Within the first week of the spring semester, I faced the challenge of a part of Hillsborough Street’s crosswalk being blocked. I was already running late to my next class and saw people just walking around it. Since the path was too thin for my powerchair, I got out of it and moved it manually, lifting it partially so it wouldn’t fall out into the street. As I’m navigating the pathway I turn around and see this tall man behind me. He was staring down at me and waiting for me to move, so I gave into peer pressure and moved a little faster, knowing that my powerchair’s weight was the bare minimum that I could lift due to my disability. As I feel my arms give out a little bit, I hear him mumble something that sounded like, “I don’t think you need that chair.”
It was rather windy outside that day, so it was a bit hard to understand him clearly. However, regardless of what he said, there was a clear negative connotation to it because once I settled back into my powerchair and started using it again, he kept walking ahead and turned his body to stare at me with a smirk on his face. He looked at me like he just caught me in the act of doing something wrong, and to be honest, it was very unsettling to me as he kept staring at me for at least ninety seconds. So, even if his exact words weren’t, “I don’t think you need that chair,” he was likely thinking it.
I bring up this experience because I wanted to discuss an unfortunate misconception about wheelchair users that is still prevalent within the first quarter of the 21st century. When you need a wheelchair or a powerchair, they assume that your legs don’t work because you’re a paraplegic. They assume that you physically cannot stand up or walk because you are paralyzed from the waist down. Well, that may be the case for a lot of people that use wheelchairs, but, it is not the entirety of people that need a set of wheels to get by in their day-to-day lives. It depends on the country, but in the United States, the percentage is at 6.6% of wheelchair users. In the United Kingdom, 1/3rd of their wheelchair users are ambulatory.
Keep in mind, that the term ambulatory is used loosely. People who can stand up and walk only for short distances are considered ambulatory. The term itself doesn’t necessarily mean the person is mobile. If you could barely walk from one room to the other, you are still ambulatory in medical terms. If it causes unbearable pain to stand up from your bed and walk to the bedroom, you are still technically ambulatory. Wheelchairs are one of the many aids that can be used to enhance mobility, and their main purpose isn’t restricted solely to those who aren’t ambulatory at all.
Unfortunately, wheelchair users who are ambulatory risk harassment and discrimination each time they step out of their chairs, or even move their legs at all, in public. I have days where I am afraid to move my legs or get out of my chair from a fear of judgment or criticism from someone every time I stand up to get something out of my backpack or lift myself up a little to reach something from a shelf. To this day, every time I unbuckle the seat-belt out of my power chair and get up for whatever reason, I need to always, in a monotone and irritated voice, say, “It’s a miracle!” to prevent any judgment from people. It’s a way to make it more light-hearted, and hopefully indirectly, way to tell people, “Hey yes, I can technically walk and I’m aware of the general public’s assumptions, but I need this thing.”
A 42-year-old woman named Shae Mankey, who has facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), spoke to ABC about her life as an ambulatory wheelchair user, and this included cases of people accosting her at accessible car parks when standing up from her wheelchair to transfer into the driver’s seat of her car. She was stared at, grunted at, and even had people knocking on the car window aggressively to tell her to leave accessible parking spots for “those who really need it.”
“People often assume that someone who can walk should always walk,” Shae said. “It’s not nice to feel like you’re being shamed or judged for using a mobility aid or having people look at you like you’re an oddity…rather than just letting you be.”
People just assume your legs can’t move at all from paralysis, or that if a person can technically walk that, “they don’t need it” or “they are faking it.” However, not all disabilities are visible. Someone could need to use mobility aids for chronic pain, heart conditions, muscle problems, neurological conditions, and even COPD. There are a lot of rare diseases that can make someone need to use a mobility aid, not just being paraplegic.
There is no issue with people using what they need to be able to accommodate themselves and manage their symptoms. And manage their pain, whatever their condition is. Mobility aids exist to improve quality of life, and people should be able to use them without fear of judgment. Disability isn’t always what people assume. Next time you see someone in a wheelchair standing up, rather than jumping to conclusions, consider this: they might just be doing what they need to, to navigate the world—just like everyone else.