Thread by @CKnightWrites

In yesterday's Wheelchair Etiquette thread for Disability Pride Month, I gave you a lot of "do nots" ... so how about some "do" options today!

Wheelchair etiquette part 2: what you can do

A non-exhaustive 🧵

1. Offer to help just like you would anyone else.

You're going to hold open doors for ppl behind you/with full hands. You'll help get things from a shelf if you can. It's okay to do those same things for us.

Remember not to move us! No touching.

1 (cont) If the disabled person is already in the process of opening the door, gathering the thing, whatever you were going to help with, please ask before just jumping in.

Often, not asking would require you moving us anyway. But also, don't assume we can't do it. Just ask.

2. Compliment our chairs/mobility aids!

These things are expensive - it's nice to know they look awesome! And we don't want to hide them, to pretend they don't exist. You don't have to either.

Treat it just like complimenting someone's shoes, shirt, hair, etc. It's friendly!

3. Give us room/make space.

Expecting the person in a wheelchair or using a mobility aid to move around you is...odd. It takes more for us to move than it does abled people. If you can, please move when it's necessary.

4. Educate your kids.

Teach kids not to ask questions about other peoples bodies, no matter the question. That's private. Keep it simple and direct:

Why are they in a wheelchair?
Bc they're disabled.
Why are they disabled?
That's not our business. We don't ask people's bodies.

4 (cont)

I will bet money that children who are told its okay to ask any random person in a wheelchair why they're in the chair grow into adults who think it's okay to ask why I have a wheelchair when I can walk to my car door/drive. Teach them privacy now.

4 (cont)

Some disabled people encourage children to ask questions, they welcome it. But that's our choice, not yours.

Believe me, we see your kid staring and you telling them not to. If we want them to ask their questions, we can let you/them know.

5. Acknowledge us.

Treat us like you would anyone else. There's no need to pretend we're invisible - or that our chair is, force yourself away if we're in the area, etc. We arent scary, we arent (always) developmentally disabled, we arent going to break. Act like we're people.

As always, none of this applies to every wheelchair user, but these are solid ground rules and a good starting point for how to best treat us.

Like I said, it's about treating us with basic respect as you would anyone else. That's all anyone wants.

Gonna practice what I preach here and remember our emotional labor has value.

Disabilities are expensive! If you learned something here, consider joining my Patreon or donating to my Ko-fi.

Patreon.com/cknightwrites

Ko-fi.com/cknightwrites

(In case you're looking for the other thread I mentioned)

https://twitter.com/CKnightWrites/status/1411464477623480323?s=19

Muting this one too now, friends. Thank you all for being so open to learning!