paralympic lost the plot?

[davidc4430]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-28/paralympics-swimming-down-sydrome-exclusion/7783760

you must be kidding, downs syndrome and your not in the paralympics!

someones head should roll over this one IMO

[onlinehokum]

i work with both physically & intellectually disabled people so i totally i agree with you David 

[lurker172602]

Wasn't there some drama a few years back with people "pretending" they had a mental impairment when they didn't.  So intellectual disability was taken out of the Paralympics?

Spanish basketballers it may have been?

[lurker172602]

article here

actually it looks like it might have only been basketball that removed the intellectual disability event.  I didn't realise it was in Sydney though.

[imastawka]

Good pick up Lurks

And I think that article settles the argument IMO

[happyroo_bunji]

From what I understand there is no SPECIFIC category for Down syndrome.  In the paraolympics you either have to be in the physical or intellectual disability cagetories, there isn't a category that covers both

[bjackson0000]

---

@davidc4430 wrote:

oh, i also think calling something 'special' is condescending to disabled people these days. they have a disability, they are not 'special' no matter what bruce says.

of course they are all special to their mums.

---

David, "special" is an attempt to focus on the positive aspect of the person. Not all people with a low IQ are disabled. Some are functioning better than people with so called normal IQ's in society. I think you are being a little condescending yourself in stating, "of course they are all special to their mums". Many of these Mums are ferociously dedicated, deeply loving and probably willing to give their lives for their child. They are special, because they are different. And you could see it that way too if you viewed their specialness as something that has the potential to be good, rather than disabling.

[*tippy*toes*]

---

@lyndal1838 wrote:

The name Special Olympics has been in use for nearly 50 years now....why is it suddenly demeaning?

---

Because we now have political correctness, so people are expected to tippy toe around on egg shells for fear of being accused of discriminating. I used to live near the Spastic Centre back in the day. I have no idea what it's called now but I can tell you it won't be that. The political correctness society would have made sure of that.

Spoiler

I hate political correctness. Especially when you hear people say things like non white instead of saying black. People who aren't white are black or brown. There is nothing racist or discriminatory about referring to a black person as black. They refer to us as white.

[onlinehokum]

---

@bjackson0000 wrote:

---

@davidc4430 wrote:

oh, i also think calling something 'special' is condescending to disabled people these days. they have a disability, they are not 'special' no matter what bruce says.

of course they are all special to their mums.

---

.............Not all people with a low IQ are disabled. Some are functioning better than people with so called normal IQ's in society. ..........

---

recently i read two books on autism, one was Neurotribes, the other Autism Breakthrough

autisic people are actually extremely intelligient i.e Austism Breakthough's author was given an IQ of below 30 when he was diagnoised. because his parents learnt how to 'deal' with their son's autism, the author is now fully recovered from his autism & leads a perfectly 'normal' life

[cezm]

I think the Olympics and Paralympics (as in Parallel Olympics) are about competition and being the best.

The Special Olympics serve a different purpose and are about supporting participants and partner with organisations like UNICEF, International Volleyball Association. The benefits of the Special Olympics would be lost by lumping athletes in the Paralympics to save money.

[debra9275]

its terrible to hear that a paralypian  died after an accident

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/paralympian-bahman-golbarnezhad-dies-while-competing-in-rio-20160917-gri...