These individuals form a tremendous pool of potential employees and volunteers, and constitute a significant percentage of the people who may seek your services. Individuals with disabilities fall into a few distinct categories. Lumping together individuals with disparate disabilities would be insensitive and poor risk management. Even individuals within the same disability category may have varying abilities, strengths and limitations. Recognizing the variations among these peoples' abilities is the first step in designing facilities and procedures that are suitable for everyone.
Disabilities are obvious.
Although some disabilities are readily apparent, others are not. You may be unaware that a person is HIV positive, has dyslexia, or is subject to seizures. Some individuals are willing to disclose the nature of their disability, while others, for various reasons, are not. Consequently, effective risk management may require the use of procedures that assure safety despite uncertainty about an individual's condition. For example, emergency medical teams take precautions to prevent the spread of contagious diseases every time they encounter blood.