text | Minimum 16pt, sans-serif, never italic for instructions |
| Headers | 20pt or larger |
| Line spacing | 1.5x minimum |
| Margins | At least 2cm |
| Alignment | Left-aligned only, never justified |
| Paper finish | Matte, not glossy |
| Layout | One task per page or clearly bounded section |
| Color | Never the only signal, always pair with a label or icon |
| Response method | Offer circle, tick, or point-to options alongside any write-in line |
Known limitation: print alone doesn't serve participants who are blind or have very low vision. If this comes up, have a large-print or Braille-on-request pathway, or a support person read the sheet aloud, rather than relying on the standard print run.
Check table heights, seating, and walkways accommodate mobility aids before the group arrives. Don't rearrange furniture once participants are seated.
Large (A5 or bigger), heavy cardstock for anything handled physically, like tokens or cards. Leave enough white space around any response area (a checkbox, a circle) that someone with limited fine motor control has margin for error.
Matte finishes on printed material, and avoid seating anyone facing direct glare from windows or overhead lights if it's avoidable.
Keep instructions short, one at a time, with a natural pause between them. A quieter corner of the room, or a break option, helps for sensory sensitivity.
Confirm reach, table height, and grip requirements suit the materials in front of them. Offer to hold, turn pages, or assist only after asking, not by default.
For Deaf or hard-of-hearing participants, make sure everything spoken by the facilitator is also written on the sheet. Nothing spoken-only should be required to complete the task. For low vision, see the printables table above.
Break instructions into the smallest workable steps. Say one instruction, wait, then say the next. Pictograms or icons alongside text help more here than for any other group.
Predictable structure matters more than novelty. Use the same layout, the same sequence of steps, every round. Warn before transitions ("in one minute, we'll move to the next question").
Don't assume energy, pain, or fatigue levels from how someone looks. Build in a standing offer to pause or step out without needing to explain why.
| Instead of this | Say this |
|---|---|
| "Can you understand me?" | "Is there a way that works better for you to answer?" |
| "Never mind, I'll ask someone else." | (Wait. Rephrase once. Offer another response method.) |
| "You're so brave for being here." | (Say nothing extra. Treat their presence as ordinary.) |
| "What's wrong with you?" | (Don't ask. It isn't relevant to facilitating the activity.) |
Ask the participant, or whoever knows them best in the room, in the moment. A short, direct question costs nothing: "What's the easiest way for you to answer this one?" Getting it wrong once and adjusting is far better than not asking at all.
You won't always know in advance how many participants this applies to, or whether a support worker is present. These steps work either way, without needing that information ahead of time.
This protocol takes real one-on-one time. If you know ahead of a session that a blind participant is expected, raise it with your lead facilitator or the on-site coordinator so staffing can account for it in advance.
This guide covers day-to-day interaction. For distress, disclosure, or safety concerns during a session, use the program-wide STOP / SLOW / MONITOR protocol, not your own judgment call in the moment. See the module facilitator guide for the full signal table and escalation contact.
These guidelines draw on Singapore's national and institutional disability frameworks: