10 Things You D Never Say To Someone In A Wheelchair Analysis

There are people who, due to the stigma surrounding mental illness in mainstream media, have it in their minds that having a mental illness would make people pay more attention to them. According to Web MD’s article titled “Factitious Disorders”, this individual will deliberately and consciously act as if he or she has a physical or mental illness when he or she is not really afflicted. Symptoms include but are not limited to: the presence of symptoms only when the person is with others or being observed, unclear symptoms that are not controllable and that become more severe or change once treatment has begun, extensive knowledge of hospitals and/or medical terminology, as well as the textbook descriptions of illnesses, history of seeking treatment at many hospitals, clinics, and doctors offices, and reluctance by the patient to allow healthcare professionals to meet with or talk to family members, friends, and prior doctors. Although faking an illness is certainly not considered typical behavior, if the person faking said illness simply decided to stop and be themselves, they would most likely be considered exceptionally normal. But since they decide to add to the stigma of mental illness, one is left wondering why. Some would intelligibly say that the person just desires to “deviate from the norms” and write them off as peculiar and childish. On the other hand, some would consider it a sign of deeper complications. Whether it be a troubled home life, the individual simply not feeling important enough, or having identity issues— no one can be exactly sure. Furthermore, some would say that fabricating disorders could be an indicator of the individual having sociopathy, or even a narcissistic or antisocial personality disorder. By taking this all into account, this is

Human beings are prone to believe in things they can touch, see or feel. Even though the human brain has proved to be too complex for us to truly understand it, most of us are pretty happy to disregard anything that we cannot really see proof of. If a person had cancer, everyone around him would naturally feel sympathetic, and tiptoe around his feelings. But when it comes to mental health,

When my older sister, Molly, was ten years old, she was a temporary cripple. Molly went through a pretty big surgery that would stop her from tripping over her pigeon toed legs. While living a couple months in her wheelchair, an uncle of ours came to visit. His warm welcome to my sister was pushing her into a corner, locking her wheelchair, and calling her a windowlicker. Thankfully, my sister has tough skin. She took what others would find scarring, all as a joke. It is hard not to be reminded of the unexpected response my sister gave while reading the essay “I AM a Cripple” by Nancy Mairs. Within this essay, the author describes her life as a cripple suffering with MS. While sharing her thoughts and emotions (gerund) from

When a friend says that they are ill, say they have a cold of the flu, we immediately recognise this as a physical illness and therefore we assist them in their recovery, empathise with them and give them time to get better. However, if they were to have said that the felt run down or depressed, they wouldn’t have been given the same treatment. In most cases, people suffering from these diseases are told that their illness isn’t real, to toughen up and get over it. This blatant disregard for the health of these people leads to their death. 8 million people die from a mental illness each year, with many of these being caused by suicide. And to think that many of these people could have been saved if someone had helped them. Helped them to see that what they are feeling is real and that they can receive help for what they are going through. But how will anyone ever truly receive help if we fail to recognise what they are going

Furthermore, despite all the awareness and campaigns to get people to sympathize and empathize with the mentally ill, many people believe in ignoring and even neglecting these illnesses to avoid public ostracization. This is widely seen in developing countries or in

The first lesson that I learned from the NSIP videos was how to communicate with someone in a wheel chair. I was unaware how strenuous it can be on an individual in a wheelchair to have to look up during conversation when someone is speaking with them closely. When speaking to an individual in a wheelchair one should attempt to grab a seat next to this person so that communication can happen at eye level. Individuals in wheelchairs also enjoy their personal space. Some people have been in a wheelchair so long that it has become a part of them. Because of this bond, these individuals feel like their personal space is being violated when anyone touches their wheelchair without asking. Whenever a person plans on helping out an individual with a disability, they should first ask if

Every day at Kadima, I learned about each patient’s disability. I oversaw their routines, relaxed their stiff bodies, and calmed their frustrations—all while knowing that their conditions will likely not improve over time. Until I worked at Kadima, I had never thought twice about how long it takes to brush my teeth, or the complexity of putting one foot in front of the other—simple tasks that challenged the patients. These disabilities limit the patients’ outlook in life and make them dependant on the support and understanding of their loved ones. I could never conceive relying on others for help in every aspect of my

No matter what condition you're living with, be it fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, PTSD, OCD, depression, etc., there is one thing you and nearly every single person with an invisible illness have in common, and that something is:

You're born in a world where you can be full of health growing up or having hidden health issues that seem to be unbelive that no belives you into it's all most to late.

