Beyond Please and Thank You: The Disability Awareness Handbook for Families, Co-Workers, and Friends » (SPIRAL)

Richard C. Senelick, MD, is the medical director at the Health-South Rehabilitation Institute of San Antonio (RIOSA). He also serves as program director of its Brain Injury Program. A native of Illinois, he completed his undergraduate and medical school training at the University of Illinois in Chicago. A neurologist who specializes in neurorehabilitation, he subsequently completed his neurology training at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. He has authored numerous publications, including co-authoring Living with Brain Injury: A Guide for Families, The Spinal Cord Injury Handbook for Patients and Their Families, and The Disability Awareness Handbook for Families, Co-Workers, and Friends.

Ramps, handicap-accessible bathrooms and parking spaces, Braille numbers on elevator panels—thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, these physical barriers and more are being addressed, helping the disabled to lead independent lives. Unfortunately, there are barriers of belief and values that still stand strong. There is no law that prevents someone from acting insensitive. It is time for that to change and this book provides the first step. Inside, you'll find important sections on how to act on the job, within the family, out on a date, and in public places to ensure that you—and everyone around you—can have the respect and dignity they deserve. Within the pages of this important book, you will begin to realize that people with disabilities don't want you to treat them "like" equals. They are equals—and the more we understand and the more we see, the more we will accept this truth completely.