You can say hi to disabled kids
Before anyone starts, I’m not saying you have to whenever you see one.
I was at the farmers market for Mother’s Day with my husband and two girls. My oldest has a genetic condition that presents a lot like quad cerebral palsy. My youngest is 4 months old and becoming a social butterfly. So many people came up to say my youngest was cute or chat about babies, would glance at my oldest in her stroller, and then pretend she didn’t exist. My oldest is 3yrs old. I watched her smiley energy from being out and about seeing people diminish as more people ignored her. I would try to include her in the conversation but people would just leave quickly. It hurt my heart to see her get so sad. Disabled kids, even if they don’t speak, still understand. My daughter speaks English. She is witty and has very well placed sighs or sounds of amusement/ excitement when in a conversation. She knows when people say hello to her.
If you don’t know how to approach a disabled child you can always ask a parent. If they have an older sibling, watch them. Or better yet, start by getting in front of them and saying hello. Complimenting something in their outfit. They may not say anything back but they are humans too and deserve to be acknowledged.