ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY AND THE NEWLY DISABLED ADULT - ADAPTATION TO WHEELCHAIR USE

A naturalistic, ethnographic, phenomenological study of adaptation to wheelchair use was conducted with one key informant, a 30-year-old whi te man with acquired paraplegia who was undergoing acute rehabilitatio n. Primary staff members served as additional informants. It was found that adaptation to wheelchair use bad both pragmatic and emotional co mponents. The latter appeared in alternating phases of resistance and neutrality or detente. Therapist and patient bad conflicting goals rel ative to wheelchair use, which occasioned considerable friction. The p atient's initial attitudes regarding wheelchairs were prejudicial, whi ch hampered bis ability to see the chair as a useful tool for mobility and independence. Successful pragmatic adaptation hinged in part on e motional acceptance of the wheelchair.