A History of Disability or Differently Abled Sport

Although persons with different abilities have been involved in organized sports for at least 100 years, it is only very recently that they gained any level
of recognition for such participation (DePauw. 1995).

GENERAL TIMELINE OF SPORTS FOR THE DIFFERENTLY ABLED

Below are Excerpts from an Excellent Resource on the History of Disability Sport excepted from Sports N Spokes magazine (Vol 25, no 9, pp 10-45). Although
some names and events may be unfamiliar, it provides only a small cross-section of the diverse people and events of disability sports . Feel free to follow
the Sports ‘N Spokes link for further detail.

DEFINITIONS:

At this point it is good to list some definitions that can be used when considering sports and recreation for persons of different abilities.

ADAPTED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY:

an umbrella term for services that promote and active, healthy lifestyle by remediating psychomotor problems that interfere with
self-actualization (Sherrill, 1998, p 5). Included within this category is Adapted Physical Education a profession which works, through direct service,
classroom consultation and curriculum modification and development, to ensure that school age children have access and the fullest participation possible
of Physical Education services mandated by law.

DEAF SPORT:

“refers to sport governed by the Comite International des Sports des Sourdes (International Committee for Sports of Silence). .. Summer and
Winter games for the Deaf are held the year after the equivalent Olympic Games” (Sherrill, 1998, p 33). It should be noted that the Deaf community offers
and exception to person first terminology in that the term of Deaf is used to distinguish a person who is affiliated with the Deaf Community and Deaf Culture
versus the uncapitilized use of deaf to identify someone who may have a hearing loss but who does not participate in Deaf Culture and its given language
(American Sign Language).

DISABILITY or DIFFERENT ABILITY:

often a controversial term, disability is defined by DePauw (1992) as the situation “when an impairment adversely affects
one’s performance” (p5). Some persons take offense to both the term disability and impairment and prefer use of the term different ability to describe
themselves (Egbert, 2000).

DISABILITY SPORT or SPORT FOR DIFFERENTLY ABLED:

Originally referred to as Sport Conducted by Disability Sport Organizations. Today the term encompasses
broader definitions to include mainstream and reverse mainstream in which athletes both with and without disabilities may participate (Sherrill, 1998,
p 32).

FUNCTIONAL ABILITY:

“In disability sport, functional ability refers to the innate capacity that cannot be altered by training, practice, or motivation”
Sherrill, 1998, p 33). Functional ability in these terms, is therefore used for classification of different competitive levels to attempt to ensure that
an athlete has the same potential for winning through success and training versus innate and inalterable limitations as those against whom s(he) competes.

MAIN STREAM SPORT:

“activities and events and settings in which individuals with and without disabilities, recreate or compete around each other” (Sherrill,
1998, p32). An example of such an event might be an equestrian competition in which such individuals compete freely in their given skill categories.

REVERSE MAINSTREAM SPORT:

A situation opposite to mainstream sport in which persons without disabilities compete in sports specifically designed for persons
with disabilities or different abilities (Sherrill, 1998).. Examples might include Goal Ball, a Paralympic sport for individuals who are blind, that can
also be played by blindfolded players.

PARALYMPICS:

“a world-wide sport movement for elite athletes with disabilities, which parallels the Olympics in that international Summer and Winter games
are held alternately every 2 years. Current Paralympic Sports include : Summer sports of archery, athletics (track and field), boccia, cycling, equestrian,
fencing, goalball, judo, lawn bowling, power lifting, sailing, shooting, soccer (football), swimming, table tennis, volleyball (sitting and standing),
wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair tennis as well as Winter sports of alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, ice sledge hockey, ice sledge
racing and wheelchair dance sport. For more information on a specific event, be sure to visit the International Paralympic Committee’s website.

PERSON FIRST TERMINOLOGY:

This phrase refers to an approach of describing person’s with disabilities or different abilities in an attempt to emphasize an
individual over any given medical condition. An example might be a child with autism versus an autistic child. Such an approach is not always adhered to
universally and persons with disability or different ability may frequently even use slang such as “crip culture, paras, quads, etc”. However, it is a
generally accepted practice and unwritten etiquette by persons outside of a differently abled culture to refrain from such slang and use person first terminology
in professional or academic endeavors.

