Paralympic attendances & general availability
Athletes and spectators attendance
From starting as a small friendly competition between post World War II vets with spinal cord injuries in 1948 Stoke England, we have witnessed the slow change of how countries have changed their outlook on disabled participants, allowing the evolution of the Paralympics.
With multiple growths developing within recent years such as the athlete attendance shown in Figure 1.1, you can see that there has been a large evolution into the world of disability with the increase of participants around the world. Only within an 8 year period from 2004-2012 there was a growth of 496 competitors and 28 countries. Not just this but there has been an increase of over 1.5 million tickets sold within the last four games since, Sydney 2000 to London 2012, showing that there has been more of an interest in the Paralympic games within recent years. This is a dramatic increase especially when you consider they only started selling tickets for the Paralympics in 1996 Atlanta USA, along with television rights and sponsorships. You can tell from this that the IPC (International Paralympic committee) have pushed for the games to become more advertised throughout the countries.
Figure 1.1 Participation Increase
English federation of disability sport (EFDS)
Being set up in September 1998 EFDS works as the national body and charity for disabled people throughout the UK. Out of the 11 million disabled people only two in ten are active in the UK and they are working to increase this percentage by operating closely with partners such as National Disability Sport Organisations and the National Governing Bodies of sport. With this being said EFDS also covers and assists all c...
... middle of paper ...
...own that there were four major barriers that were declared, transportation, cost of program, lack of energy and lack of knowledge regarding the program. Within one of the CDC funded projects they eliminated these barriers in multiple ways, they provided free transport, didn’t charge anything for the program, provided door to door transportation so it reduces the fatigue level that often occurs getting to the site and developing an accessible and individual designed exercise program in a recently built fitness centre. Within the first collection of people for the 12 week program their attendance was over 85% and none of the participants left the program. Within these finding you can see what factors could be eliminated to take down these barriers for the disabled. They will continue this research and hope, in time to implement these changes throughout countries.
As a future special educator, I found the film to be most enlightening in relation to the sport as well as the equipment with accommodations provided to the players. The safety design of the special chairs was fascinating to witness since it’s constructed so the player cannot be ejected. Moreover, some players were leg amputees and those chairs were also especially fitted for safety and comfort. For the teammates that had elbow or hands amputated, I saw special endcaps or gloves being worn so they could grasp the ball and turn the wheels on their chairs. During Cavill’s episode, I observed the therapy center and all the devices that are used during the rehabilitation process. When he was taken home, his mother was also giving a tour of some assistive technology (A.T.) that was installed in the bathroom and closet. I also noticed that during the Paralympics clips in Greece, there were runners with Oscar Pistorius' running blades. As well as A.T. devices, there were glimpses of universal design in reference to the special vans with the lifts. Overall, the documentary educates a lot about the actual sport and special devices used. However, its true message is to nurture a person’s spirit and not their
What comes into one’s mind when they are asked to consider physical disabilities? Pity and embarrassment, or hope and encouragement? Perhaps a mix between the two contrasting emotions? The average, able-bodied person must have a different perspective than a handicapped person, on the quality of life of a physically disabled person. Nancy Mairs, Andre Dubus, and Harriet McBryde Johnson are three authors who shared their experiences as physically handicapped adults. Although the three authors wrote different pieces, all three essays demonstrate the frustrations, struggles, contemplations, and triumphs from a disabled person’s point of view and are aimed at a reader with no physical disability.
The Special Olympics date back all the way to the year 1968. Many see these Games as a time to honor someone who is able to “overcome” a task, but author William Peace sees this as an insulting portrayal of people with disabilities. Peace is a multidisciplinary school teacher and scholar that uses a wheel chair and writes about the science behind disabilities and handicaps. As a physically handicapped individual, Peace is able to observe a negative portrayal of disabled persons. In his article titled, “Slippery Slopes: Media, Disability, and Adaptive Sports,” William Peace offers his own personal insight, utilizes several statistics regarding handicaps, as well as numerous rhetorical appeals in order to communicate to the “common man”
‘“Now it’s my turn to make it better for generations that come after, which is why I’ve become, involved in disabilities issues”’ (Open University, 2016a).
Dylan was born with a tumor wrapped around his spinal cord, which was successfully removed however resulted in him becoming paraplegic. The first fourteen years of his life, Dylan defined himself by his disability. He felt ‘weird and different’ because of his disability and this was why he was excluded from his peers. It was not until Grade 9 that Dylan began to see that his disability did not have the power to dictate his life or set a limit to which he could achieve. Since then, Dylan has moved on to achieve phenomenal feats, namely, winning a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics to becoming the world’s number one paraplegic tennis player. Dylan can be found wheelchair crowd surfing at concerts, advocating for people with disabilities and training for the 2016 Rio Paralympics. Dylan is on a mission to ‘mainstream disabilities’ and shatter negative
I began to wonder where and how therapeutic riding originated. In my research I found that therapeutic riding was not taken seriously until Liz Hartel, a Danish rider who had paralysis from poliomyelitis, advanced to competitive riding. Despite the fact that Liz suffered from poliomyelitis, she “went on to win a silver medal in the Grand Prix Dressage competition at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games” (Young). After she won this great achievement, an interest around the world in the therapeutic effects of riding emerged; as a result, therapeutic riding programs were established and studies were initiated (Young). I think it is ironic how a person with a disability is so influential in helping other people with disabilities.
