Tagged with: advocate awareness disability kids sports wheelchair Here is something out of the gate sport fans: Wealthy owner makes controversial public statements. I know we have heard this all before from a certain owner from the west coast. But just in case you missed this episode of how to make obnoxious comments, I give you Mr. Steve Coburn who compared a horse race loss to playing basketball against a kid in a wheelchair.
Tagged with: advocate awareness disability fitness inclusion A while back I wrote an article about the concept of Burnout and the qualities of Burnout that professionals and individuals sometimes fail to recognize when it happens. In short, Burnout refers to long-term exhaustion and disengaging from subjects that are important to us. Regardless of whether Burnout happens in an athletic or professional sense, when a person experiences it, it can cause us to pause and question: “Why am I doing this?”
Tagged with: advocate awareness disabilities research A professional that I highly respect recently used the phrase ‘dysfunction’ to describe my walking issues. When I hear terms like ‘dysfunction’, I start to think in boxes:
| Disability Centered—Focuses on deficits and labels | Person-Centered—Focuses on capabilities and strengths |
A Disability-Centered perspective and approach categorizes and classifies based upon deficits. A Person-Centered perspective and approach promotes the strengths and capabilities of an individual. Language can be the conduit between a Person-Centered perspective and a Disability-Centered perspective.
Tagged with: advocate awareness disabilities education Every summer I direct an adapted sports camp for youth with a physical disability. When planning, I always try to develop a theme or motto for camp that focuses on something beyond athleticism. This year I decided to follow the lead of the International Paralympic Committee and introduce their motto, “Spirit in Motion.” Along with the motto, each day we discussed one of the Paralympic values – inspiration, determination, courage, and equality. I must admit, I decided to use the Paralympic motto before I realized that the first value was inspiration.
Tagged with: advocate children disabilities education inclusion kids A few months back I was asked to speak to my younger sister’s grade on disability acceptance in honor of National Circle of Friends month. The elementary school provided me with a children’s book to read and told me to discuss disability awareness and answer questions after reading the story. I spoke to four different second grade classes for around thirty minutes each. Since these were my sister’s classmates the children were familiar with me, but
Tagged with: advocate athletes disabilities disability life Physical Activity Right Fit sports I teach a sport sociology course at James Madison University (JMU), and in class the other day I posed this question: What will diversity in sport look like in 30 years?
Tagged with: accessibility advocate awareness disabilities exercise fitness inclusion Physical Activity programs recreation It all depends on how you face the challenges of your disability. Life is an adventure and even with limited mobility you can create a rich, experiential life for yourself or someone in your family who has a disability. What if you knew that persons with visual impairments, autism, cerebral palsy, paraplegia, quadriplegia, and hemiplegia could have a blast whitewater rafting all year long?
Tagged with: accessible advocate awareness Cerebral Palsy disability exercise fitness health hero I recently became aware of a nationwide campaign aimed at the world’s top athletic shoe maker, and I must admit that I applaud the company for responding.
Tagged with: accessible advocate awareness disabilities wheelchair One of my biggest pet peeves is finding a handicap parking spot, or rather, not finding a handicap spot.
