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2:08am February 2, 2012

whatever-lion:

I want a wheelchair
I want to be able to concentrate like yesterday again
I’m just afraid it’ll offend people who depend on a wheelchair, it was just that with my legs off my mind I discovered incredible thinking capacities
and not being able to do everything with my arms is now more frustrating than before 

I use a wheelchair (because of a number of different physical conditions, including one linked to autism) and I’m not offended in the least bit. 

In fact in my ideal world, there would be virtually no distinction between wheelchairs and bicycles in terms of who could use them without offending people. Many things that are now in widespread use were originally designed for disabled people.  And many things in widespread use can be used as assistive technology for disabled people. For instance, I use an iPod Touch more than I use my laptop, because it’s easy to use lying down and I’m in bed most of the time. I tend to go for Apple products not out of brand loyalty, but because even small variations in how user-friendly a device is, can have a huge effect on whether I can use it or not.  Some people without legs either prefer skateboards to wheelchairs, or use skateboards because they’re cheaper.  So it goes both ways. 

Also, even just among disability-related reasons for using something, as far as I’m concerned “because it’s way easier for me to function sitting down” ought to be a completely valid reason for using a wheelchair.  I know a lot of autistic people who use wheelchairs for other reasons, who find this to be true. Autistic people can have trouble focusing on multiple things at once. So when we are not having to focus on staying upright, we may find that we see better, hear better, think better, read better, etc. 

Also I have an autism-related movement disorder. It’s something that, in the form I have it, becomes extremely obvious. But it’s the kind of thing that’s just an amplified version of traits that many autistic people have.  Most of the autistic people I know who use wheelchairs, also have this condition. And one of the initial reasons we started using them, was because it is difficult for us to function while having to concentrate on moving lots of body parts at once. The fewer we have to move and concentrate on, the better we function in general.  My initial wheelchair was actually foot propelled, because my arms are weak.  But even so, it greatly cut down on the number of ways I had to move my body at once.  I could totally see an autistic person without this movement disorder finding the same thing to be true. (Assuming you really don’t have it. Most people haven’t heard of it so not a lot of us get diagnosed.)

At any rate, I would not be offended by you using a chair even if it was just personal preference.  I just don’t think assistive tech should be treated as a thing only certain sorts of people ought to be allowed to use.  That only makes things harder for disabled people in the end.  But it’s also clear that for you, it’s not just a matter of preference, you really get some benefit out of it.  

What would be offensive to me is if another wheelchair user got pissed at your desire to use one.  That would be, in fact, incredibly offensive to me.  Because I think it’s ultimately destructive to all people involved, when disabled people try to act like only some of us somehow own the right to use a specific kind of equipment.  As far as I’m concerned, computer-generated speech should be used by any and all of:  People who think it’s a really cool toy, people with sore throats, people who can’t speak at all, people who can only speak sometimes, people who can speak but not with as much emotional depth as typing, people who have speech that is hard to understand, people who find speaking painful or unpleasant, and anyone else who wants to use it. The same should be true of wheelchairs.  People who want to enforce some kind of absolute border between people who should and shouldn’t use something like that, need a better use of their time and an adjustment to their ethical priorities.