I’m not trapped in my wheelchair

The mainstream media is obsessed with the idea that the single most important longing of paralysed people is to walk again. This is apparent even in the way we speak about paralysis – with the able-bodied assumption that a person is “trapped in a wheelchair.” But the truth is that I am not trapped in my wheelchair; I am freed by it.

I say this, because once again the world has gone troppo over an exoskeleton, with the opening of the World Cup featuring a paralysed man strapped to a Robocop Avatar, kicking a soccer ball. Apart from the fact that the kick was insipidly embarrassing (travelling all of two meters), the device was a monstrosity, and I have absolutely no desire to try it. If science wants to help me out, it should concentrate its research on the bladder and bowel, and do something about nerve pain and spasm (but of course these sort of advances would make pretty yucky news stories). More importantly, allocate resources to making public and private spaces accessible to wheels, and spend money helping disabled people find meaningful employment, and focus your media stories on paralysed people that have succeeded in the diverse challenges of life using their wheelchair as one of many tools to help them to flourish.

but enough of my ranting. If you’re interested in this topic, let me refer you to a couple of blogs that have said it more bluntly than I can:

Why the obsession with walking? “So hey, able-bodied media: quit making me feel like wheelchairs are a shitty, sub-par option. Stop beating your exoskeleton drum. And most of all, let go of your obsession with walking, because it’s totally overrated.”

and another:

Walking is overrated: “The exoskeleton is Department of Defense research detritus used by profiteers who sell the dream of walking to newly paralyzed people who cannot imagine life as a wheelchair user. As such the exoskeleton is symbolically and practically destructive to a newly paralyzed person. So I would urge paralyzed people to boycott this device! Screw the exoskeleton. Screw walking! Get me a good wheelchair, an excellent wheelchair cushion, and some adaptive sports equipment so one can remain in excellent physical health. Better yet, get paralyzed people a job. Forget about the exoskeleton. Take those funds, the millions of dollars of potential waste, and put a job placement office in every rehabilitation facility. Empower paralyzed people to do what we Americans love to do: work, make a decent living, and be autonomous. Own a home even. Have a family. Get married. In short, be ordinary. Walking is simply not required for all this nor should it be glorified.“