Ongoing Challenges of Disability within Sports Programs

 The Association of Blind Athletes of New Jersey is a non-profit organization that is ran in accordance with the United States Association of Blind Athletes to help individuals competitively compete in Paralympic sporting events. They've been around helping those who may be blind or suffers from visual challenges participate in a variety of sports on the world, national, state, and recreational level since 1977. They feature various programs, those of which including Goalball, Beep Baseball, Track and Field, Judo, and even Skiing. With Goalball, it takes attributes from various sports, those of which including soccer, hockey, and dodgeball which ultimately creates this fast-paced game where it is played in two 12-minute halves, which at the end of the game whoever has the most goals wins. Beep Baseball is a version that accommodates to those with visual impairments, where the sport uses audio cues and special equipment to help alert and guide platers to act. There are six innings i...

 The debate of whether the Special Olympics should remain standalone from the Paralympics is a complex and multifaceted question that involves many different types of consideration. These include inclusivity, fairness, and the integrity of competitive sports. To address the elephant in the room, the Special Olympics and Paralympics are very different from one another. Each of these sporting events serve different purposes and populations with the Special Olympics focusing on individuals with intellectual disabilities, providing them with the opportunity to play sports whether on a competitive or social level, whilst the Paralympics is for those with a broader range of disabilities such as physical, visual, and intellectual impairments. Many see both sides of whether they should be joined together or not. With those arguing that they should stay separate argue that the Special Olympics offer individuals with intellectual disabilities a unique platform tailored specifically to their ...

 The discussion of if Russia and Belarus should be allowed to compete within the Paralympics is a very complex topic. Throughout heavy consideration from officials, there are many reasons behind the ban of allowing Russia and Belarus to compete in these types of competitions. For starters, these issues include considerations of fairness, integrity, and the values that are upheld by the IPC. Factors we can take a look at to discuss if it is fair include doping violations, where the ban stems from allegations of state-sponsored doping and manipulation of testing procedures that took place in both Russia and Belarus. In the case that the allegations are true, allowing these athletes to compete would undermine the principles of fair play and integrity that is very important and fundamental to the Paralympic movement. On top of this, we can look at the IPC Values, which on Global Sports mentions "our organizational values are passion, authenticity, inclusion, trust, care and strategy...

 In the Paralympic Sports, there are many different kinds of sports that are for those with different kinds of disabilities. For instance we have running for amputees where they use running blades and then we have running for those in wheelchairs where they use a specially made type of wheelchair referred to as a v-frame racing wheelchair. But the question that comes up is if all athletes with any type of disability be allowed to be classified for every sport? Ultimately, this comes down to a few categories that are very important to look at. For starters, a lot of this topic really falls onto what exactly the individual would like to do. Say that the individual was paralyzed waist down and uses a wheelchair and would like to play a sport of some kind. They are left with various kinds of sports like track, basketball, softball, and much more. Now say the individual wants to go into track racing, he will then be competing with other handicapped individuals that are in a similar situ...

 When taking a look at the medical model of disability, it tends to view disability as a problem inherent in the individual where they focus on the impairment or health condition of itself. When taking a further dive into this perspective, it tends to emphasize medical interventions aimed towards "fixing" or managing the impairment one may have in order to help individuals be able to do regular tasks. But when taking a look at the biopsychosocial side of things, it goes ahead and recognizes that disability is not exactly solely determined by a person's medical state but rather so that it is influenced by societal and environmental factors. On top of these, there is also the psychological and social side of it as well. With the biopsychosocial model, it goes ahead and acknowledges that disabilities are a result from the interaction between an individual's impairment and the barriers present in todays society. These barriers can include the following being physical obst...

 For starters, yes I believe that adaptive technology should be allowed in sports. Reason behind this is for many reasons but one in particular. For many that have unfortunately lost arms or legs whether it was through a combat inflicted wound, car accident, or something other than these, living with your new challenge can be very difficult and depressive for these individuals. Most times, many feel that they aren't able to do what they could before falling to these injuries. Now, when we take a look at these adaptive technologies, for instance running blades, this allows these individuals to participate in what they once loved doing before their injury. On top of this, it allows these individuals to participate in competitive sporting events on an equal footing while promoting inclusivity. But not only does this positively affect the athletes, it also positively affects those that may have similar disabilities where they feel that they can do it too. Talked about by Burak Canpolat...