Wheelchair Ediquette

Over the many years of being in a wheelchair, I have realized that  people have habit when around them, or for that matter habits that effects the users. I know that they might not realize they do, but this blog is meant to make people aware of the habits.

I find, that sometimes when I'm in a room people gravitate towards my wheelchair like it is an unidentified flying object. They brush past it, almost as if they wish to identify the object I understand that 300 pounds of metal is logically kind of odd, but I need it, and it is the equivalent to my car and legs all at once. Similarly, when people come to be me or introduce themselves, they tend to grab onto my handles. If I know you very well, that is not a problem because I like being close to friends, but otherwise it is an invasion of the personal bubble. A huge pet peeve of mine, is the fact that when I go to press an automatic button, five people walk ahead of me. I press that button for a reason, and by the time the people walk in front of me, my arm gets hit by the door. I've also noticed that friends who meet in public walk around in highschool clicke formation, leaving me little room to get by. Not a problem, until I politely ask them to move, and they stare at me like I'm E.T. Sometimes I'll go to use an elevator, and it will be crowded with able-bodied people who really don't need it. I understand if it's a a mall or apartment building, but there was an instance in college when I was trying to get to class. The elevator was full of people and I tried to get in; the doors closed on my chair and the elevator echoed with laughter. I will never forget the anger and humiliation I felt that day, and I still will never understand the draw of spending 3 second in a metal box when people have a working set of legs. As I said before, I realize that many aren't aware of these habits, and I hope this helps. 

Karli