SpecialStories

This story isn’t about an athlete with disabilities (although an injury might be considered a temporary disability) but it is definitely inspiring.

Original story

PORTLAND, Ore. – With two runners on base and a strike against her, Sara Tucholsky of Western Oregon University uncorked her best swing and did something she had never done, in high school or college. Her first home run cleared the center-field fence.

But it appeared to be the shortest of dreams come true when she missed first base, started back to tag it and collapsed with a knee injury.

She crawled back to first but could do no more. The first-base coach said she would be called out if her teammates tried to help her. Or, the umpire said, a pinch runner could be called in, and the homer would count as a single.

Then, members of the Central Washington University softball team stunned spectators by carrying Tucholsky around the bases Saturday so the three-run homer would count – an act that contributed to their own elimination from the playoffs.

Central Washington first baseman Mallory Holtman, the career home run leader in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, asked the umpire if she and her teammates could help Tucholsky.

The umpire said there was no rule against it.

So Holtman and shortstop Liz Wallace put their arms under Tucholsky’s legs, and she put her arms over their shoulders. The three headed around the base paths, stopping to let Tucholsky touch each base with her good leg.

“The only thing I remember is that Mallory asked me which leg was the one that hurt,” Tucholsky said. “I told her it was my right leg and she said, ‘OK, we’re going to drop you down gently and you need to touch it with your left leg,’ and I said ‘OK, thank you very much.’”

“She said, ‘You deserve it, you hit it over the fence,’ and we all kind of just laughed.”

“We started laughing when we touched second base,” Holtman said. “I said, ‘I wonder what this must look like to other people.’”

“We didn’t know that she was a senior or that this was her first home run,” Wallace said Wednesday. “That makes the story more touching than it was. We just wanted to help her.”

Holtman said she and Wallace weren’t thinking about the playoff spot, and didn’t consider the gesture something others wouldn’t do.

As for Tucholsky, the 5-foot-2 right fielder was focused on her pain.

“I really didn’t say too much. I was trying to breathe,” she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Wednesday.

“I didn’t realize what was going on until I had time to sit down and let the pain relax a little bit,” she said. “Then I realized the extent of what I actually did.”

“I hope I would do the same for her in the same situation,” Tucholsky added.

As the trio reached home plate, Tucholsky said, the entire Western Oregon team was in tears.

Central Washington coach Gary Frederick, a 14-year coaching veteran, called the act of sportsmanship “unbelievable.”

For Western Oregon coach Pam Knox, the gesture resolved the dilemma Tucholsky’s injury presented.

“She was going to kill me if we sub and take (the home run) away. But at the same time I was concerned for her. I didn’t know what to do,” Knox said.

Tucholsky’s injury is a possible torn ligament that will sideline her for the rest of the season, and she plans to graduate in the spring with a degree in business. Her home run sent Western Oregon to a 4-2 victory, ending Central Washington’s chances of winning the conference and advancing to the playoffs.

“In the end, it is not about winning and losing so much,” Holtman said. “It was about this girl. She hit it over the fence and was in pain, and she deserved a home run.”

Major Character with a Disability: Alex (played by Joey McFarland, Joshua O’Neill, and Ted Polito)

Short Description

A mother educates about people with Down Syndrome like her son.

First Broadcast on CBS (US Network) on November 8, 1987

Main Cast:

Tyne Daly - Joanna Goodman Richard Crenna - Bob Goodman
Martin Balsam - Grandpa
Joey McFarland - Alex–Age 4
Joshua O’Neill - Alex–Age 5 1/2
Ted Polito - Alex–Age 8 1/2 to 9 1/2
David Kaufman - Ritchie
Amy Van Nostrand - Amy

Writer: Emily Perl Kingsley

Director: Georg Stanford Brown

Long Description

Bob and Joanna, both over 40 years old, have a baby with the Down syndrome. Their doctor advises them to give the child away, not to “waste their time” with a kid with a mental deficiency. But the parents decide to keep their son, to allow him a life with dignity and to support him as best as possible. And their devotion bears fruit… Written by Tom Zoerner {Tom.Zoerner@informatik.uni-erlangen.de}

A television movie about a mother who starts a crusade to re-educate the community to the truth about kids, like her own, who have Down’s Syndrome, a cause of mental retardation. One of the writers, Emily Perl Kingsley, is the mother of a Down’s Syndome child, and the film is based on her story.