Another obvious physical disability is an individual's confinement to a wheelchair. People who cannot walk under their own power are usually at a great disadvantage. Many times there are no special considerations made for these people. Even some typical expressions demonstrate this lack of compassion, such as "I have to run to the store", or "I'm going for a walk." People in wheelchairs are often considered weak and unable to care for themselves. However, some advances have been made in our society that encourages the independence of these people. Wheelchair ramps, handicap parking, and cuts in the curb of sidewalks are just some of the more obvious changes that have been made to better accommodate these people. But some problems may still occur for people in wheelchairs. Some hallways and doors may not be wide enough for the chair to fit through and when it is icy outside it is very easy to slide if the pavement is not sanded properly.

The institute had implemented all necessary handicap accessible doors, bathrooms, telephones, water fountains and elevators that made using a wheelchair a bit smoother. Nevertheless, I faced huge challenges when trying to get the lift at Performing Arts Building. I had to wait for many minutes because it couldn’t reach the elevator press -control buttons. When the elevator finally opened, about ten healthy lads were packed inside, only giving a cold glaze on me. They just stood there quietly staring at me in the wheelchair as I said, “Oh wonderful, now I have to wait here even longer until this thing comes all the way back?” I wish I could have realized the impact the incident had generated to all people who use elevators and very healthy enough for the stairs. I hope my words to them made sense, meaning a chance would grant to the disabled, who unlike the physically fit can’t take

It is unfortunate that much stigma still surrounds Mental health issues. Should we become physically ill, we are more likely to tell other people. On the other hand we often see it as an indication of weakness if we are feeling low or depressed. If this describes you, please treat these feelings seriously.

It is nearly impossible for me to grasp the idea of what being truly disabled is like. There are far too many people around the world living day by day, with major struggles to accomplish the basic tasks of life because of their affliction. Through volunteering this past summer at Hartford Hospital, serving meals to destitute people at the South Park Inn Homeless Shelter and meeting disabled veterans at a Rangers Lead the Way fundraiser, I have seen first-hand, some of the problems and challenges of people with disability. Through these experiences and the insight gained from them, I believe that I am on a quest to enable the disabled around the world.

Being in the wheelchair was a very eye opening experience for me. When my son first seen me in the chair he was scared and didn’t want to come to me. Then he thought it was fun to ride everywhere in my lap. When I finished the experience I never felt happy to walk again. My arms and shoulders hurt from pushing myself around in the wheelchair. I do see now why people need to get out their chairs because it puts your body in the worst position. When I went to Walmart with my sister, she didn’t help me at all I had to push myself. I got very frustrated because I kept running into things; going through the ales was difficult with the way the cloths racks was places in the store. When people would look at me when I bumped into things I was really

Today I sat down with a friend that is a paraplegic resulting from a car accident that happened in April of 2009. The car rolled over him severing his spinal cord causing him to need two rods put in his back, one on each side of his spine. One of the many different challenges he faces daily is the constant pain he is in, along with not being able to feel or move from below the waist. Also, since he is bound to a wheelchair it is always a challenge getting anywhere and doing the most mundane tasks that so many take for granted. He has said that sometimes people stare at him for no reason other than he’s in a wheelchair. Not all people have preconceived opinions about him, but there are some people that get the perception that he is incapable of doing a lot of the things he does. For example, he fixes cars as a hobby which some people would find that hard to believe. He also drives his cars, even taking them to car shows. He has a special hand lever that he uses to press down on the gas and brakes. He doesn’t feel actual discrimination against him by others. Some advice he would give to others with disabilities is to not give up on yourself and to better yourself, making the best of every situation. His advice for those without disabilities would be not to be so quick to judge people and be more helpful. “I’m just thankful to be alive.”   Josh P.