See, the problem with people who arenāt in wheelchairs writing about and/or drawing people who are in (manual) wheelchairs is that the people who arenāt in wheelchairs tend to think that thereās only like four movements that you do in a wheelchair. You can either push forward, push backwards, turn left, or turn right. And the characters do it all while sitting up straight or bending forward so that their noses touch their knees.
But the amount of motions that I go through on a daily basis are actually amazing. And the body languageā¦you could write an entire book on the body language of someone in a wheelchair.
Like right now, Iām more relaxed, so Iām slouching slightly. Iāve got my right foot on its footrest and the left foot on the ground. Every so often, as I stop to think of something to say, Iāll push with my left foot to rock the chair slightly.
But usually, I sit mostly upright with my upper-half slightly leaned forward. When Iām wheeling across the campus, especially if I have somewhere that I need to be, Iāll lean and shift my weight in whichever direction it is that Iām going. It helps make the wheelchair glide that much more smoothly. How far/dramatically I lean depends on how fast Iām going, the terrain, if thereās a turn, etc.
Plus people who donāt use wheelchairs donāt understand the relationship between grabbing the wheels, pushing, and the chair moving. Like Iāve seen things written or have seen people try to use a chair where the character/that person grabs the wheel every single second and never lets go to save their lives. Which isnāt right. The key is to do long, strong, pushes that allow you to move several feet before repeating. I can usually get about ten feet in before I have to push again. Itās kind of like riding a scooter. You donāt always need to push. You push, then ride, then push, then ride, etc.
And because of this, despite what many people think, people in wheelchairs can actually multitask. Iāve carried Starbucks drinks across the campus without spilling a single drop. Because itās possible to wheel one-handed (despite what most people think), especially when you shift your weight. And if I need to alternate between pushing both wheels, Iāll just swap hands during theĀ āglideā time.
Iāve also noticed thatĀ people who donāt use wheelchairs, for some reason, have no idea how to turn a wheelchair. Itās the funniest thing. Like I see it written or, again, have seen people ātryā a wheelchair where theyāre reaching across their bodies to try to grab one wheel and push or they try to push both wheels at the same time and donāt understand. (For the record, you pull back a wheel and push a wheel. The direction that youāre going is the side that you pull back.)
Back to body language. Again, no idea why most people think that we always sit upright and nothing else. Maybe when Iām in meetings or other formal settings, but most of the time, I do slightly slouch/lean. As for the handsā¦A lot of writers put the wheelchair userās hands on the armrests but the truth is, most armrests sit too far back to actually put your hands on. There are times when Iāll put my elbows on the edges of the armrests and will put my hands between my legs. Note: Not on my lap. Thatās another thing that writers do but putting your hands in your lap is actually not a natural thing to do when youāre in a wheelchair, due to the angle that youāre sitting and the armrests. Most of the time, Iāll just sort of let my arms loosely fall on either side of the chair, so that my hands are next to my wheels but not grabbing them. Thatās another form of body language. Iāve talked to a few people who have done it and I do it myself. If Iām ever anxious or in a situation where I want to leave for one reason or another, I will usually grip my handrims - one hand near the front , one hand near the back. And if Iām really nervous, youāll find me leaning further and further into the chair, running my hands along the handrims.
Also, on a related subject - a characterās legs should usually be at 90 degree angles, the cushion should come to about their knees, and the armrests should come to about their elbows. You can always tell that an actor is not a wheelchair user when theirĀ wheelchair isnāt designed to their dimensions. (Their knees are usually inches away from the seats and are up at an angle, the armrests are too high, etc.) Plus they donāt know how to drive the chair.
Letās see, what else? Only certain bags can go on the back of the chair without scraping against the wheels, so, no, your teenagers in wheelchairs canāt put their big, stylish, purses on the back. We donāt always use gloves since most gloves actually arenāt that helpful (as stated above, wheeling is a very fluid motion and gloves tend to constrict movements).Ā Height differences are always a thing to remember. If youāre going for theĀ āoh no, my wheelchair is brokenā trope, nobody really has āflatā tires anymore thanks to the new material for the wheels but it is possible to have things break off. We use the environment a lot. I always push off of walls or grab onto corners or kick off of the floor etc. Wheelchair parkour should really become a thing.Ā
This is all of the physical things to think about. I could write a thesis on the emotional treatment of your characters with disabilities. But for now, I think that Iāll stop here. For my followers in wheelchairs, is there anything that I left out?
Also why isnāt wheelchair parkour a thing? Somebody make wheelchair parkour a thing.