Karina's Disability & Sports Blog

 "Paralympics"     When reflecting on the word "Paralympics" there are a few things that come to my mind. Before reviewing this week's content I originally thought that the "para" in Paralympics stood for paralyzed in some sort of way. In other words, unlike the Olympics these participants had some sort of disability. After reviewing this week's content, I now understand that "para" means parallel to the Olympics. Meaning that these two movements exist side by side, which brings great inclusion to disabled people. "The Parallel Games"     The concept and history of these parallel games were very interesting to me. The background was more complex and had a lot of meaning to it than I had originally thought.  I discovered that spinal injuries sustained during the Second World War and advances in medical care that led to significantly greater survival rates and longer life expectancies were the direct causes of the Paralympic Games

    M y Experience on People with Disabilities        As a health science major with a concentration in pre occupational therapy, I have had some but very little experience with people with disabilities. In the future I want to work with kids who have disabilities, therefore it is important for me to gain as much experience and insight with them as I can. For the past few months, I have been babysitting a 7 year old girl with autism. During this experience I learned a lot and saw how different she lives compared to other children. For example, she does not form sentences and communicated with just words. I also saw how she liked when I would repeat everything she said and noticed she had a photographic memory. When talking to the mom, she explained to me the triggers that she may have and things that also stimulate her and help her relax. I also found it interesting that she had a swing inside the living room that she used in order to help her relax. I hope to gain more knowledge abo