PREFERRED MODE OF MOBILITY:

This term refers to the method that a person finds most functional for their daily mobility skills. For example, a person who
has cerebral palsy may find that he has the ability to execute a broken gait (or walking pattern) with leg and ankle braces, crutches, a walker, etc; however
s(he) may determine that it expends too much energy and is not accomplished at a reasonable pace and therefore may opt to use a manual or motorized wheelchair.
Many persons with prostheses may also find this to be true. Within the scenario of disability or differently abled sports, one may also find an opposite
scenario…Many persons are shocked to see athletes with such conditions as amputations, multiple sclerosis, or incomplete quadriplegia (i.e., partial,
but not complete paralysis or weakness) get up from their wheelchairs following a given sport (i.e., basketball, tennis, etc.). However the primary eligibility
for most disability or differently abled sports is the inability to compete in regular or open competition of a given sport. Therefore, a person with severely
arthritic knees, for example, may use walking as their primary mode of mobility during everyday activity, but may require a wheelchair to equitably compete
in a sport such as basketball.

RECREATION:

Term most generally associated with use of leisure time for activities which are often representative of “a continuous re-creation of beliefs,
attitudes and intentions,” (Sherrill, 1998; p 5). Frequently divisions between recreation disability or differently abled sports leagues and highly competitive
leagues may be seen as is the trend of a more encompassing definition of sports and leisure.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS:

“a world wide movement for athletes with mental retardation…athletes may have a second disability, but the major eligibility is mental
retardation” (Sherrill, 1998, p32). The games have changed their philosophy over the past 30 years shifting from an “everyone’s a winner” motto to the
trend of handing out participation ribbons in recognition of an athlete’s participation and accomplishment. However, the emphasis on awards for participation
is a significant departure from the highly specialized and competitive model of the Paralympics. Because of this, some Paralympic athletes do not feel
that they are significantly acknowledged for their skills and training when the common mistake of referring to the Paralympics as the Special Olympics
occurs. It should be noted that there is a European founded organization, the International Sports Federation for Persons with Mental Handicapp which officially
represents the condition of mental retardation within the Paralympic movement (Sherrill, 1998).
SPORT: sport is defined by Giddens(1977) and Sage (1987) as a cultural phenomenon or a reflection of society. Many however, argue that such sport has been
exclusive in the society in which it reflects, therefore limiting access to all persons who desire participation (Bonace, Karwas, DePauw, 1992). Coakley
(1998) further defines sports as “internalized competitive activities that involve physical exertion or the use of relatively complex physical skills by
individuals whose participation is motivated by a combination of personal enjoyment and external rewards.”(p.19).

SPORT CLASSIFICATION:

“an assessment and programming system based on functional and/or medical capabilities used to assign athletes to events or heats that
provide optimal success in competition. Classification is the major adaptation that separates disability sport from AB (able bodied) sport” (Sherrill,
1998, p33).
SPORT CHAIR: a wheelchair utilized by an athlete for his or her given sport. Although disability or different ability sport was far less specialized during
its inception (it was not unusual for an athlete to compete in 4 or 5 events in earlier competitions), the current Paralympics and parallel competitions
are highly elite and specialized in a manner similar to the Olympic games. During the aforementioned period of less specialized competition, most athletes
(for example the veterans who played basketball just following World War II) used their everyday medical chairs for competition. These chairs were often
rigid, and bulky and as disability sport progressed, the athletes themselves began adapting their chairs to fit a given sport. Now it is the norm to have
a given chair for a given sport because of that sports highly specialized needs. For example, basketball and tennis wheelchairs frequently have increased
“camber” and “valance” which refers to the tilting of the wheelbase to provide a better turning radius whereas a three wheeled track chair is designed
for fast forward propulsion, but has minimal turning mobility. The need to acquire such individual chairs is a costly proposition for athletes. Sometimes
sports organizations and recreation centers offer lending programs since few insurance policies will reimburse for such chairs. Another common trend is
for high level, elite athletes to seek sponsorship, particularly from wheelchair manufacturers. You may want to visit the links page for more information
on wheelchair vendors.

*Written by Amy McBride, A.P.E. Specialist, Occupational Therapist, Ph.D. student, Texas Woman’s University.

Reproduced from http://educaofsicaadaptadaeeducaoespecial.blogspot.com/2008/12/history-of-disability-or-differently.html

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