Week 15

~Week 15~

 Disability and sports

~The Semester~

    Looking back at the first day of classes I did not know much about this subject. I took this class because of that reason and was looking forward to learning about this topic. This semester, I have learned more than I thought I would. Starting at the beginning when we watched the ted talk by Stella Young "Im not Your Inspiration", there was so much I thought I didn't know. This ted talk opened my eyes to how to think about this topic and the people involved. I noticed I was one of those people that looked at others as inspiration, that's when I realized I had to change my mindset. I didn't realize what the athletes thought about the media representation that they receive. And how they do not get the same treatment as other sports. I soon realized how unfair the differences between the Olympics and Paralympics are. I never would have thought that athletes getting the same medals would have different values because it's the "Paralympics". There are so many opticals these athletes have to face like media coverage or the different metal prices. In my opinion, I believe that if more people took the time to learn what we did in class they would also be outraged by these differences. It's hard to create a spot for change when a lot of people don't know that this area of sports needs change. Promoting inclusion and equality is what should be strived for in every aspect of life but more people need to promote it for the Paralympics the same way they do for the Olympics. This class has taught me so much that I would not have known. I now notice commercials with disabled individuals and I look at how they are being portrayed. I think I do that now because when we did it during the Superbowl commercials it stuck. Before this class, I never knew a lot about the Paralympics. There is so much that goes into this event that I had no idea about. Just seeing all the different steps shocked me about how much these athletes have to go through in the process. Another thing I never really thought about was the different accommodations made for each sport. During our event plan assignment, I researched a lot of different sports and the different equipment that is used for each. I found it really cool all the different accommodations that are made for everyone to participate. 

~Promotion~

    One way that I would promote disabled sports is to advocate for more media coverage. Social media is so big in today's society that everyone has a social media platform. I believe spreading what we have learned in this class across social media would open so many people's minds to all the issues that these individuals face. I believe a way to change is to make people think. Once people start thinking about a topic like this I think people will start to advocate and promote change in aspects where change is needed. 

~Additional Findings~

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huh80afjfCc

- This video was very informational and it is about a man named David Kyle. He explained his discovery of his disability and goes from being depressed in life, to a door opening up and finding new passions for life.