News
Like many Americans, I recently watched the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics. I enjoy watching athletes from all of the different countries march in and listening to stories of the athletes. Gymnastics, swimming, and diving are my favorite sports to watch during the Summer Olympics.
Many people don’t realize this because they don’t get near the amount of media coverage that the regular ones do, but there are Olympics for people who have disabilities too. The Paralympics are for people with physical disabilities and the Special Olympics are for people with cognitive disabilities. People who participate in these are athletes just like people who participate in the regular Olympics. Just like regular Olympians, these athletes spend countless hours training and competing. In my opinion, it’s a real shame that the Paralympics and Special Olympics aren’t televised. There are petitions going around on the Internet to try to get them televised, so maybe in the future, they will be!
Although my physical limitations are too severe to participate in many adaptive athletics, sports have been a part of my life ever since I was young. My family and friends are avid football fans. Each season, I setup and run a family football pool. If there’s a NFL game on (doesn’t matter which teams are playing), chances are that I’ll be watching it. I also follow college football and basketball pretty close too. I absolutely love attending sporting events as well. I’ve been to one pro football game and a few Badger football games.
In high school, I rarely missed a football or basketball (both boys and girls) game—home or away. I think by being a spectator at them, it helped my classmates accept me. In fact, my senior year, I was invited to the Senior Sports Awards Banquet. I received a sportsmanship award. It’s a memory I will always treasure. At UW-Whitewater, I continued to attend many of the football and basketball games as time allowed. I also attended most of the wheelchair basketball games while I was there. They have both a men’s and women’s team now. I know the men’s team has won multiple national championships, and I think the women’s team is also pretty good. It’s a pretty amazing sport to watch!
Growing up, I also watched my sister participate in various sports such as soccer and swimming. Just as she attended hundreds of my therapy sessions, I attended hundreds of her soccer practices and games. As she has gotten older, she has done some marathon and triathlon type events. She has expressed interested in sometime doing a race or something with me. Many people with disabilities participate in various types of races with the help of a partner who pushes or pulls (in biking and swimming events) the person along. My Team Triumph is a big organization in Wisconsin that pairs persons with disabilities up with a partner (they call them angels) who is willing to help. While this is a great opportunity for some, personally, I wouldn’t feel comfortable participating in something like this. I’m not comfortable highlighting my disability like that. I think it’s great that people are willing to do that for others, but I would feel too awkward being in the spotlight for something I didn’t do. People will disagree with me on this and that’s ok; I respect your opinion.
Although, I’m not able to physically participate in athletics, I think it’s good for me to actively follow sports. It’s a good way for me to socially connect with people.
Who’s ready for some football?!?!?!
***The views expressed here are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of InControl Wisconsin, the Network or any of our sponsors.
Circles of Life Conference - CALL FOR PRESENTERS!!
The Call for Presenter application and instructions are now available on the COL website! The conference will be held May 4-5, 2017 at the Holiday Inn, Stevens Point and draws 400 - 500 families who have children with special needs from around the state. The deadline is October 7th.
The Circles of Life Conference Planning Committee encourages you to submit an application!
http://www.circlesoflifeconference.com/call-for-presenters/
DISABLED WORLD: VADIA Virtual Reality Simulator Helps Teenagers with Autism Learn How to Drive
By SD Network, 2016-08-05
Vanderbilt University has designed a virtual reality simulator to help teens who have autism learn how to drive. It's specifically designed to teach people the basic rules of the road, and it also collects information about ways they react to situations. It then can alter the scenarios with varying degrees of difficulty to provide people with the training they need. Overall, trials of this program have had positive results, but more research needs to be done.
Medicaid officials want states to do more to make sure that people with disabilities have access to services to remain in the community. Recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released guidelines states and services can take to ensure a strong home care workforce is in place. States are also being urged to create registries to help people find qualified home care workers.
The most common characteristic among people with disabilities in the US is living near or in poverty. Nearly, one in three Americans with disabilities currently lives in poverty. There are many reasons contributing to this statistic. Limited access to educational and employment opportunities are just two of the many factors. Racial disparities also factor in. The National Disability Institute has started a campaign called DISABLE POVERTY that aims to build awareness around disability, financial capability, and poverty.
HUFFINGTON POST BLOG: Entertainment That’s Helping Society Gain New Perspective On Disability
By SD Network, 2016-08-04
More and more television shows are bringing the notion of disability into storylines. While there are still many troublesome factors associated with this (such as exploiting disabilities and characters are usually played by an actor without a disability), having disability in the storylines is helping society gain a new perspective on disability. The show "Born This Way" (which is about seven young adults living with Down Syndrome) is gaining popularity. The show doesn't focus on Down Syndrome but rather by how the cast pursue their passions and dreams.
Late in June, the US Supreme Court decided it wouldn't hear a case disputing a 2013 Dept. of Labor regulation that requires in-home care workers to receive minimum wage and overtime pay. Before this rule took effect, caregivers weren't entitled to the same rights as other types of employees. Many care agencies sued over this change stating that it would make care unaffordable to their clients, but the Supreme Court found otherwise.
DISABILITY CONNECTION NEWSLETTER: 10 Things to Know about the ADA and Beyond
By SD Network, 2016-08-02
The 26th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was July 26th. The ADA improved the lives of people with disabilities in many ways. Here is an excellent list of things to know and understand about the ADA. It has lots of great links and resources.
According to a new report, more Medicaid dollars are going toward community-based services than institutional care. In 2014, 53% was directed to community-based services. That's a 51% increase from the previous year. This suggests that ideas about how to best serve people with developmental disabilities are trending toward community living. However, most of funds to care for older adults and those with physical disabilities went to institutional settings.
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