Blog 2: Advocates speak out for athletes who are unemployed, poor, denied rights

The Special Olympics is a great way for those with special needs and intellectual disabilities to participate and feel as if they are a part of something wonderful.  This article discusses the recent 2013 Special Olympics where more than 2,300 athletes participated in a week full of fun, and intense winter events this past Tuesday the 5th. The Special Olympics is a great way to promote and encourage others to be athletic, as well as allowing those with disabilities to participate. Like this article states, people with intellectual disabilities make up the largest disability group worldwide, but the problem is that most of the disabled are unemployed, live in poverty, and are also denied education. Despite these members living in such harsh conditions, they still find the time and determination to come out and participate in these risky activities and sports in the cold winter weather.

The problem that I see with this article is that those with intellectual disabilities are born already with a disadvantage because people do not give them or treat them with the same opportunities as they do with those who do not have special needs. This to me is seen as a form of inequality and even though these people are rising above and still participating in the Special Olympics they are still not granted the same opportunities, which to me is completely unfair. The question is what can be done about it? Should we have jobs or jobs set aside for those born with special needs, because a lot of these people cannot do the kind of work that is required for a specific job? But, these people with intellectual disabilities are also denied education and this is a major problem, because in my opinion everyone deserves the right to be educated. Overall I found this article very interesting because this is not something that I feel everyone realizes or thinks about on a daily basis. We do not realize that people are born with unequal rights and are born without privilege.

 

Meredith Casacchia
2-6-2013 10:22pm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/05/special-olympics-2013_n_2624345.html?ref=topbar