Urban Cripple

Will a Wheelchair Help with my Epileptic Seizures?

Jul 24, 2018

Hi there! I was diagnosed as epileptic earlier this year, and I’m having to consider a wheelchair currently. My seizures make me collapse and affect my walking significantly after I’ve had one, but I feel like some sort of fake because I can walk. I was wondering if you had any thoughts or advice. Thanks.

I don’t think the chair is going to help with your situation. Wheelchairs fundamentally change how your body interacts with the world. If you’re coming out of a seizure, the last thing you need is to be in a situation where you have to focus on your body and how to safely move through a space.

In order for the wheelchair to be an effective tool, you would need to have it with you at all times. This means that you’re either walking around with a wheelchair you don’t necessarily need (at the moment) or you are are stuck in a chair full‐time “just in case”. Either way, you’re going to encounter inaccessible spaces that you would otherwise be able to navigate had you been walking. Wheelchairs make terrible “emergency‐only” mobility aids.

Instead, I would recommend connecting with other people who have been diagnosed with epilepsy and see what kind of coping and safety mechanisms they use day‐to‐day. I think you’ll find that the techniques they use offer a lot more safety and flexibility than a wheelchair.