Ongoing Challenges of Disability within Sports Programs

 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...