Christine Mifsud would prefer you address her, rather than her guide dog, when speaking to her.

While we might consider this basic etiquette, for Ms Mifsud, who is visually impaired, it is something she finds herself having to address more frequently than you would assume.

Ms Mifsud, who forms part of the drama group Bravi Għax Gravi, wants people to really challenge their preconceived notions about people with disabilities.

She joined Marthese Fenech, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, to tell Times of Malta some of the ways able bodied people have treated them.

The group has also released their own comedy video, Fi Kliemna, that addresses the awkwardness some people face when interacting with people with disabilities.

“Nothing is exaggerated, everything that happens in the sketch is a version of an interaction one of us has had at some point,” Ms Mifsud noted.

The short film, commissioned by the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability, brought together people with different disabilities who, through a series of workshops, developed a script and a performance.

Marthese Fenech, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, said the group gelled together very easily and quickly felt comfortable telling their personal stories.

“We found a lot of material to work on from our conversations,” Ms Fenech said.

Ms Mifsud and Ms Fenech, who clearly developed a close rapport, said that the group had a lot of input into what went in the sketch and were making cuts and editing to the final script until they were shooting.

“Obviously, I can’t read a script, so I had to record it and listen to all the parts. At the end of the day I was talking to my family and answering the phone in character,” Ms Mifsud said.

“When my family saw the video, they laughed their hearts out because my part was so out of character,” Ms Fenech admitted.

The video, which was shown at several schools, was part of an effort to encourage conversations on disabilities and address questions and misconceptions that children might have.

Members of the group ran Q&A sessions after every screening and were pleased with the feedback they received.

“I got a lot of questions about multiple sclerosis. It made me realise people do not know what MS is and what little awareness is being raised,” Ms Fenech said.

She noted that, initially, she faced a lot of hardship with her illness, partially stemming from the fact that it was not visible to people who did not know about it.

“When people tell you they have a disability, take them seriously, even if it’s not obvious to you,” Ms Fenech advised.

“I felt like the general feedback was overwhelmingly positive and I think children have much less taboos about these discussions than adults do,” Ms Mifsud said.

“The questions they asked were very insightful and they were very receptive to the things we had to say.

“Children are more open and judge less harshly, I found them more likely to look at the person rather than the disability,” she added.

“I really had fun working on this project. I think it’s going to touch a lot of people in different ways, after all, laughter is the best medicine.”