Verbs for wheelchair use

September 21, 2018 11:47 AM

What is the equivalent of the verb "walk" for wheelchair users?

I'm looking for a pithier way to clearly incorporate wheelchair users/users of other personal mobility aids into a phrase like "people who walk, bike, skate, scoot, or [use wheelchairs]." My attempts at googling so far haven't turned up much on this - the closest I can find is "roll," but I don't know if that's something wheelchair users actually say.

posted by showbiz_liz to Writing & Language (21 answers total)

I have heard “wheelchair rider”, so “ride” would work.
posted by Dogged Persistence at 12:03 PM on September 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

As a former power wheelchair user, I absolutely used "scoot" to refer to my motion. But I don't know if manual wheelchair users would use it. I have occasionally used a manual wheelchair and used "roll" in those instances, but since it was never my primary mode of movement I wouldn't consider myself an authority on that language.

_{But I give you permission to now call power wheelchairs "scoot-scoots," as I do.}
posted by brook horse at 12:03 PM on September 21, 2018 [7 favorites]

I've heard/seen "roll", in many contexts where you are trying to be explicit about diversity of transport methods, e.g. "You can walk, run or roll our 3-mile course".

I've also heard several wheelchair users I personally know use "walk" in contexts where people walking on two legs would use it. For example, "I walked home", meaning I used my wheelchair (power or manual) to get home on the sidewalk, as opposed to taking public transit, riding in a taxi, or driving a car.
posted by Cygnet at 12:17 PM on September 21, 2018 [14 favorites]

Within wheelchair racing, the verb I’ve heard most often is push, but of course that tends to imply the person using the chair is self-propelling rather than in a powerchair.
posted by penguin pie at 12:23 PM on September 21, 2018

"Roll" would include wheelchair users, people who use rollators, and folks using mobility scooters as well.
posted by Lexica at 12:34 PM on September 21, 2018 [3 favorites]

Agreeing that roll tends to be most commonly used, with wheel coming in as a distant second, in my experience.
posted by mishafletch at 12:59 PM on September 21, 2018 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: It seems like "roll" is the way to go - it would be great if someone could point me toward a resource that establishes that, like maybe a website for wheelchair users which uses the term in their materials? (This is all for work, and it would be good to show my bosses some 'proof' that roll is what we should use.)
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:03 PM on September 21, 2018

I work at a VA hospital - the annual 5k event that includes a lot of wheelchair-using Veterans uses the term "roll". That good enough of a reference?
posted by caution live frogs at 1:04 PM on September 21, 2018 [3 favorites]

In sport I've most seen:

• Push for sports that use equipment (track, sledge hockey)
• Wheel for sports that don't (swimming)
• Walk when addressing groups that may or may not include wheelchair users
• Roll/Wheel interchangeably when planning logistics for mixed groups eg: "Most of the group can take the stairs but the blinkies need assistance at the street as the crossing isn't controlled and the wheelies would need to roll around the building to find a ramp. Let's find a better location."

When speaking outside of a sporting context (eg: booking flights, even for team events) we're careful to never use any familiar shorthand (no matter how clear it is to the group when you say "Don't let the Blinky push the wheelie - we don't have time for a yard sale") and _never_ use 'walk' when referring to athletes who will require an aisle chair to board or deplane.

When my girlfriend worked in seating and mobility the terms that people used seemed to be pretty particular. Hierarchies of disability is a thing and language is important. This doesn't mean that everyone values the same things or speaks about them in the same way. Context is important; think asking for a soda, pop or coke.
posted by mce at 1:09 PM on September 21, 2018 [2 favorites]

"Roll" also sounds pretty badass.
posted by kevinbelt at 1:16 PM on September 21, 2018

