Discussing Disabilities

Learn, Adapt  When choosing the GedEd courses I have taken throughout my college experience, I was very deliberate. I wanted to take classes that would teach me important things about life and classes that would open my mind to different perspectives, people, and lives. I've taken classes about the Black Power Movement, Latin America, and the Holocaust. When I saw this class, I knew I wanted to take it.  In the beginning of the semester, I did not know much about disabilities in general, much less disabled sports.  I had only ever briefly heard of the Paralympics and the Special Olympics, but everything else was very new to me.  I liked learning things in this class from people who are disabled themselves. Many of the videos were from speakers who are disabled or that feature para-athletes. I think it is really important that they have platforms that allow their voice to be heard. While it is very important for there to be allies supporting and raising the voices of minorities, it

 Along with the Paralympics and Special Olympics, there is also the Deaflympics for athletes with hearing impairments, and most visual impairment sports are in the Paralympics. The  ISBA  represents athletes with visual impairments and has rules regarding classification. These opportunities are not for everyone with impairments, and m any athletes with impairments face the issue of not being able to join their local or school sports teams due to the lack of accommodations that are provided. There are many nonprofits and other organizations that are designed for athletes with impairments. These organizations provide athletes with safe and accessible sporting events. Envision Blind Sports is one of these organizations.  Envision Blind Sports Envision Blind Sports is a nonprofit organization in Mercer, Pennsylvania. They have four partners which are Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation, Dick's Sporting Goods, Lions of Pennsylvania Foundation, and Lions International. The organization has

\ What Are The Special Olympics? The Special Olympics were officially created in August of 1968, but there were many events that led up to its creation. Many of the events that led up to the creation were because of the Kennedy family. The Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation was founded in 1946, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, JFK's sister, took over the foundation in 1957. When John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960, he made intellectual disabilities a priority. More focus and funding went into researching intellectual disabilities. Between 1960 and 1964, there were many advancements in research.  In 1964, more attention went to physical activity and recreation for those with intellectual disabilities . Summer camps were started which included physical  exercise  activities based on research that showed that physical  activity had positive effects on children with intellectual disabilities. Eunice Kennedy Shriver wanted to create year-round programs to provide physical activity a