this is a lot of what I was trying to get at with this post. I don't exclude part time and occasional wheelchair users from this post (hell, I currently am a part time wheelchair user) but a lot of this was inspired by my experience as an obligatory wheelchair user. the post is mainly referencing people who use a wheelchair at least the majority of the time (why I left that note at the end)
the experiences of part time and occasional wheelchair users are real but the needs of either are very different from those of obligatory wheelchair users.
I also think that as lower use wheelchair users gain more awareness and attention it's shifting the view of wheelchair users towards that. I know I've had many experiences now with doctors who look at me and assume I can stand on their scale or walk to their bed. I can do those things (currently) but many people cannot. these assumptions are growing more and more common among everyone.
I've had someone tell me I have "ambulatory vibes." (what the fuck does that mean?) he saw me as a young wheelchair user, had maybe noticed that I move my legs and then came to the conclusion that I had full walking ability. he at one point assumed I could climb stairs. for the record, this was another disabled person who used a cane. there's a reason I came up with the term walkism instead of just using the term ableism; disabled pedestrians are often the perpetrators of it. this person perpetrated walkism in many other ways but that's somewhat irrelevant to this reply so I'll omit it in the name of keeping things short.
lower use wheelchair users have made themselves the default in the community and are slowly making themselves the default elsewhere. because lower use wheelchair users outnumber obligatory wheelchair users so greatly it's shifting the views of wheelchair users and of our needs. people feel more entitled to deny us accommodations because they look at the predominant lower use wheelchair users and use them as justification. "well they don't need this accommodation so why do you?" -- just to be clear, this is not the fault of lower use wheelchair users; it is the fault of walkists, but this shift has made this form of walkism more aggressive.
it's a collapsing of all of our needs into the lowest support needs category. even as a part time wheelchair user it's frustrating. people collapse my needs into those of people who only need a wheelchair in the mall. I've had my psychiatrist make disparaging comments when I brought my wheelchair in to his office for the 4th or 5th time (he forgets I use a wheelchair, somehow) remarking that I "don't need it" because I am a part time user and therefore should only be using it at the mall.
the range of needs for wheelchair users is a large spectrum and people, wheelchair users and pedestrians alike, are all guilty of cutting out the needs of obligatory wheelchair users and especially high support needs obligatory wheelchair users
hopefully this makes sense, sorry this ramble got long