Archive for June, 2015

Promoting Participation in Sports for Disabled Youth

Monday, June 15th, 2015

special10n-1-webThe opportunity for physical activities are endless–for everyone. With that said, why isn’t everyone participating in sports or recreational activities? The answer? The opportunities are simply not equal. Disabled children should be given the same opportunity to partake in sports and activities as any other child. In schools, it is up to the institution to provide accessible and fair equipment for those who require it.

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, facilities and institutions must provide proper accessibility and equipment for the disabled. Still, today we are faced with many issues regarding this–facilities not following the guidelines of the act. In recent news, a boy with special needs was not allowed to participate in his field day–so he fought back. According to the news story, 14-year-old Jake Wesely fought back when his school told him he could not participate in his school’s field day due being “medically exempt.” After bringing it to the school’s attention, the school board found that this was an old policy that had been implemented and overlooked for years–the school issued an apology. Continue reading “Promoting Participation in Sports for Disabled Youth” »