#wheelchair user

[flowercrowncrip]

I feel like I’m getting somewhere medically. My GP reckons my symptoms are mostly because my current borrowed wheelchair isn’t (and to a lesser extent my old wheelchair wasn’t) meeting my postural needs and my breathing has been more restricted which is causing more issues (because oxygen is important). We’re running some tests to check there’s nothing more sinister going on but it’s a pretty good explanation I probably should have thought of myself.

Which means that hopefully my new wheelchair will make things easier when it eventually gets here. I was initially told that it would be around May time, but I still haven’t had the letter with the appointment date so I’m suspecting that it might be a longer wait than anticipated.

And also fuck the tories for taking funding away from the nhs and wheelchair services causing horrendous waiting times with people trapped in bed or inadequate wheelchairs for months or years at a time and all the health problems that causes.

[thedisablednaturalist]

Guys Jansport adaptive backpack is on sale for 32% off on Amazon right now (blue color, pink color is on sale for 24%). The usual price is $70, right now it's $47.

[love-me-love-my-weirdness]

Shout out to the ten year old who just got diagnosed. Shout out to the housebound fourteen year old. Shout out to the eighteen year old who can’t go to the university they wanted. Shout out to the twenty two year old who can’t get a job. Shout out to the twenty six year old with a caretaker. Shout out to the thirty year old who can’t buy their own house.

Shout out to young disabled people. We exist.

[cripplerage]

As a wheelchair user I'm trying to reframe my language for "being in the way."

"I'm in the way," "I can't fit," and "I can't go there," is becoming "there's not enough space," "the walkway is too narrow," and "that place isn't accessible."

It's a small change, but to me it feels as if I'm redirecting blame from myself to the people that made these places inaccessible in the first place. I don't want people to just think that they're helping me, I want them to think that they're making up for someone else's wrongdoing. I want them to remember every time I've needed help as something someone else caused.

[fallenstarcat]

sure there’s a ramp, but is it steep? is there a curb at the top? is the ground uneven? do i need a key for the elevator? are the aisles and doorways wide enough? do i have room to turn? is there furniture and clutter in my way? is the carpet difficult to wheel on? can i open the doors myself?

accessibility to wheelchairs is more than just a ramp.

[gayaest]

Collei will always be disabled to me🩷🌱🍄‍🟫✨ her chair is powered by dendro !

[cr-pplepunx]

if youre considering using a mobility aid, youre probably thinking about getting a cane. even if it seems like youre issues arent bad enough, you should probably still consider other mobility aids. please look into the pros and cons of several different mobility aids, especially in conjunction with your specific disability/diagnosis/needs.

i got a cane at first because i thought my issues were "mild" and therefore i needed a "mild" mobility aid. but canes are moreso for stability than support. i damaged my wrist and worsened my scoliosis by deciding to use a cane without an educated opinion.

i now use forearm crutches primarily, a rollator for longer outings, and a wheelchair for worse days and longer events. dont make the same mistake as 16-year-old me. dont choose your mobility aid based on palatability, consider your needs and address your internalized ableism if need be.

[hate-kill-repeat]

revamped design with all of my disabled keith haring style dancin' guys all together, updated to include the yellow power chair user ~

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[plague-parade]

today for disability pride month, i’d like to discuss something not many able-bodied people know about: ambulatory wheelchair users!

first, “what is an ambulatory wheelchair user?”

it’s a term used to describe people who use wheelchairs that can stand and or walk in some capacity. the amount a person can walk can vary greatly between ambulatory wheelchair users, some may need their wheelchair 60% of the time, some may need theirs 90% of the time.

“why would someone use a wheelchair if they can walk?”

there are tons of reasons someone who can walk might use a wheelchair, such as fatigue, balance, heart problems, pain, fainting, and many, many more. it could be dangerous for them to walk.

“isn’t that being lazy?”

nope! take shoes, for example. you *could* walk without them, but it would be painful, and could give you cuts or blisters. would you consider wearing shoes to be lazy? also, many disabilities and conditions are progressive, using a wheelchair can help slow progression and damage to your body.

so next time you see a wheelchair user move their leg, remember that ambulatory wheelchair users exist!

[jemineye]

i cant stress this enough, disabled people know their own limits. i fucking promise you. we are not being lazy or jerks because we won't do something YOU want us to do or something YOU THINK will make us feel better. it wont. stop.

[youngchronicpain]

Whenever a person walks out of the accessible bathroom stall and sees me, a wheelchair user, sitting outside waiting for the stall, they often apologize.

