Wheelchair Rules!

Wheelchair Rules!

1. Don't ever push people in wheelchairs. If they weren't able to push themselves, then they would have a motorized chair.

2. Look them in the eyes, not in the legs.

3. "Gimp" or "crip" are totally unacceptable for walking people to say.

4. But it is perfectly okay for a paralytic to call themselves and each other that.

5. Offending terms that should never be said to describe paralytics include: suffers from, victim, strickened, confined, struggling with, unfortunate, deformed, defective, poor, or lame.

6. When you are blocking their way in a restaurant, try to get out of the way calmly and not mutter "I'm sorry; I'm so sorry; I'm so very very sorry," as if you've just stepped on the neck of someone's kitten.

7. Don't shout in their ears. They're not deaf, they just can't walk.

8. If you must shout, please never shout, "How's the weather down there?"

9. Never say to a wheelchair user as he or she pulls into parking spots reserved for the handicapped, "Man, you're lucky! I had to park seven spots away and walk!" They won't feel sorry for you.

10. Don't ask how it happened. If they want you to know, they'll tell you.

11. Watch your toes at all times. Open-toed shoes are not recommended around wheelchairs.

12. Don't ever pat a person in a wheelchair on the head and say, "You are doing a super job of dealing with this!" You might end up getting your very own handicapped parking placard.

13. Don't ever say, "Slow down or I'll have to give you a speeding ticket!" I believe with everything else we've had to deal with, we can go as fast as we want to.

14. Don't ever say, "You need a beeper on that thing--you could hurt somebody!" It's like they're reminding you that you're in a wheelchair just in case you've forgotten.

15. Don't feel sorry for them. I don't believe they need any more sympathy than they've gotten already.

16. Electric wheelchairs may NOT pull manual chairs