Mobility-related disabilities are disabilities resulting from orthopedic or neuromuscular impairments. Some specific mobility-related disabilities are Cerebral Palsy, Paraplegia, Quadriplegia, amputation, Spina Bifida, paralysis, Polio, post-Polio, Cystic Fibrosis, AIDS, muscular dystrophy, Multiple Sclerosis, stroke, spinal cord injury, severe arthritis, and others. These disabilities can result from illness or accident or be congenital.
Does it surprise you to learn that 11.5 percent of Canadians have a mobility-related disability?
Mobility-related disabilities vary so widely in terms of functional ability, it is impossible to generalize what most people with these disabilities are able to do and not do. We do know that many individuals with mobility-related disabilities use wheelchairs; some use scooters, crutches, braces, and walkers.
People need to understand how to interact with individuals having a mobility-related disability. There are certainly lots of disability etiquette “no-no’s” that fall under this category. Just a few tips that may help individuals know how to properly communicate with people who have these types of disabilities are:
1. Do not lean on someone’s wheelchair – remember, “Wheelchairs are an extension of personal space.”
2. Do not help someone (for example, help maneuver a wheelchair) until you have first asked; do not just assume he or she needs your help.
3. “Don’t patronize people who use wheelchairs by patting them on the head. Reserve this sign of affection for children.”
4. If you are speaking to someone in a wheelchair for a considerable amount of time, get down on his or her eye level – this will help both of you avoid a sore neck later.
5. If someone using a wheelchair asks you for directions, think ahead of any obstacles that may present themselves (weather, distance, hills, curbs, etc).
6. “Treat adults as adults. Call a person by his or her first name only when you extend this familiarity to everyone present.”
7. Did you know that some individuals having a mobility-related disability use their arms to balance themselves? Keep this in mind when considering physical contact.
8. Don’t set your personal belongings on the desktop attached to someone’s wheelchair.
9. “Keep the ramps and wheelchair-accessible doors to your building unlocked and unblocked.”
10. When possible, place things within the reach of the individual having the mobility-related disability.
Many of these tips are basic, common courtesy disability etiquette pointers. You need to keep in mind the fact that people who have a disability are people – they are not people in wheelchairs, they are people who use wheelchairs. They are not disabled people, they are people who have a disability. In other words, they should not be defined by their disability. They deserve respect and to be communicated with.
For our readers having a mobility-related disability, what words of advice would you give our other readers on how to best interact with you?
Sources:
http://www.cpcc.edu/disabilities/student-classroom-behavior/mobility-disabilities
http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/talent/employer/information/tips/myths.aspx
http://www.easterseals.com/site/PageServer?pagename=ntl_etiquette
http://www.brocku.ca/career-services/bridge-to-success/employers/etiquette
http://www.unitedspinal.org/pdf/DisabilityEtiquette.pdf
*Please note: All research for this article is compiled from direct and third party sources. Mention of programs, organizations and companies does not imply support of The National Benefit Authority. Pictures are for creative purposes only; they are not intended to sell or promote products for NBC and belong to the accredited individual, organization or company.
Mobility issues are also a mater of safety and security. The way we get around with all the accessories is a challenge. It seems like the manufacturer of mobility aids has forgotton about our personal need, justifiably so. Every person has different needs when mobility is an issue. What can we do about this?
Thank You
WLady
It would appear that we need to complete an individual ananalyse of our needs so that we may obtain the correct and usewful aids for ME..
I had a motor veichle accident in 1981 and suffered a fracture dislocation of the cervical spine. I was initially told that I wouldn’t be able to walk as the level of the break was quite high. In 1985 just four years after the accident I started a small hobby farm which eventually grew into me raising horses, cattle, pigs, chickens, turkeys and purebred goats. I have limited use of my right hand no triceps and a really bad gait when I walk. I have put up fences to keep my live stock in built pens, and stalls also have put in hay from the feild on my own. I beleive that if you can do anything for yourself then by all means do it as you’ll be a better person for it.
I have a mobility disability since being diagnosed with M.S, in 1991. Presently, I do not use a wheelchair. I once worked assisting those with spinal cord injury, to find living quarters which addressed their need for accessibility. Even then, there was a shortage of adequate living options for people in wheelchairs. My partner and I are in the very beginning stages of designing our home, to make it a living option for some people living with a disability. Because our house has three legal addresses, we want to rent the basement and main floor. The house is 1200 sq ft main floor. We would live in the top floor. Are there grants to help put in elevators? Is there funding and consultation to help us in this process?
I discovered that the room to this building was unlocked, and I went in and sat down at a beautiful grand piano.
Some really good articles on this site, thank you for contribution.