Month: October 2013

The New University of Florida Basketball Player

by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

Since I was watching a pre-season NBA game earlier tonight, I guess it’s fitting that today’s post is about basketball.  Specifically, I’d like to spotlight The University of Florida for adding a basketball player who has a physical disability to their roster.  I graduated from the University of Central Florida, and anyone who knows me, knows how much I love the Knights but, a special kudos goes out to the University of Florida for making this choice.

I’ve written before about adaptive sports but, this is really great.  Zach Hodskins was born with part of his left arm missing but, it’s obvious he never let that stop him from what he wants to do in life.  It’s not about what you can’t do, it’s about knowing what you want to do and finding a way to get there.  I’m proud to read that he never stopped the way people looked at him from what he wanted to do. I have limited use of my left arm and hand and if I let the fact that people stare at me sometimes stop me from what I want to do in life, I wouldn’t have accomplished as many things as I have.  As I’ve said before any sort of sport whether it’s an adaptive one or if you can participate in a mainstream one, the most important thing is to stay active.

With younger people who are disabled positively influencing the younger generations, and showing the older generations that disability doesn’t stop us from focusing on our abilities, maybe we can begin to erase the negative stereotypes that unfortunately still exist.  Maybe then we could just be seen as people with different abilities like everyone else in this world.

What do you think about disabled people playing in mainstream sports?

To find out more about this story, you can check out the link below:

http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2013/10/22/one-armed-teen-commits-to-university-florida-basketball-team/

Thanks for reading..

cr

Adoption of Special Needs Kids

by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

I’ve thought about this subject for a while.  There are so many kids that need good homes and for whatever reason, few people are given the opportunity to adopt them.  I was watching “The Little Couple” the other day and saw that Jennifer and Bill had adopted a child with special needs from another country.

Adoption in general takes someone who has the resources to go through the expensive process but, how many people are willing or even think to adopt a disabled child? There’s a family in Colorado that has done just that.  They’ve also tried to bring awareness to the fact that there are many disabled children in other countries that can be adopted.  I know that caring for a disabled child can be costly and emotional but they deserve a home like anyone else.

I know there are lots of children in need of homes and good people who want to take care of them.  Adoption of a disabled child is an option even in this country that few people consider but really should.  The rewards can be many for not only the adoptive parent but, the child as well.  Kudos to the family in the story below for trying their hardest to make a difference in the lives of so many children.

What further information would you need to know about this type of adoption to lend your support?

For more information check out the link below:

http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/why-this-huge-colorado-family-is-so-special-220947752.html

Thanks for reading..

cr

Impostor Service Animals?

by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

I’ve written at least one post about service animals so, I feel like today’s post is equally important.  As I was looking around the Internet at different articles, I noticed that there seem to be those using “impostor service animals”.  These animals aren’t really trained to help disabled people and the people who are using them just want to go out  with their pet and aren’t disabled.

While the article debates there’s no way to really regulate this problem, something clearly needs to be done.  The pets that aren’t service animals create a nuisance and are a safety risk for the general public.  Similar to my post a few weeks ago about Disney park guests that were paying disabled people to be their “tour guide” to get to the front of lines, here’s unfortunately another example of people who don’t need certain services abusing the system.  As a result, the only people who really suffer are those for which the laws were intended.

As we all know, it’s very easy to buy almost anything on the Internet and have it shipped directly to your home.  Accessories for your pet with some sort of believable service animal insignia is no exception.  Along with guidelines on carrying an identification card for your “assistant” as mentioned in the article below, maybe there can also be approved websites where you can buy the necessary extras for when you’re out in public.

I really hope this issue can be remedied because service animals are a very important part of the lives of the disabled people who need them.

What other ways could help identify the “Real McCoy’s”?

For more information on this article visit the link below:

http://timesfreepress.com/news/2013/oct/11/impostor-service-animals-posing-growing-problem/

Thanks for reading..

cr

Down Syndrome Cheerleader Sidelined

by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

A lot of my posts seem to be about adaptive sports.  That’s probably because I think they’re something that keeps people who are disabled as active as possible, and that’s important to everyone’s overall well-being.  I had read about the Texas teen who has Down Syndrome and is a cheerleader at her high school.  As of recently, she’s been sidelined from cheer leading temporarily.

You may want to know why.  The strange thing is that the reason isn’t clear.  The only reason cited in the article was safety but, I’d want to know who are they trying to protect?  I really hope that Texas school officials can get her back cheering as soon as possible.  This is really important,  especially since it’s something according to the story, she loves to do.

It’s so important, especially in our teenage years, that we’re included in as many activities as possible.  That’s true for a student who is disabled as well.  Unless there’s some real reason she can’t participate in cheering, then I can’t understand why they wouldn’t let her continue doing so.  Hopefully, this will have a positive resolution for her in the near future so she can get back to her regular routine.

To read more about this story, check out the link below:

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/09/26/cheerleader-with-down-syndrome-sidelined-for-safety-reasons/

Thanks for reading..

cr