Ministry of Health. (2013). Promote Physical Activity. – Healthy Environments. Retrieved December 3, 2013, from http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/environments/whttps://www.eatrightontario.ca/en/Articles/Physical-Activity/Keep-Active-at-Work#.Uqd295FxsZY
A disability model provides a conceptual framework that supports our perception and understanding of disability, impairment and society (Wasserman, Asch, Blustein, and Putnam and Gordon, Finkelstein, Pinder). Three models of disability are examined below: the medical model, the social model, and the Human Rights Model of Disability (HRMD). The influence of the ‘capability approach’ on the HRMD will also be examined. Understanding the relative strengths and weaknesses of these disability models and the capability approach is important because each model has implications in policy design, implementation and practice that affect disabled people (Trani and Bakhshi, Wasserman, Asch, Blustein, and Putnam). For example, the various conceptual frameworks underlying the identification of what disability entails, and how it is measured, has implications for the estimation of prevalence of disability, whether and to what extent it needs addressing through policy, and the validity of various forms of disability research. It is argued that the HRMD, which is a synthesis of other models presented, provides the most complete, coheren...
Routine physical activity may be difficult for those with low income to achieve. Firstly, people who have low income generally must work longer and laborious hours than people in the high and middle income rankings in order to have enough money to get by. Low-class Americans simply do not have the time or energy to exercise their bodies. Also, an individual’s economic status can be the cause for several obstacles of achieving physical fitness. For instance, the lack of transportation to and from the gym could be a major problem, as well as being able to pay gym membership fees or gym equipment. It is further explained, “A lack of good transportation choices is the most important single issue that limits routine activities such as walking, biking, and transit use by low income people.” (Squibb 2) Poor economy is only one of the ways low-income individuals are limited to physical fitness.
The people with disabilities are portrayed as hardworking. They have people surrounding them that are accepting and encourage them to do their best. The support helps them build up courage to overcome their disability. It can take years, but the effort will not be
“Every year around 4.2 million special needs participants attend Special Olympics events around the world.” (Special Olympics). Special Olympics gives individuals with disabilities an opportunity to enjoy participating in sports in the same ways as any other athlete. Special Olympics shows the accomplishments, skill and the bravery of the athletes. Athletics, through Special Olympics, make a positive impact on the lives of those with special needs allowing them to lead active lives.
The World Health Organisation, WHO, (1980) defines disability in the medical model as a physical or mental impairment that restricts participation in an activity that a ‘normal’ human being would partake, due to a lack of ability to perform the task . Michigan Disability Rights Coalition (n.d.) states that the medical model emphasizes that there is a problem regarding the abilities of the individual. They argue that the condition of the disabled persons is solely ‘medical’ and as a result the focus is to cure and provide treatment to disabled people (Michigan Disability Rights Coalition, 2014). In the medical model, issues of disability are dealt with according to defined government structures and policies and are seen as a separate issue from ordinary communal concerns (Emmet, 2005: 69). According to Enabling Teachers and Trainers to Improve the Accessibility of Adult Education (2008) people with disabilities largely disa...
In the essay “Disability,” Nancy Mairs discusses the lack of media attention for the disabled, writing: “To depict disabled people in the ordinary activities of life is to admit that there is something ordinary about disability itself, that it may enter anyone’s life.” An ordinary person has very little exposure to the disabled, and therefore can only draw conclusions from what is seen in the media. As soon as people can picture the disabled as regular people with a debilitating condition, they can begin to respect them and see to their needs without it seeming like an afterthought or a burden. As Mairs wrote: “The fact is that ours is the only minority you can join involuntarily, without warning, at any time.” Looking at the issue from this angle, it is easy to see that many disabled people were ordinary people prior to some sort of accident. Mairs develops this po...
People with disabilities often face societal barriers and disability evokes negative perceptions and discrimination in society. As a result of the stigma associated with disability, persons with disabilities are generally excluded from education, employment, and community life, which deprives them of opportunities essential to their social development, health and well-being (Stefan). It is such barriers and discrimination that actually set people apart from society, in many cases making them a burden to the community. The ideas and concepts of equality and full participation for persons with disabilities have been developed very far on paper, but not in reality (Wallace). The government can make numerous laws against discrimination, but this does not change the way that people with disabilities are judged in society.
Because the athletes competing in the Paralympics have certain disabilities they are allowed concessions that may help them compete competitively, but do not give them an unfair advantage over other competitors.