After the death of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, @tommysantelli tweeted a powerful reminder about the language we use to describe someone who uses a wheelchair. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Describing Someone Who Uses...
companion chair n.— «Things went well enough for the first four years that Marija took my mother places by pushing her in something known as a “companion chair.”…Later on, when my mother could no longer walk but still insisted on having her hair...
shorty n.— «Andrew returned to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., to be fitted for his first prostheses. These “stubbies” or “shorties,” as they are called, are only about a foot in length and are designed to help amputees...
wheeler n.— «Thinking of the poor guy himself as “the wheeler” as vets in wheel chairs sometimes call themselves, over the phone to let pp know they need accomodation. “Im a wheeler” See?» —“19 Wheeler: Only In The Hometown News” by Clarissa...
stairs-chair n.— «The sheriff’s office has a list of handicapped individuals who work in the courthouse and deputies made sure all of those folks were safety evacuated. Firefighters used what’s called a “stairs-chair,” similar to a wheelchair to...
