#In a wheelchair lol

[aiscard]

Veiw from Hotel I'm staying at!

Airports and flying is a mess nowadays I'm just gonna say. We missed our connecting flight because some environmentalists laid down on the runway(?) and our first plane got delayed. So first we were like okay, let's rebook the flights cause that was an option. So waited in line for 3 hours to find out that the next available flight home was on Monday. So now we are in a hotel trying to figure out where we can stay next, waiting on a reply from Lufthansa. Yaaay flying.

[faggotisaacfloofs]

the person who helped today when I fell out of my wheelchair actually did a really great job, so I want to share in case other people wonder what to do. [Note: this is not universal, this is merely a suggestion from one person, every wheelchair user's needs are different! I am a person who uses a manual chair usually pushed by someone else who is also disabled.]

Scenario: you see someone in a wheelchair fall out of their chair, and you have the ability to help.

1. Approach and ask "are you okay?"*

2. Next question if they say no, are vague, or open to continuing conversation** is, "is there anything I can do to help?" Or "what can I do?"

If they say no to help, then that's the end, just leave and go do whatever you were doing!

If they ask for help or say they are mildly injured, ask "what would you like me to do?" And wait for an answer before doing anything! If they seem dazed or confused, they might have hit their head or had another medical event*, or they might just be like that due to regular disability. Be patient.

Do not touch the person unless they say to, or they are like, unconcious in the middle of the road, ya know?? Wheelchair users usually have conditions that mean being handled improperly can severely injure us, you could cause much more damage than the fall.

Some things they might need you to do:

Bring their wheelchair closer (mine went about 5 feet away after it dumped me)

engage the brakes of the wheelchair

hold wheelchair steady if it's an unsteady surface (mud, hill, ramp, wet, etc)

offer an arm for them to hold onto to get up (them grabbing you, not you grabbing them) or move another solid item closer for them to use (i.e. a chair) [only do this if you physically have the ability to!]

If the terrain is rough (i.e. a parking lot), they *might* ask you to push their chair to a more stable area once they are back in their chair

nothing

Something else

Do what they ask, NOT what you think would be helpful. If for some reason you have to do something (i.e. you can't stop oncoming traffic and need to get them out) ASAP, tell them what you plan to do

Keep in mind they might also be D/deaf, have a communication disability, be stunned after the fall, have a head injury, not trust other people, etc. Be patient and treat them as a person with autonomy and agency! They might need to just sit on the ground for a few minutes to recover before trying to get back in their chair. They might want everyone to leave them alone. They might ask you to call someone specific. Their chair might have broken and that can be extremely distressing. All of this is like if your legs spontaneously stop working when you're out and about!

A lot of wheelchair users (NOT ALL) have ways to get into their chair on their own once the chair is close enough and brakes engaged (but it's hard from the ground!). Here's what brakes look like on a lot of manual wheelchairs, in case they ask you to lock the brakes. They're levers on each side and pushing the lever pushes a bar against the wheel to hold it still.

ID: A manual wheelchair with the brake levels circled in red and labeled "user brake levers"

*There is also the possibility of course that a person fell out of their chair due to a seizure or other medical event, so that is why it is important to ask if they are okay. If you saw them hit their head, tell them so. If they had a medical event, follow protocol for that, I'm not gonna get into it here (thought I could).

**sometimes a person will be clear after the first question i.e. "I'm all good thanks" clearly means they do not need you to ask another question, you can just leave them alone. Keep walking and don't stare. A lot of the time people will be a bit banged up but be totally fine and able to manage on their own.

TLDR: Ask the wheelchair user if they're okay, then what they need, and then do exactly that, including leaving them alone. Thanks!

[phleb0tomist]

i keep seeing this idea that Real wheelchair users all have custom active chairs, and that transport/standard chairs are just an embarrassing stereotype. “no one really uses those!” “stop drawing disabled characters in standard chairs!!”

well, plenty of us are a stereotype. sorry. custom chairs require MONEY and good medical support. meanwhile active chairs are unusable for some people. i used an uncomfy transport chair (the kind with tiny wheels and no way to self propel) for a year, and a standard chair for 7yrs. until i got my powerchair i was only ever pushed by a carer. a lot of disabled people will never use an active or custom chair. don’t pretend we don’t exist just because we don’t fit some cool independent ideal.

shoutout to people who use transport chairs and adaptive strollers and other chairs that need to be pushed by a carer

shoutout to people who use standard chairs that don’t fit their body

shoutout to people who use secondhand or makeshift wheelchairs

in my teens i literally felt invalid as a disabled person because i didnt have the ‘real actual’ type of wheelchair everyone talks about online. just my garbage transport chair that my mom had to push. ​but people with shitty wheelchairs exist and are extremely common actually

[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!

[archiepelago]

alternate surface au inspired by a few ive seen around on tumblr :3

[fudgecake-charlie]

In no way canon to secret life whatsoever, i just wanted to draw a background in aggie and felt self indulgent

cropped ver:

[camelliasblooming]

good ol babs

[themathomhouse]

this disability pride month, stop making jokes about people in wheelchairs standing up or walking.

can I stand and walk? sure, for a short while and with pain. the consequences for trying to be out all day without a wheelchair are that I'll be in bed for the rest of the week, too tired and in too much pain to move.

but the government won't give me my own wheelchair because they have the same attitude as these jokes - I can stand up, so I don't need one. exercise is good for you, you should walk!

it keeps me trapped in the house, unable to do anything more than short stints anywhere without borrowing or hiring a wheelchair - one that causes me pain to sit in and relies on someone to push me (usually with difficulty), because they're not going to have a high-end chair for that sort of thing.

it's not a miracle that a wheelchair user can stand or walk. it's something we should aspire to see more often.

[flintbian]

There's a disabled angel in good omens 🥺

[violent138]

I think Wayne Manor has been totally redesigned from top to bottom for accessibility reasons (e.g. increased doorway width, lower/modifiable countertops, ramps, flooring change, altered door handles, et cetera). It started with making the place better for Babs, then Alfred realized it was more comfortable as he aged, and Bruce realized that it was a massive benefit because family members were injured nonstop.

[kirby-the-gorb]

[todayisafridaynight]

[tiorx]

tbh i dislike that everyone imagines futuristic wheelchairs as having legs instead of wheels or treads like existing wheelchairs do today. for one, it just seems uncomfortable to sit on something with legs but also, like... i don't want a future where i have to recreate having legs. i want a future where i can use a normal wheelchair with no difficulties

[flamingo--ing]

i was an alien this weekend !!! we led a parade!!

[bvckbiter]

in another life, the exiled trio are celebrating the first day of fall tgt 😔

[therealkaidertrash21]

I just have to say, as a daughter of a wheelchair user, that scene in which Salo goes down the stairs with his wheelchair is completely unrealistic.

Going down stairs like Salo did could kill a person. I'm not kidding, my dad told me that happened to a kid he knew. It's very dangerous to do that. If someone were to do that in real life, they would fall and hit their head. And even though the representation of minorities in arcane is really good, this part isn't.

Just wanted to let y'all know.

Having said that, I do like the statement the scene tried to make. The Council never bothered, never even thought of installing a ramp. Physical disabilities are probably only common among zaunites and they don't care about them. They never cared about adapting places for them. They never made places accessible because they never needed it, and zaunites don't matter.

Very similar to how the real world works.