Wheelchair vocabulary

[cjsmith]

I need vocabulary!

The person not in a wheelchair "walks"; the person in a wheelchair ___________ (rides, wheels, rolls, ???).
A person in a wheelchair is a ______________ (wheelchair user, ???).
A short word for a wheelchair is ______________ (???).
The act of controlling and steering a wheelchair is called ________________ (driving, steering, wheeling, ???).

I'm half tempted to say "wheelie" for just about all of these. I wheelie, you wheelie, he/she/it wheelies. (Or maybe just I wheel, etc.) I am a wheelie, I got my wheelie out of the car, I'm wheelie-ing (wheeliing? why not, "skiing" gets away with the double i). Tempting as it is, however, I couldn't possibly, you see. It would be silly.

Comments

[chungjik.livejournal.com]

I was directed to your post by sunnydale47. Both my Partner and I use wheelchairs for mobility. Anyway... here goes:

A person in a wheelchair is a person who uses a wheelchair. I know that is a bit wordy, but many people (including myself) strongly prefer to aknowlege the person first - and the fact that we happen to use a wheelchair next.

If possible, it is often best to specify the person's disabilty (if you know it)... of course using 'person first' language (sush as "person with Spina Bifida."

That having been saide, I have used the term "wheelchair user" at times.

A short word for a wheelchair is ______________ (???).

I usually say "wheelchair"... but I also say "chair."

The act of controlling and steering a wheelchair is called _______ (driving, steering, wheeling, ???).

I use "pushing" or wheeling... I "push" my wheelchair. Yet I frequently say things like "I went for a walk" even if I am not walking. I have also been known to go for a stroll too.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Hi! Thanks for coming over to answer this!

I use a wheelchair for exercise. So far, I can still get around somewhat on my feet (though certainly not far or fast). But I'm tired of getting no cardio workouts pretty much ever, so I have a hand-me-down chair and am slowly strengthening my arms / upper back / the calluses on my hands. When those get good enough I can get my heart rate up, I hope I hope. Already I can move much faster in the chair than on foot!

I'm getting a lot more respect for the physical abilities of people who move around in wheelchairs all the time. This thing is not as easy to control as some folks make it look! For one thing, it randomly turns downhill all the time, with total disregard for where I *wanted* to go.

I suspect my vocabulary needs are a little different than many people's, because a) I might get away with more silliness and imperfect respect when I'm talking about me, and b) ideally I'd like the vocab to *distinguish* when I'm limping on feet and when I'm moving in the wheelchair. Of course, I'd like to avoid giving the impression that my silly words are how I think of others.

Anyway, this is a great education not only in what options I have for my own vocab but in what I should say when speaking of other people. I really like the concept of acknowledging the person first.

[chungjik.livejournal.com]

I started out using my wheelchair for extreme distances only, but when my Partner injured her back I started using my chair more often (when she has a back flair up, I often needed to get to her FAST and couldn't do so on foot). I am trying to start using my chair a bit less now.

If you're interested, I sometimes use weightlifting gloves to help prevent callouses. They are cheaper than gloves designed specifically designed for wheelchair use. You can get them in many sporting goods stores.

I agree - a wheelchair can be a bit tricky to get used to as they will start turning/moving from even the slightest incline. You'll get used to it though.

As far as vocabullary goes, we all get away with a bit more sillyness when we are talking about ourselves, but I tend to stay with specific words/phrases when talking about people with disabilities in general or when talk to people I don't know well (or large groups of people). A lot of it depends on my mood at the moment too. I often tend tosave my silly words for people who know and appreciate my sense of humor. :-)

Because I also walk a bit, I guess that I sometimes try to distingush walking vs. wheeling too. Unfortunately I can't come up with too many phrases (other than the ones in my last reply) that don't sound incredibly cheesy - LOL.I don't often tend to worry about (distinguishing) wording if my mode of movement isn't important to the story though. - That's just my take on things.

As far a the "person first" language in general conversation, I find that although wordy, it tends to teach people about societal attitudes -- and sometimes teaches them a thing or 2 about attitudes they grew up with and might not have even realized it.

It bugs me when people see me as a lot more dependant than I am - or when they see me as a medical classification first and a person second. Some medical professionals are "famous" for this. They get so used to simply keeping us alive that they sometimes forget about dignity or privacy.

And by focusing on the fact that I am a person first (who happens to have a disability), it often lossens people up a bit... such as people who are afraid they might "break" me if they aren't SUPER cautious.