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

[datagoddess.livejournal.com]

Silly is as silly does :-D

In order:

[palecur.livejournal.com]

'moves'
'rounder', 'rollie', 'good to have when you need parking'
'chair', 'wheels'
'steering', 'driving'.

[genderfur.livejournal.com]

The person in a wheelchair - who can propel it themselves - does not ride. Perhaps they "go"? Perhaps they "use a wheelchair"?

Certainly they are a wheelchair user. Or (depending on sense of humor) a crip.

A short word for wheelchair is "wheelchair". Or perhaps "my chair".

The act of controlling and steering a wheelchair is called "using a wheelchair".

The problem is that wheeled chairs haven't been around more than a few centuries (if that), and it wasn't until a few decades ago that a person in such a chair could propel themselves. Before that, they were "invalids", and they got "pushed" by "nurses".

It's only been the last couple of decades that has seen large numbers of otherwise-able people using wheelchairs, because surgical methods have improved so vastly. So people who would otherwise have died from car accidents or mountain climbing falls* are now surviving to use wheelchairs and walkers and be other kinds of athletes.

Perhaps you can find a sports magazine focussed on wheelchair athletes - that will have all the good terminology in it.

(*I had a housemate in college in this situation.)

[fuzzygruf.livejournal.com]

1. The person in a wheelchair...
...is coming right at you! Move!

2. A person in a wheelchair is a...
...bout to run you over!

3. A short word for wheelchair is..
..."chair." But who wants short? "Chariot of Love" sounds about right.

4. The act of controlling and steering a wheelchair is called...
...aiming.

[cyan-blue.livejournal.com]

I was thinking 'wheelie' too, before I saw that you'd wrote it.

You might post on some of the disability LJ channels - bet lots of people there know cool terminology. I like how HIV+ folks sometimes refer to themselves as Poz...

[allanh.livejournal.com]

I've always a person in a wheelchair rolls or wheels.
A person in a wheelchair is a wheelie or a wheeler.
A short word for a wheelchair is: 'chair or wheelchair or racing chair.
The act of controlling a wheelchair is called piloting (hi, Rob!), steering, wheeling, or driving.

You might check out weelz's journal, and tell her I suggested you ask her, since she's in a wheelchair.

[rampling.livejournal.com]

Cool questions! I don't have any real answers, just my opinions:

I'd say a person in a wheelchair wheels. "I'll wheel over there and get it."

A short word for a wheelchair is chair. "I'll take the chair over there."

I'd also say controlling/steering a wheelchair is wheeling. "I'll wheel over there...", "My arms are tired after all this wheeling around."

I can't really imagine a word for a person in a wheelchair user beyond "wheelchair user" like you wrote. Shorter might be "chair user". P'raps you could instigate "wheelie" or "wheeler".

Word questions are fun!

I hope if the wheelchair thing continues to work out for you, that you can get one of those cool racing chairs; that'd give you some fab exercise mobility, I'd think. And be so cool and fun!

[aelfie.livejournal.com]

Okay, take this tounge in cheek as I was "stuck" in a wheelchair for a summer during high school (amazing football injury, ask me about it if you are really interested) and this is some of the terminology I used.

Non wheelchair bound people walk, the person in the wheelchair gets to where they need to go!

The person in the wheelchair is a gimp (I was in a hip to toe cast, and that was the nickname I earned.)

Act of controlling? scoring points hitting pedestrians (which was easy to do with that foot stuck way out there!)

I like silly, it makes the universe less serious!

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

I couldn't possibly, you see. It would be silly.

Your point being? :-)

[gasslight.livejournal.com]

Silly, yes, but I like it too.

[sunnydale47.livejournal.com]

Well, when you talk to a blind person you say, "Have you seen XYZ movie?" or "Have you seen Suzy lately?" When you say goodbye, you say, "See you later" if that's what you'd usually say.

When you talk to a deaf person you say, "Did you hear about Jack and Lulabelle?" or "Have you heard from Olga?" When a deaf person lectures, they are "speaking." If your child interrupts your signed conversation with a deaf person, you say "Not now! Jane and I are talking."

But I'm not sure how this would extend to using a wheelchair.

I know you posted this days ago (I'm struggling to catch up, at least with my most important friends), but I'll ask chungjik to take a look at this and give you his opinions. He and his wife both use wheelchairs.

non-wheelchair using copyeditor here

[redbird]

I don't use a wheelchair, but I'll play anyway:

1: wheels or rides (the former if the person is it's muscle-powered and the person using the chair is providing that power; the latter for a powered chair or one pushed by someone else).
2: wheelchair user
3: chair
4: steering or wheeling feels best.

I'd also be a little careful, if the chair is being pushed by someone else: "pushed Chris's wheelchair" is better than "pushed Chris", though "the nurse wheeled my cousin down to the OR" is also reasonable.

I don't know how much distinction there is in usage between someone who uses a wheelchair longterm and someone who is using one temporarily or briefly: the hospital patient in the example above, or someone who ordinarily uses a cane or walker but is being pushed through an airport in a wheelchair.

And there's the usage I warned about a paragraph earlier, but "in a wheelchair" feels appropriate in that context and seems to call for that verb.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

For electric chairs, a slang term is "powerchair." Lots of people use that one to differentiate it from a pushed chair.

[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.