Using a Mobility Assistance Device Is Not 'Lazy'

I have several mobility-restricting chronic illnesses. It can be hard some days to slip on my shoes, or to pick something off the floor. My mother also has mobility-restricting chronic illnesses.

I have noticed a really horrible trend of people calling those who use mobility assistance devices such as wheelchairs and scooters lazy, the problem with the world, and some other things I’m not going to repeat here. The problem with this line of thinking is that these devices are not made for able-bodied people. They are made for people with disabilities. I have confronted people who have said these things, telling them the device is for the disabled. But alas, most of them have screamed curses at me and told me I was just a fragile little whiner, among other things. One of these people even said that because they had watched a video of someone without arms doing the task the device helps with, no-one else should be allowed to use the device.

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jwplayer(‘jwplayer_VdCMLEby_F962XJnx_div’).setup(
{“playlist”:”http://content.jwplatform.com/feeds/VdCMLEby.json”,”ph”:2}
);

Mobility devices can help people with mobility issues become more independent. They can literally change lives. At the moment I don’t use such devices because I am still able to do those things, but that could change one day.

This ableist view about mobility assistance devices being for the lazy hurts people. If this ideology persists, it could do a lot more damage. And this is only one example of ableism. We need to end this ableist ideology, and we have to work together to do it. Help fight it and spread awareness with the tag #AbleismAwareness.

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Thinkstock photo by Moodboard.