People with disabilities make up 15% of the world’s population, and wheelchair users make up 1%. Yet we continue to be marginalized and under-represented. There are a lot of damaging public perceptions of people with disabilities. As well as harmful legislation and policies in place. Education is the first step towards change and progress.
Interesting Wheelchair Facts
Despite what some people seem to think, a wheelchair is not a negative thing. On the contrary, it is a tool that allows for people to participate in the community and lead a full life. The wheelchair is the international symbol for disability and 1% of the worldwide population uses a wheelchair. People use wheelchairs for a variety of different reasons: spinal cord injuries, paralysis, weakness, chronic pain, or other neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS), cerebral palsy (CP) or muscular dystrophy (MD). It is estimated that 70 million people worldwide need a wheelchair, but unfortunately only 5-15% have access. There have been many improvements to the “wheeled chair” over the years, and technology continues to advance.
What Does it Feel Like to be Paralyzed?
What does it feel like to be paralyzed? Like everything in life, everyone has a unique experience. Same goes with the sensation, or lack thereof, of being paralyzed. Most people assume that it just feels like nothing. However, nothing is an oversimplification.
Even if no physical sensations are present, there is still an emotional or psychosomatic element to being disconnected from a portion of your body. In many cases, this is often an abrupt and catastrophic change, so it can be quite jarring and surreal.
What NOT to do Around Wheelchair Users
Unfortunately, there seems to be a pervasive social etiquette deficit when strangers interact with wheelchair users in public. Wondering how to treat a person in a wheelchair? Newsflash: like a normal person. It doesn’t have to be scary, or awkward, or ~inspiring~… we are people first and more than our wheelchairs. These are all examples of things that I, or others close to me, have experienced as a wheelchair user. These experiences can be dehumanizing and contribute to the public perception of people with disabilities being less than people.. or worse yet, as objects.
Wheelchair Representation on Netflix
Some of the shows are more family friendly than others, but I think that it these shows are a good way to start a conversation about disability. Especially if people are not used to interacting with wheelchair users or people with disabilities in their day to day lives. It provides a healthy model and framework outside of the negative stereotypical representations, where people with disabilities can just been seen as people, wheelchair or not. Although representation in films and shows is still lacking, I think that shows like these are a great step in the right direction.
Wheelchair World Records
One of my favourite childhood traditions was poring over the yearly Guinness Book of World Records. It is always interesting to see all the weird and wonderful things humans are capable of. Here’s some of the amazing feats accomplished by wheelchair users all over the world. Check out these official Guinness World Records (plus some other unofficial cool stuff). These people are truly pushing the limits of what can be done in a wheelchair.
