Page 10 - Success Story Newsletter Spring 2018

now since it allowed me to travel safely to new
destinations. In my head, I naively thought
everywhere would be was wheelchair accessible
and friendly. Instead a found a whole new set of
problems. This is particularly true when it comes
to taking a wheelchair with you when driving. When
you park in a “van accessible”
disabled spot, most of them
are not wide enough to get your
wheelchair out when I use the
lift on the side of my van. This
means I have to take special
care to measure the spot with
my eyes before I park. One
of the hospitals I go to is a
rehabilitation hospital, where
people with disabilities go for
treatment, but even here, their
parking lot is a mess. They have
no disabled van spaces big
enough to get my lift out of the
van, so I have to make my own
space. So when you see a van
parked awkwardly, don’t think “this jerk just parks
wherever he wants!” instead know that I’m parking
there because I have no place else to park.
Shopping is also a whole different animal. If the
store doesn’t have an automatic door, you have
to rely on other customers to open the door for
you (same goes for bathroom doors). I’m used to
being at standing level and I can tell you, shopping
is a different experience when you do it from a
seated position. I still run into the same “space”
issues as when I’m in the walker, but now I also
have to deal with the fact that the shelves are
not as accessible. The height of the shelves keep
me from not only being able to see the products
displayed, but I even if I could see them, I can’t
reach them. I don’t want to rely on others to help
me with my shopping, but I end up having to ask
other customers or store staff for assistance.
Trading One Problem for Another
There are also differences with how people treat
you. When people see me with a walker, their first
response is a little shock on their face. That being
said, people tend to adjust a bit smoother when
we start talking (even with my speech disability).
It’s less smooth when I’m in a wheelchair. People
10 Easterseals New Jersey Success Story Newsletter 2018
tend to treat me like a child or totally ignore me.
Sometimes I see employees pretend I’m not there
and walk right pass me, even if I’m trying to engage
them to ask a question. Other times, people who
engage with me act like I’m dumb or assume I have
some kind of intellectual disability. They may slow
down their speech, the way you
would speak to a four year old
(I’m 38). It’s still me standing
or sitting, but there is still a
cemented stigma surrounding
people who use wheelchairs.
This is offensive and can ruin
my day if I let it.
Sometimes I do an experiment
where if I get treated like I do
in a wheelchair, I will go back
to the same place a few weeks
later with my walker, and I
get treated totally different.
This is the biggest difference
I see between a walker and
wheelchair. There are both physical limitations on
a walker and a wheelchair. In my experience one
isn’t better than the other. You’re really just trading
one set of issues for another. I know a lot of this
must sound negative, but if we want to see positive
changes in how people act and treat people with
disabilities, these issues need to be addressed.
I know the squeakiest wheel on my wheelchair
is the one that gets the attention, so I’m going to
make some noise until we see progress. I hope
this article will open some eyes and encourage
people to address the issues surrounding both the
physical and mental barriers that affect people
with disabilities.
- William Volkmann, Easterseals guest writer
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