A person, for whatever reason (be it illness, a car collision or some other accident), finds themselves with a spinal injury and is forced to use a wheelchair henceforth. How do they begin to adapt to their new circumstances?

I know that many of our readers are wheelchair users and they will no doubt be able to relate to this issue. In this vein, they can share their thoughts on Back Up Trust, a charity that works with people who have recently become wheelchair users and tries to help them come to terms with it and better adapt.

They do this in a few different ways including: mentoring, wheelchair skills training, activity courses and support for people going back to either school or work. All of the above are intended to help build confidence and independence for the individual.

I was particularly intrigued by ‘wheelchair skills training’ as it’s not something I’ve ever really thought about in any great depth. But I guess that handling a wheelchair is something that appears fairly straight forward until you’re forced to do it all the time. In the following video Peter Donnelly explains his role as a wheelchair skills adviser with Back Up Trust, and gives examples of the things he teaches in the training sessions.

It almost looks like wheelchair yoga at times, as the emphasis seems to be on balance and coordination. The shot of Peter going down stairs is really impressive, but I do wonder how manageable some of these wheelchair skills are. Is everyone capable of such dexterity? Is this the future? Will a combination of better chairs and expert training make the next generation of wheelchair users more empowered that the last?

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