Normality and stigmatization

There are many types of impairments that impact mobility. It can for instance be amputation, paralysis or spinal cord injurys. Such impairments often require the person to use a wheelchair. An interesting thing to think about when it comes to stigmatization of these people is how their self-image is different or similar to the image that society have. I believe that a person who uses a wheelchair often feel just like any other. These persons wants to fit in to the society but there are several things that might stop them from doing it.

People in wheelchairs can be stigmatized in society because of their use of a wheelchair. The society thinks that they are not able to do everything a person without a wheelchair can do and therefore refer to them as a group of people that needs help. A common thought can be that this group of people are not alike us others and we are better than them. Society have preconceptions about all the wheelchair users as a group which also affect the individuals in that group.

The biggest issue when it comes to stigmatization of people in wheelchairs is that one can see the impairment very well because of the wheelchair. This makes it ”easier” for society to stigmatize a person with only just a quick look. I think that the stigmatization also comes from that wheelchair users might need help with different things in society because these things were made with no consideration of wheelchair users.

To be able to minimize stigmatization in society it is important to develop both useful wheelchairs and also other functions that can be helpful in everyday life. Wheelchairs must be designed in the best way possible. The best way possible means both functionality and look. A wheelchair is required to have all functionalities a person using it would need.

To be able to minimize stigmatization, the wheelchair is not the only thing to consider. Even if a wheelchair is designed to help a person as much as possible in all kind of situations, the environment is also important. If the environment is not suited for a wheelchair user, the functions and design of the wheelchair is insufficient. Things like people who does not use a wheelchair take for granted such as walking in stairs, reach buttons for different things and open a door can be things that makes people in wheelchairs asking for help because they can not do it by them self since those things are not suited for a person in a wheelchair. I think this is one of the biggest issues when it comes to stigmatization. It is not the wheelchair user who is not able to do things because of the impairment, it is the environment which is not suited for the wheelchair user.

To be able to minimize stigmatization the most important thing is to make sure the society is suited for everyone, to make sure people in wheelchairs for instance, do not get stigmatized because of that they can not do certain things because of how things are placed or designed.

I think normality goes hand in hand with stigmatization. My opinion is that most people think about themselves and others who are like them as ”normal people”. People who are not like that are ”not normal”. If people with no impairment see themselves as normal, then people with any kind of impairment become ”not normal”. People with impairments become a group, them, and get stigmatized in the society because of how people think about normality. Since people in wheelchairs for instance might see themselves as normal, because using a wheelchair is normal for them, I think it is hard to speak about normality. The only way to reflect on what normality is, is to do it from a broader perspective. Everyone may not want to be normal, they just want to be who they are, but I think everyone wants to be accepted in society. With accepted I mean not being looked at in a strange way and be able to do what everyone else does. To make sure it is possible to achieve everyones acceptance, I think supportive tools, such as wheelchairs, and accessibility in society are important to design properly.

To broaden the normality area I think the thing to strive for is to develop and design tools that is not just made to support a certain type of impairment. Tools and other supportive things should be designed and promoted for everyone. If this was possible, people would not think of supportive tools and other supportive functions as if they were for impaired people who needs it but for everyone. People would not even notice that tools and functions were adapted. This might be a naive thought but I want to believe that by making tools that are not only promoted for people with a specific type of impairment it can be   more accepted by society. I got this thought during a lecture when we were first shown an image of a segway, this was a cool thing to use. The next image was of an electric three-wheel moped and this was not cool and only used by people that are lazy or can not walk by themselves. This is preconceptions the majority of the society have. The segway is more of a toy that is only used because it is fun, the moped on the other hand is used because one needs to use it for some reason. Why is it like this? I believe it is because how these tools were introduced and how they look.

This is an interesting thing to think about when designing tools for people with impairments such as wheelchairs. If a supportive tool is introduced as a new cool thing for everyone instead of just another tool to support an impairment the tool might get more accepted by the society. The design is an important aspect that decide how society will perceive the tool. I understand this can be impossible to achieve but I believe that by having it in mind when designing new tools it can be one step forward to decrease the preconceptions and broaden the normality area.

The most important thing to remember when speaking about normality is that no one are required to change who they are just to fit in the normality area. The normality area needs to get broader so that more people can fit in to it without needing to change who they are. This can only be done by make the society more accessible and by developing and design supportive tools with both good functionality and looks.