Rachels blog

     The Paralympics is an event that is one of the most powerful platforms for athletes with disabilities to showcase their talents. But this raises important questions– should every disabled athlete be allowed to compete in any Paralympic sport? And how do we make sure that there is fairness when disabilities can vary so widely?       When first thinking about it, the idea of allowing any athlete with a disability to compete seems fair. But in actuality, inclusion of any level of disability could mess with the very purpose of the Paralympics: meaningful and inclusive competition between athletes with similar levels of ability. For example, a runner with mild cerebral palsy (which has minimal impact on movement) would have a clear advantage over an athlete with severe spasticity (which causes tight, restricted muscles). And another example, in swimming, someone with a partial amputation may not face the same challenges as a swimmer with all four limb...

       When asked to reflect on the medical model versus the biopsychosocial model of disability, I find it’s clear how much our understanding of disability shapes the way we treat and see individuals with disabilities. The medical model views disability as a problem to be fixed, focusing on impairments and medical interventions. While this approach has its place, in ways when you are trying to improve someone's quality of life in our society,  it often overlooks the broader societal factors that contribute to disability, and how people with disabilities live. On the other hand, the biopsychosocial model recognizes that disability is not just about the person's condition but also about the interaction between their body, their environment, and the attitudes of the people who surround them. The biopsychosocial model shifts the focus from “fixing” the person to addressing the barriers that limit the person from daily tasks in our society.      From ...

       Adaptive technology in sports is a fascinating topic, but it is also a topic that raises many questions about fairness, accessibility, and how we define fair competition. On one hand, it’s incredible from a scientific and medical standpoint to see how technology like running blades or specialized equipment can level the playing field for athletes with disabilities, allowing them to compete at the highest levels. It’s inspiring to watch athletes push the boundaries of what’s possible and challenge traditional ideas of physical limitations. And it also serves to show other disabled athletes just what they can be capable of with the right aids. On the other hand, I can’t help but wonder about the broader implications, especially for athletes from disadvantaged nations who might not have access to the same resources. Because of this, the conversation moves from abled vs disabled, to privileged vs the unprivileged.       The cost of adaptive tec...

       There are a few things that I think could be done to increase Paralympic media coverage and all other disabled sports combined. First, I think that for more media coverage to be made, there must be more investment into media that covers disabled sports. Not only this, but encouragement should also be made toward larger networks and platforms to stream the Paralympics or Paralympic advertising. Ads are also a great way to bring the Paralympic games to people's attention, although you must be aware how these commercials frame the athletes. While watching the Paralympic commercials for this week's material, I found that they all stood out to me as showcasing the importance of the ability and the humanness of the athletes rather than focusing on the disability of the athlete.       I find that this type of media coverage for disabled people could further serve to address the issues of how people with disabilities are often portrayed in lights t...

       When reading about the Olympic maxim, I found that I agreed with Dr. Guttman's sentiment that the Paralympic games are more “true” to Pierre de Coubertin's Olympic maxim stating that "the most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning, but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering, but fighting well". When the Olympic games inevitably roll around every four years, I have noticed that the general attitude towards the game is a competitive and high stakes one. I have found that we are much more focused on the end result: gold, silver, or bronze? Did the USA win? Any records we beat? Do we have more medals than China?       This attitude towards the Olympics in my opinion is quite the opposite of Coubertin’s maxim, which focuses more on the journey, perseverance, adaptability, and the indomitable human spirit. I feel that Guttman was correct in his opinion on the Paralympic games being more reflective of the maxim be...

I have never put much thought into the word “Paralympic” let alone focusing on the root word “para”. Whenever reading or hearing this word previously, with an assumed full understanding that these games are the Olympics for the disabled, I’d only ever think of an athlete with a prosthetic leg, sprinting down the track. I had never stopped to ask myself what this small part of the word meant, or how it carried meaning to the actual event itself, to me it was only ever just that, an event. When reading about the root word “para” meaning “next to”, I felt that the term wasn't exactly fair to the athletes who participate in the Paralympics. To be “next to” something, or always referred to as an extension of something else felt as if the Paralympics should be seen as a side event, or “less than”  in comparison to the Olympics. I share the same sentiment when comparing the words “Paralympian” and “Olympian”, in my mind, they both have won an olympic medal, and should be granted the same ...

     My personal experiences with disabilities are limited. Nobody in my immediate circle deals with any obvious physical disabilities, or any noticeable mental disabilities. The only experiences I have had have been through observation of people in spaces that we share, such as school. A more recent observation of mine was watching a girl who was in a wheelchair navigate the narrow opening of the bus stop in front of campus center, and watching the process of the shuttles wheelchair lift in use. A few things I thought about while watching this was how cold the metal on her chair must be (it was 14 degrees outside), and how early she must have to get her day started to account for the extra ten minutes it would take to get her on and off the bus, let alone travel time in the bus, and to class. I thought about how annoying it would be to have a class in a building just across the stairs near the shuttle stop, but having to work your way around the iced and salted campus, s...