Parasports are sports played by people with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. Some parasports are forms of adapted physical activities from existing able-bodied sports, while others have been specifically created for persons with a disability and do not have an able-bodied equivalent. Disability exists in four categories: physical, mental, permanent and temporary. At a competitive level, disability sport classifications are applied to allow people of varying abilities to face similar opposition.
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. Special Olympics competitions are held every day, all around the world—including local, national and regional competitions, adding up to more than 100,000 events a year. Like the International Paralympic Committee, the Special Olympics organization is recognized by the International Olympic Committee; however, unlike the Paralympic Games, Special Olympics World Games are not held in the same year nor in conjunction with the Olympic Games.
The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all people with disabilities.
Timothy Perry Shriver is an American disability rights activist, film producer, and former educator who has been Chairman of Special Olympics since 1996 and is the founder of UNITE. He is a member of the Kennedy family as the third child of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics, and Sargent Shriver, who helped found the Peace Corps.
Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver is an American activist for people with intellectual disabilities. In 1989, he founded Best Buddies International, an international organization that helps people with intellectual disabilities to find employment and social opportunities. Through his mother, he is a nephew of World War II casualty Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Senator Ted Kennedy.
Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions that are due to mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, especially in "language, mobility, learning, self-help, and independent living". Developmental disabilities can be detected early on and persist throughout an individual's lifespan. Developmental disability that affects all areas of a child's development is sometimes referred to as global developmental delay.
Inclusion in education refers to all students being able to access and gain equal opportunities to education and learning. It arose in the context of special education with an individualized education program or 504 plan, and is built on the notion that it is more effective for students with special needs to have said mixed experience for them to be more successful in social interactions leading to further success in life. The philosophy behind implementation of the inclusion model does not prioritize, but still provides for the utilization of special classrooms and special schools for the education of students with disabilities. Inclusive education models are brought into force by educational administrators with the intention of moving away from seclusion models of special education to the fullest extent practical, the idea being that it is to the social benefit of general education students and special education students alike, with the more able students serving as peer models and those less able serving as motivation for general education students to learn empathy.
"The normalization principle means making available to all people with disabilities patterns of life and conditions of everyday living which are as close as possible to the regular circumstances and ways of life or society." Normalization is a rigorous theory of human services that can be applied to disability services. Normalization theory arose in the early 1970s, towards the end of the institutionalisation period in the US; it is one of the strongest and long lasting integration theories for people with severe disabilities.
A group home is a residence model of medical care for those with complex health needs. Traditionally, the model has been used for children or young people who cannot live with their families or afford their own homes, people with chronic disabilities who may be adults or seniors, or people with dementia and related aged illnesses. Typically, there are no more than six residents, and there is at least one trained caregiver there 24 hours a day. In some early "model programs", a house manager, night manager, weekend activity coordinator, and four part-time skill teachers were reported. Originally, the term group home referred to homes of 8 to 16 individuals, which was a state-mandated size during deinstitutionalization. Residential nursing facilities, also included in this article, may be as large in 2015 as 100 individuals, which is no longer the case in fields such as intellectual and developmental disabilities. Depending on the severity of the condition requiring one to need to live in a group home, some clients are able to attend day programs and most clients are able to live normal lifestyles.
Best Buddies International is an American nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. It consists of volunteers that create opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The program's main purpose is to allow volunteers to be paired up with a buddy with an intellectual and developmental disability and provide them with a friend or a mentor. Best Buddies is the world's largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of the 200 million people with IDD. It is an international movement that has spread to over 54 countries worldwide.
The Arc of the United States is an organization serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The organization was founded in the 1950s by parents of people with developmental disabilities. Since then, the organization has established state chapters in 39 states, and 730 local chapters in states across the country. The Arc of the United States is based in Washington, D.C.
Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation (MR), is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significantly impaired intellectual and adaptive functioning. It is defined by an IQ under 70, in addition to deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors that affect everyday, general living. Intellectual functions are defined under DSM-V as reasoning, problem‑solving, planning, abstract thinking, judgment, academic learning, and learning from instruction and experience, and practical understanding confirmed by both clinical assessment and standardized tests. Adaptive behavior is defined in terms of conceptual, social, and practical skills involving tasks performed by people in their everyday lives.
Lauren Elizabeth Potter is an American actress, advocate, and comedian known for her role as Becky Jackson on the FOX series Glee. Potter advocates for those with disabilities through organizations including AbilityPath, Best Buddies International, the National Down Syndrome Society the American Association of People with Disabilities, and Special Olympics.
Michael Lee Wehmeyer is the Ross and Marianna Beach Distinguished Professor in Special Education and Chairperson of the Department of Special Education at the University of Kansas. His research focuses on self-determination and self-determined learning, the application of positive psychology and strengths-based approaches to disability, and the education of students with intellectual or developmental disabilities. He is Director and Senior Scientist at Kansas University's Beach Center on Disability. He formerly directed the Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities.
Family support is the support of families with a member with a disability, which may include a child, an adult or even the parent in the family. In the United States, family support includes "unpaid" or "informal" support by neighbors, families and friends, "paid services" through specialist agencies providing an array of services termed "family support services", school or parent services for special needs such as respite care, specialized child care or peer companions, or cash subsidies, tax deductions or other financial subsidies. Family support has been extended to different population groups in the US and worldwide. Family support services is currently a "community services and funding" stream in New York and the US which has had variable "application" based on disability group, administrating agency, and even, regulatory and legislative intent.
Gunnar Dybwad (1909–2001) was an American professor and advocate for the rights of people with disabilities, particularly developmental disabilities. He is best known for his support for the social model of disability, reframing disability accommodations as a matter of civil rights, not medical treatment. The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities gives out the Dybwad Humanitarian Award annually in his honor.
In modern use, retard is a pejorative term either for someone with a mental disability or for someone who is stupid, slow to understand, or ineffective in some way. The adjective retarded is in the same way used for something very foolish or stupid.
Disability in China is common, and according to the United Nations, approximately 83 million people in China are estimated to have a disability.
Singapore does not have a formal definition of disability, but has been making changes in regards to the visibility of people with disability and also with increasing accessibility of all areas of the country. Early in the country's history, human rights issues for people with disabilities took second place to the need to secure independence and building the economy. Singapore signed on to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in 2013 and coordinates the Enabling Masterplan with both government and non governmental organisations.
