Recently, I have had to use a wheelchair after my femoral osteotomy surgery because I can’t walk very well in public. That has opened my eyes even more to the absolute lack of awareness and accessibility for people with disabilities. I was very reluctant to use a wheelchair because I was sure that using a wheelchair would lead to emotional struggles. I expected that people would be mean or ask a lot of questions. The exact opposite happened. It’s like being in a wheelchair made me invisible to everyone.
On the first day of school, a girl that my sister and I are both acquainted with said hi to my sister and then walked right past me. In my first class, I had to sit in my wheelchair against the wall for ten minutes because all the desks in the front row were full. Two of my teachers have assigned mobile activities and have forgotten that I can’t walk. No one holds the door for me. A paraprofessional was assigned to push my wheelchair and help me get to class, and people just watch us struggle with the door. It is very disappointing. No one watches their surroundings. I have been practically run over several times and my left leg has been jostled, but none of the kids seem to care.
And in my theater class, where I found so much acceptance last year, I sat near the left side because I came through the left entrance. When my classmates came in, invariably most of them would offer me a brief greeting and then go sit on the right side. I sat by myself—not by choice. Everyone in my theater class walked past me.
I didn’t change as a person. The only thing that changed was my mobility. My cerebral palsy is not contagious. I am the same person I was last year, but with different experiences. I don’t understand why a wheelchair is so hard for other people to understand and deal with, when I am the one who has to tolerate the pain and the overall daily trials.
I understand that my being in a wheelchair is temporary, but that does not mean that the lack of accessibility and awareness is okay. Not only for me, but for all the other kids who need accommodations. Besides, my mobility may decrease as I get older, like many people with CP, and then I may need to rely on a wheelchair.
People using wheelchairs shouldn’t have to be ignored or not prioritized. Disabilities are a natural part of life, so they shouldn’t be scary. People with disabilities are people first. My CP is not going to go away if people just don’t acknowledge me. Everyone should overlook their prejudices about wheelchairs and try harder to be accommodating. A disability is not the person’s fault, so we should not be treated as lower-class.
