With just 90 days to go until the start of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, the event is already beginning to generate a positive legacy for the city. Tens of thousands of volunteers and people involved in the Games are learning how best to respond to the needs of Paralympians and other people with an impairment and how to treat them with understanding, courtesy and respect.

By August, more than 100,000 people will have completed a mandatory disability awareness training course, including Rio 2016 employees, volunteers and third-party contractors. The course teaches participants about the best ways to meet the requirements of people with cerebral palsy, visual or hearing impairments and other physical or intellectual impairments.

"We don't just want to train people. We want to create a culture of diversity," says Eloise Brillo, director of recruitment, diversity and inclusion at Rio 2016.

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The course includes a virtual visit to Barra Olympic Park. Participants must react to a series of situations involving people with an impairment at the site. Educational videos that instruct people about what to do and what not to do are another important part of the disability awareness course. Subtitles are provided and the content is translated into Brazilian sign language.

Rio 2016 training videos use subtitles and sign language to communicate with viewers

Mariana Mello, director of integration at Rio 2016, says that good intentions alone are not enough when dealing with people with an impairment. One member of her team who has a visual impairment knows this all too well from recent experience. While waiting for a friend at a street corner in Copacabana, he was unwillingly helped across a road he had no intention of crossing.

"The correct way to act is to first offer your assistance and then, if it is accepted, to ask how best to help," says Augusto Fernandes, a specialist in accessibility at Rio 2016. 

Transforming perceptions

A test event for Paralympic athletics took place at the renovated Olympic Stadium in May (Photo: Rio 2016/Alex Ferro)

Fernandes, who uses a wheelchair, says that the Paralympic Games can transform a society's perceptions of people with an impairment. He remembers an occasion during the London 2012 Paralympic Games when a child was staring at him on the London Underground. Preparing to answer the inevitable question as to why he was in a wheelchair, Fernandes was surprised to be asked instead "what sport do you play?"

"Seeing high performance athletes in action changes people's perceptions and inspires a new attitude," he says.

"The main legacy of our work is that is changing people's lives," Eloise Brillo adds.

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As well as its disability awareness programme, the Rio 2016 organising committee is supporting the inclusion of people with an impairment through a series of other initiatives. The committee has hired 30 Paralympians to work in business areas that are not just concerned with issues of inclusion, such as transport and accommodation, while giving them half the day off for training. Many employees with an impairment work at the committee's headquarters, where tactile paving and braille signs help to integrate the visually impaired into daily life.

An archery test event at the Sambódromo: the accessibility of the venue has been improved (Photo: Rio 2016/Mathilde Molla)

Olympic and Paralympic venues have followed the example of the committee headquarters in improving their accessibility for people with an impairment. During the sporting events, there will be a free shuttle service that will take people with an impairment between venues and public transport stations. 

Special taxis will also be provided to help wheelchair users get not only to and from venues, but also to a completely accessible part of one of Rio's celebrated beaches. After all, even Paralympic athletes need some time off.

Light rail network opens up central Rio to people with an impairment

10 tips for communicating with people with an impairment

1. Make eye-to-eye contact

When talking to someone with a hearing impairment who is using a sign-language interpreter, talk directly to them and not to the interpreter. Many deaf people are expert lip readers.

2. A courtesy for the visually impaired

When speaking in public to an audience that includes people with a visual impairment, it is polite to say a few words without the microphone so that they can get a sense of your position. 

3. Don't touch

Never lean on a wheelchair or fiddle with it. It is an extension of the body of a wheelchair user. 

4. Don't cover your mouth

When speaking in public to an audience that includes people with a hearing impairment, make sure not to cover your mouth with the microphone. This makes lip reading impossible.

5. Don't tidy up

If a person with a visual impairment leaves their shoes by the side of the bed, don't move them! Moving objects from the place where they were left can create real problems for the visually impaired.

6. Don't interfere during the warm-up

An athlete using a wheelchair will often leave the wheelchair to warm up. It's polite to leave the wheelchair well alone during this time.

7. Respect people with palsy

Some people with cerebral palsy find it difficult to talk and may make unusual expressions and involuntary movements. Be patient: they're just as smart as anyone. Also, feel free to politely ask a question if you don't understand something.

8. Don't feed guide dogs

Never stroke a guide dog or offer it food. Guide dogs are trained to rest when they are given food or presents. Leave them alone to work.

9. Go slow

When you are walking alongside a person with an impairment, respect their rhythm. Don't go too fast.

10. If in doubt, ask

If you are unsure about how to help a person with an impairment, just ask them. Get someone else to help if you are not clear what to do. If you find yourself in an unusual situation, try to act with patience, understanding and good humour.