Wheelchairs Are Not Prisons

To the Editor:

The term “wheelchair-bound,” which appears in the article on my organization (“Medical Attention,” The Face of Philanthropy, April 20), conjures up images of immobility, confinement, imprisonment, even bondage. The reality is that for those of us who have mobility impairments, a wheelchair is quite the opposite. As a polio survivor, I have used an electric scooter for 25 years and have found the wheels to be liberating, since they provide me with the freedom to come and go with much greater speed and for longer distances than I can manage on foot.

That is why at the Center for Disability Issues and the Health Professions at the Western University of Health Sciences we teach our students to replace terms such as “wheelchair-bound” or “confined to a wheelchair” with more accurate and empowering ones such as “user” or “wheelchair rider.”

Julie G. Madorsky
Professor and Chair
Center for Disability Issues and the Health Professions
Western University of Health Sciences
Pomona, Calif.