Issue #4, 2003

Language and Social Stereotype

There is plenty to adjust to in the early stages of a spinal cord injury. Aside from the obvious physical aspects of paralysis, there's a robust internal process going on, too. Sort of a hurricane of the mind. An altered body identity and self-image, a vision of the future brought deeply into question, and possibly self-blame — depending on the circumstances of the SCI. And then there are the emotional dynamics of dealing with family and friends for whom you want to be strong, yet allow them in for support without crossing the line into dependency. It's a complex and extremely lively internal storm going on in there.

The ultimate goal, naturally, is to get on with living at the least, to be integral with yourself and happy at best. The storm has a purpose — it's the way we adapt to trauma, and it's part of how we heal. So why muck it up with any more wild winds in the intellectual and emotional realms? Why take on any more thoughts and feelings and beliefs that have to be worked through as you struggle for some new perspective, some new level of equilibrium?

There is, in fact, a big chunk of excess “psychostuff” that most people bring with them into the disability experience, and it has its source in the social messages and beliefs that most of us grow up absorbing from the world around us.

For proof, we only need to look as far as our language — especially as we find it in the media. For example, people are “wheelchair-bound” or “confined.” Essentially, if you wheel, you're a prisoner. A wheelchair is a mobility tool that liberates — when you need one. It's not a jail.

We are “left” without the use of our legs when we're paralyzed. Deserted, abandoned, ditched in the barren plains of our ruined bodies.

We're told, people “overcome” their disability. Sounds pretty inspirational, doesn't it? Those amazing, heroic people who push past all odds and by some miracle achieve meaning in their lives. The message is that the only way to make a life with an SCI is to be one of the amazing, incredible few. The truth is that success with spinal cord injury is far more the rule than the exception. We don't “overcome,” we adapt.

So if you're making that early adjustment, or you're a family member or friend who is supporting someone at that stage, take a deep look at what you believe about disability and consider the fallibility of the source. Make this an exercise in finding out the truth for yourself — that social beliefs about disability have little to do with the truth of the experience. That most people who come into this potent and poignant adjustment process find out that the assumptions people carry around about life with SCI are very far from the truth indeed.