For the OP's actual example, saying "roll" doesn't specify wheelchairs clearly. You can't say people who bike, scoot and roll when actually scooting is rolling too. Just say "people who will be going on foot or using bikes, scooters, wheelchairs" etc. There is no need to say "people who walk" because that phrase really sounds like a general categorization beyond the event; people who bike are also people who walk.
For most common uses, as the discussion is leading here, I really would just say "go" 99% of the time. There's rarely a need to foreground the chair in talking about getting from point A to point B. Just say "go" for everyone. This is how it works in my friend group that includes a couple of people in wheelchairs and it would seem weird to say "We're all going to walk and roll across campus to the talk" or whatever. Don't just substitute verbs. Say things like "No one needs to take a car" -- ie reformulate how you think of mobility as an inclusive concept, don't just paste in a new verb.
posted by nantucket at 1:37 PM on September 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: There is no need to say "people who walk" because that phrase really sounds like a general categorization beyond the event [...] it would seem weird to say "We're all going to walk and roll across campus to the talk" or whatever.

I think you're misunderstanding what I need this info for - I DO want it to be a general categorization. This is for a street safety advocacy organization, and we are trying to make it explicit in our mission statement that we want to make streets safer for all categories of non-vehicular street users. Without saying something boringly wonky like "non-vehicular street users."
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:47 PM on September 21, 2018 [4 favorites]

Roll would feel inclusive to stroller-pushers.
posted by bq at 1:49 PM on September 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

I have always seen "wheeled" used in this way and it fits your sample sentence well. Any reason you don't want that verb?
posted by Pomo at 2:07 PM on September 21, 2018

This is for a street safety advocacy organization, and we are trying to make it explicit in our mission statement that we want to make streets safer for all categories of non-vehicular street users. Without saying something boringly wonky like "non-vehicular street users."

You're looking for a phrase like "fully accessible for all road users," assuming you are talking about full accessibility (which encompasses more that just accessibility for wheelchair users).

Here's some language from the DOJ's ADA toolkit for Title II:

Curb ramps are a small but important part of making sidewalks, street crossings, and the other pedestrian routes that make up the public right-of-way accessible to people with disabilities. But they are just one part.

and...

Why are Curb Ramps at Pedestrian Crossings Required?

It is often difficult or impossible for a person using a wheelchair, scooter, walker, or other mobility device to cross a street if the sidewalk on either side of the street ends without a curb ramp. It is also dangerous. If curb ramps are not provided, these individuals are forced to make a difficult choice. They can either stay at home and not go to their chosen destination, or they can risk their personal safety by using their wheelchairs, scooters, or walkers to travel alongside cars and other vehicles in the streets.

"Travel" would be a perfectly suitable term to use in place of "walk," and you can cite the federal government's guidance material on ADA compliance as the source for your boss.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:28 PM on September 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

It sounds like OP is specifically trying to call out alternative means of moving about precisely because there may be a buried (reasonable) assumption that the event is not intended for wheelchair users, and OP would like to explicitly counter that assumption to attract those users to the meeting. That calls for a different usage than where the inclusivity is already implied for technical reasons. Like you would use different language in writing a university gender-equality policy than you would use in writing a flyer for a student gender-equality group that wanted to make sure trans women knew they were welcome, too.
posted by praemunire at 2:39 PM on September 21, 2018 [5 favorites]

I am involved with a Parkinson's charity and they use the words "pedal, roll and stroll" to describe every possible type of locomotion. Personally, I would shorten it to "roll and stroll", it covers everybody and it just rolls off the tongue.
posted by rada at 2:47 PM on September 21, 2018 [6 favorites]

I use roll, travel, wheel, move, and perambulate, depending on my mood.
posted by The Almighty Mommy Goddess at 3:30 PM on September 21, 2018

I use a manual wheelchair and I nearly always say roll except when I run to the store or run my mouth. That's just how I roll.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 6:50 PM on September 21, 2018 [6 favorites]

Maybe place a phone call to a local prosthetics shop? They’d be familiar with many chair users.
posted by Sterros at 7:05 PM on September 21, 2018

The person I know who uses a wheelchair full-time uses either "roll" or "wheel." Sample of one, etc.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:17 AM on September 22, 2018