> But eye contact? Probably anxiety from an unfamiliar social situation.
I'd hesitate to tell the OP they are wrong when they are the ones that experienced this situation and not you.
If they noticed this being a lot more common when they were in the chair than when they were out of it, that implies that the change is in them, not in the other party's base level of social anxiety. And if they are more socially anxious around people in chairs than those who are not, that is absolutely a problem to be addressed, not to be waved away as "oh, social anxiety is what it is".
> If they noticed this being a lot more common when they were in the chair than when they were out of it, that implies that the change is in them, not in the other party's base level of social anxiety. And if they are more socially anxious around people in chairs than those who are not, that is absolutely a problem to be addressed, not to be waved away as "oh, social anxiety is what it is".
I agree with both of these statements. I took care to word my comment not to imply otherwise, but apologies if I was still unclear.
One thing to realize, is that these people - all of us - were at an event called Abilities Expo:
For those people (not all of them, mind you, but way more than I expected) to have social anxiety around those in chairs really says something - the mix of people at that event included people from all walks of life - from those in chairs, and their families, to salespeople presenting and hawking all manner of products (I was floored at what it cost to specially customize automobiles for those in chairs to drive), to caregivers and others. These are all people who -should- be comfortable (and accommodating) around those with less mobility, so the lack of eye contact was surprising.
I do apologize and agree, though, that my conclusion as to what they might be thinking is unfounded; I obviously can't know what they were really thinking or why.
I'd hesitate to tell the OP they are wrong when they are the ones that experienced this situation and not you.
If they noticed this being a lot more common when they were in the chair than when they were out of it, that implies that the change is in them, not in the other party's base level of social anxiety. And if they are more socially anxious around people in chairs than those who are not, that is absolutely a problem to be addressed, not to be waved away as "oh, social anxiety is what it is".