There is an obscure etiquette around mobility equipment that the average person is not familiar with. I have found that the only non-wheelchair-using people who are familiar with it are immediate family members or close friends of a wheelchair. Some people catch onto it faster than others for reasons that I haven't identified. If wheelchair etiquette were truly common sense, I would not be writing this article and you would not be reading it. I promise that it is much simpler than you might be imagining. The bottom line is always: people in wheelchairs are people, so treat them that way. Here are some more specific ways you can accomplish that.

1. Don't touch it.

To touch a person's wheelchair without permission is like touching a person without permission. Wheelchairs are an extension of someone's body space. Sometimes people lean on my scooter when I'm not in it. Would you like it if you were on a bus and someone decided to lean on you instead of a pole? Doesn't matter if I am or am not sitting in it. You are touching something that is not yours. If you damage it, you are responsible.

The thing about wheelchairs is that you can't replace the part by going to the store and getting a new one. Usually, wheelchairs are custom-manufactured to suit the user's size and needs. Insurance must approve and pay for it, and no matter how severe your impairment is, insurance can and will deny it. It takes about a year to get a new wheelchair. If you broke my wheelchair, I would have to wait a year for a replacement. During that year I would probably use old, uncomfortable wheelchairs rented to me thanks to insurance.

I think it's easier on the both of us if you just keep your hands to yourself and give it space.

2. Watch your step!

I like to tell people that you have 100% control over your legs, whereas I have at the most 75% control of my scooter. Like driving a car, wheelchairs both electric and manual do not stop immediately when you hit the brake. If you slam the brake on the car, the vehicle will go a few more feet before coming to a stop. Electric wheelchairs especially do not stop the second you tell it to. Therefore, if you step in front of the wheels, you will get your toes run over. And it will hurt. A lot. If you see someone rolling in a wheelchair, give them a wide berth.

I always do everything in my power to avoid running people over and luckily have made almost a semester and a half without doing so, but only because people give me enough space.

3. Just tilt your head down

Most wheelchairs position the user lower than the common eye-level. Some power chairs can be raised to eye-level, but generally they're positioned low. Some people bend down to the user's height when speaking to them. Don't do this. It feels patronizing to wheelchair users, like they're children. You can be heard from your height, and if you can't be, you'll find out. On top of that, if a person is in a wheelchair and someone is walking with them, do not talk to the person walking with them if you want to talk about the person in the wheelchair. At Disney World when I'm getting on rides, the attendants pretty much always ask my parents, "Can she transfer out of her wheelchair?" when I'm more than capable of answering myself. Usually I respond before my parents can. If the person in the wheelchair cannot answer, their companion will, but please address the person in the wheelchair first.

I understand why people do this, but we can hear you from your height. If we can't, we'll tell you, but the solution is probably just to speak up.

4. Think before you speak

There's an abundance of things that people like to say to people in wheelchairs that are really annoying and they shouldn't say. Here's three: the first, Wanna race? No, we both have better things to do. Or at least, I do. Do you need a license to drive that thing? It's a wheelchair, and no, just insurance. And sometimes when I'm backing up in or out of an elevator or something, people like to shout, "Beep! Beep! Beep!" They've never helped clear the way for me or anything helpful like that. They just do it because they think they're funny. They're not. None of these things are funny. Generally, people I don't know personally or complete strangers are the ones who do these things. If this is their idea of small talk, it's ableist. I'm a person, not a vehicle. I'd much rather talk about the weather.

5. End the stigma

Again, if wheelchair etiquette were truly common sense, this article and dozens of others saying more or less the same thing would not need to exist. There is a sort of stigma around wheelchairs. Too many people inherently think that all people in wheelchairs are weak, feeble, and not independent. Nope, nope, and nope. Wheelchairs are a vehicle of independence. They exist to allow people who cannot walk to live their lives to the fullest. The term wheelchair-bound is inappropriate because it implies that being in a wheelchair is tragic. It's not. It's freeing. People in wheelchairs can do anything they want, just in a wheelchair. They are not weak or incapable. They're just friends you haven't met yet.