In the beginning, I said, "No worries!" Because I was too scared to be confrontational.

Then I started saying nothing.

But after a while, I realized that some disabled people may be a portion of the people that apologize. And I never want to make an invisibly disabled person feel bad for using accommodations that they need. There are many different reasons a disabled person would need the stall!

(It is tiring waiting for ages while someone uses the stall to change, or do their makeup. It is not annoying for anyone who needs the stall to use it.)

So, I've decided to start saying, "That's okay! I believe every disabled person should be able to use the accessible stall!"

Because then, if they are invisibly disabled, hopefully that will put them at ease.

And if the person isn't disabled, it will remind them that the accessible stall is not just "the big stall."

[flowercrowncrip]

Wheelchair users use the word “walk” all the time when talking about how we get around! For a lot of people it feels like a natural part of speech and gets the point across fine. And I can’t believe I have to say this but it’s absolutely never ever ever an invitation to accuse (jokingly or not) someone of faking being disabled.

Context means that the following sentences all make sense about me:

I can’t walk, I can’t even weight bare.

I love going for walks!

The shops are in walking distance from my flat

I walk home from the station instead of calling a taxi!

All the wheelchair users I know will casually describe walking (or running) places in their chairs, and I’ve only met a couple of people who will regularly say “push” or “roll” or “drive” and usually only when making a point about using a chair.

And whatever you do don’t be like the smart arse station employee who “jokingly” said I must be like a TV character who famously pretends to be disabled because I said the station I was going to wasn’t far from my flat so I just walk home instead of getting a taxi.

[wheelie-sick]

braces do damage to your body

canes do damage to your body

crutches do damage to your body

rollators do damage to your body

wheelchairs do damage to your body

before you choose to use a mobility aid you need to weigh the pros and cons of using one. there are drawbacks to every single mobility aid. there is no such thing as a harmless mobility aid. mobility aids are not the right choice for everyone and it's important that people emphasize that when suggesting that people try them. mobility aids can permanently damage your joints and it's important that people emphasize that when suggesting them.

mobility aids need to be an informed decision.

so many people have permanent damage to their bodies that they regret because people online told them to try a mobility aid and that there were no downsides. there are downsides.

a mobility aid is only the right choice when the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. it takes information for someone to know whether they would benefit enough from a mobility aid to make it worth it. when you tell someone that there are no problems with mobility aids, that doctors are all lying about the damage they do, you deny people information. doctors can be wrong and can deny people mobility aids incorrectly but there's truth in the fact that they damage joints, change gaits, and cause muscle atrophy among other problems.

and on that note doctor/PT/OT guidance is important when it's available. using mobility aids that have been sized incorrectly, even for a short time, can cause enough damage that mobility aids are no longer an option for that person. using mobility aids incorrectly, even for a short time, can cause enough damage that mobility aids are no longer an option for that person. failing to tell people that they need to learn how to use and size their mobility aid correctly (preferably with a doctor/PT/OT's help) causes real harm to people.

give people information when you suggest mobility aids to them. people listen to your suggestions without researching and it causes harm.

[love-me-love-my-weirdness]

Something that really sucks about being disabled is places say that they’re accessible but they aren’t.

I’ve been to places that claim to be accessible where

the ramp’s too steep

there are steps they didn’t mention because “it’s only two or three”

the doorways are too small

there aren’t any elevators to the top floor

the floor is too rough to easily push on

exhibits are displayed in ways that are impossible to see from a wheelchair

the doors don’t have a push button

tables/exhibits are put way too close together

the surrounding paths have no curbs

Without those things, it isn’t accessible. You can’t put a sloped piece of metal on your doorway and call that wheelchair friendly.

[crippledpastrycryptid]

It's properly snow season again, so here's a

friendly psa

from your neighborhood wheelchair user.

If your sidewalk is not completely shoveled, it isn't usable.

If you can leave footprints in the snow, the snow is too deep. A wheelchair can't get through

If its a narrow pathway people can 'squeeze through', a wheelchair can't get through

If your sidewalk is pristine but the curb cuts are full of snow, a wheelchair cannot get through.

If wheelchairs can't use the sidewalk, our only option is to use the road, and we don't like that any more than you do.

Sincerely, a wheelchair user in the north who would prefer not to be trapped in my apartment for months on end

[gayaest]

[Description ID in alt-text]

I’ve had really bad art block … + I’ve been super ill 😞❤️