Mobility Aids are Not a Negative Thing
Photo Credit: Katherine Gundlach
One thing I wish people understood about mobility aids: my forearm crutches are not a negative thing.
When people interact with me, it's obvious when they have this notion that crutches = bad. Recent examples include a physical therapist who made a 'disgusted' face when referring to my use of forearm crutches, a stranger who told me I shouldn't use my crutches, and a family member who offered excessive praise when I walked a short distance unassisted. Of course, these people are not trying to be rude. They are simply unaware of the subtle ways in which they are revealing their implicit ableist bias- something that is ubiquitous in our ableist society. It's difficult for us to recognize this lens through which we view disability, and even more difficult to change it.
Can you imagine if we viewed underarm crutches with the same negative lens that we view forearm crutches? We would never encourage someone to walk on their broken leg without crutches or a cast, and celebrate how they "pushed through" the pain as they caused themselves further injury, or tell them it's the crutch-use that's keeping them from being injury-free. Of course not, we understand that people with broken bones need casts and crutches to support their bodies as they heal. So why do we look at one type of crutch with compassion and support and the other with pity and judgment?
Another common analogy used in disability awareness is eyeglasses. Glasses are not perceived as a good or bad thing, but as a neutral assistive device. We understand that some of us just can't see very well, either from childhood or as we get older, all the time or only during certain times or activities- just like mobility aids. Yet we don't pressure and shame people into not using their glasses, or tell people they shouldn't "give up" on themselves by "giving in" to wearing glasses. We don't praise people for not using their glasses, or make disgusted faces when they do. That would be strange, right? The difference is that we haven't stigmatized glasses in the way we have stigmatized mobility aids.
Mobility aids are not bad, negative, tragic, "the problem", the thing that's "wrong" with me, or some kind of moral failure. Mobility aids are a neutral. Mobility aids exist to support our body's needs. My body needs support for fatiguing weakness, chronic leg pain, SI joint dysfunction, and other various muscle and nerve issues, and my crutches provide that support. They significantly decrease my pain, increase endurance, distance, and confidence, and provide safety, freedom, and quality of life.
Without crutches, my life would be limited to a 100 foot radius. I couldn't do any of this shit I do outdoors without my crutches, and I couldn't do much of anything indoors either. It's because of my crutches that I am able to wander the hills in the middle of BLM land completely alone-- that's the beauty of mobility aids. Why on earth would that be viewed as negative?
Ableism, my friends. Ableism 😅
Photo Credit: Katherine Gundlach
To read a brief summary on why I use forearm crutches, check out this post: www.disabledinthewild.com/blog/why-i-use-forearm-crutches
