Authors LA Carmichael
7 days
30 days
All time
Recent
Popular
(ableism, addiction)
Alright, y'all, who wants an essay about disability? This thread is vitally important to understanding canes, crutches, wheelchairs, walkers, & any other mobility aids. Ask yourself, would you feel shame about using an aid like glasses to do this task?
1/
Would you shame me for using a wheelchair one day so I can use a single crutch the next day? Would you shame me for using a single crutch in 90% of circumstances & then using a wheelchair to navigate a convention or big event? Would you shame me for standing up from my chair? 2/
I have been shamed, verbally & to my face, for all of these things.
Mobility aids are TOOLS. There is no one right or wrong way to use a tool (just ways that might be less likely to cause injury—if you're new to crutches DM me & I can give you a tutorial).
3/
Here's another vital thing to understand. Mobility aids, wheelchairs especially, are LIBERATING. I know to many they look like a symbol of all that you'd give up as an able-bodied person, & I have also struggled with big emotions abt my chairs in childhood & coming back
4/
to my wheelchair when I was an adult. It's okay to grieve the things you lose when your body isn't able to do a thing.
But the wheelchair isn't what you think it is. The wheelchair is FREEDOM and MOVEMENT and ACCESS.
5/
Alright, y'all, who wants an essay about disability? This thread is vitally important to understanding canes, crutches, wheelchairs, walkers, & any other mobility aids. Ask yourself, would you feel shame about using an aid like glasses to do this task?
1/
Gentle reminder: a mobility aid is not a last resort. You are not obligated to endure increased pain and fatigue or to miss out on valued activities and experiences. If a mobility aid would improve your quality of life, that's a good enough reason to use one!
— The Tweedy Mutant \u267f\U0001f308 (@the_tweedy) January 6, 2021
Would you shame me for using a wheelchair one day so I can use a single crutch the next day? Would you shame me for using a single crutch in 90% of circumstances & then using a wheelchair to navigate a convention or big event? Would you shame me for standing up from my chair? 2/
I have been shamed, verbally & to my face, for all of these things.
Mobility aids are TOOLS. There is no one right or wrong way to use a tool (just ways that might be less likely to cause injury—if you're new to crutches DM me & I can give you a tutorial).
3/
Here's another vital thing to understand. Mobility aids, wheelchairs especially, are LIBERATING. I know to many they look like a symbol of all that you'd give up as an able-bodied person, & I have also struggled with big emotions abt my chairs in childhood & coming back
4/
to my wheelchair when I was an adult. It's okay to grieve the things you lose when your body isn't able to do a thing.
But the wheelchair isn't what you think it is. The wheelchair is FREEDOM and MOVEMENT and ACCESS.
5/