Backwards in wheelchair: down the stairs

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Originally Posted by Sylvia

I guess the way I look at it is we don't have separate Olympics for men and women. It is one Olympic event where men compete against men and women against women. I would have no problem with disabled people competing against other disabled people. I just think it would be really cool to bring in some of these disabled sports into the regular Olympics. It would give the athletes the same visibility, acknowledgement and sense of accomplishment that I think all amazing athletes deserve. I think the visibility could also help the general public see what amazing athletes disabled people can be. To me it seems odd to have it a separate event. Although maybe there are longer term plans to one day merge the two.

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*smacks forehead*

Ah, I see what you are saying now. One event, different competitions. That sounds very cool.

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Originally Posted by NbyNW

Also, it would go far to send the message that just because you lose the use of a limb (or lose the limb altogether), your life isn't over; you can still live a very active life! I'm not saying the adaptation is easy, but it can be done.

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Yes, I totally agree with you. :)

I think it could do a lot for making it more acceptable too. As you say, the adaptation and really any adaptation of that magnitude isn't easy. But if being in a wheelchair could be viewed as no stranger than say wearing glasses, I think the world would be a very different place for disabled people.

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Originally Posted by tangentgirl

*smacks forehead*

Ah, I see what you are saying now. One event, different competitions. That sounds very cool.

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yes, exactly. I should have explained better. :)

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Originally Posted by Sylvia

Yes, I totally agree with you. :)

I think it could do a lot for making it more acceptable too. As you say, the adaptation and really any adaptation of that magnitude isn't easy. But if being in a wheelchair could be viewed as no stranger than say wearing glasses, I think the world would be a very different place for disabled people.

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Yes; I'd love to see disability eventually lose its stigma. After all, pretty much everyone will experience some form of disability in their lifetime, temporary or otherwise. It's part of life.

It'd be nice to see special athletic events in the Olympics or in friendlies between typical athletes and athletes with special needs. My prof loves telling us about the time when our special olympics soccer team played against a college's soccer team and trashed them soundly. It really does help with showing people that children and adults with any kinds of special needs really aren't THAT different and its good for paving the way to a more inclusive society.

However, knowing what the Special Olympics offers to children with special needs, I feel its very important for it to remain. The Young Athletes' Program is really great for kids with special needs. These kids are often the very first ones to lose out on sports participation so having a program that gets them started on sports very early and remain in sports is critical to their success later on in life.

The special Olympics caters to a different group, athletes with intellectual disabilities. And I agree that they should remain as a separate event.

Often when people think of disabled athletics, they think of the special Olympics. And I think sometimes people may confuse the Paralympics with the special Olympics.

So thanks for bringing that up, so I could clarify this. :)

Yes, as I understand it the Paralympics are organized by a committee within the IOC, so there is already a relationship with the "regular" Olympics. I believe they get the same medals.

The Special Olympics is an entirely different organization with its own history and does have a different focus.