From hollywood.com

Original source: The Gazette

Six young adults with Down Syndrome will travel to Peru, live in a village and climb to Machu Picchu. The trip is intended to show that people with the condition can contribute to a community

IRWIN BLOCK, The Gazette

At the end of May, six young adults will be flying to Peru to live in a village, study Spanish and climb to Machu Picchu.

What makes this excursion special is that all six have Down Syndrome and it’s planned as much more than an educational trip, says Gregory McKenna, father of Shawn, 20.

“The goal is to show what people with trisomy 21 - the scientific term for Down Syndrome - can do if they have the chance,” the senior McKenna, an inspector for the Canada Border Services Agency, said yesterday.

Jean-Franois Hup (left) and Shawn McKenna are two of six young adults who are hoping to change how the public perceives people with Down Syndrome.

JOHN KENNEY THE GAZETTE

(Trisomy 21 is the presence of one extra copy of a chromosome, usually chromosome 21, which causes developmental problems.)

These four men and two women, age 18 to 30, all had the advantage of coming from families who sought the best resources available to develop their children’s potential to the fullest.

However, their parents and teachers want to show that many can lead useful adult lives beyond subsisting on welfare payments, McKenna, a Valleyfield resident, explained.

“They may not be able to be professionals, but there are lots of things they can do to contribute to society,” said Jean Hupé of Laval, an administrator, father of Jean-François Hupé, 30.

Two of the young adults chosen for the trip, for example, are accomplished athletes. Mélanie Giroux was a gold and silver-medal swimmer at the 2007 edition of the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai, while Shawn McKenna is a multiple sports medallist in provincial and national sports events.

An additional aspect is that no parents will be coming along, a condition set by trip organizer Jean-François Martin, who teaches special education at CEGEP du Vieux Montréal and is the father of Karl, who also has Down Syndrome.

Martin is also president of the Regroupement pour la Trisomie 21, an association of 400 families, one of whose members has Down Syndrome.

“We hope to change the vision that people may have of Down Syndrome,” Martin said.

A film that is being made of the project for broadcast on Canal D will show that people with Down Syndrome “can have goals, can achieve goals and can provide something to the community,” Martin said.

In the village, the visitors will help with agricultural tasks and assist in building a library there.

Six of his CEGEP students in their third year of special education will be using the 12-day excursion as a training experience.

About 14 young people applied and were then evaluated and selected for the trip by the CEGEP students.

The applicants hiked at Mont St. Hilaire and went on a few weekend trips to assess how they function in a group.

“The organizers wanted to avoid any surprises,” McKenna said.

The initial budget is about $55,000 and the cost is being borne by parents and some donations.

The project is getting a boost from singer Jean-Marie Lapointe and his singer-father, Senator Jean Lapointe, who are presenting their comedy show Faces à Farces as a fundraising benefit to aid the project.

Faces à Farces is on April 12 at 9 p.m. at Maison Théâtre, 245 Ontario St. E. Tickets, including a tax-deductible donation, are available at $100 or the regular price of $35 at admission.com

iblock@thegazette.canwest.com

Major Performers with a Disability: Wyatt, Henry, Adam, Lexi, Neal

First Broadcast on HBO (US Network) in March, 2008

Information from tv.com

Cast

Main Cast

Elaine Hall
Wyatt
Henry
Adam
Lexi
Neal

Description

Five autistic children seize the spotlight in this moving documentary about a troubling disorder affecting too many children in the world today. Focusing on the children, the camera follows the families as they struggle with and eventually triumph through the power of theater through the help of The Miracle Project founder Elaine Hall.

Unified teams from China and Germany after their gold medal game at the World Games in Dublin, Ireland in 2003.

Repeating History

Female actresses were not allowed on the English stage until 1660 so in
Shakespeare’s plays female roles were played by young boys. How quaint
we think now. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, African Americans
were portrayed by whites in black face. How racist we think
now. Today the gay and lesbian community questions why so many straight
actors get the parts to play members of their community.

It’s not hard to come up with examples of actors without disabilities who
played someone with an intellectual disability: Dustin Hoffman in Rainman,
Sean Penn in I Am Sam, or Cuba Gooding, Jr. in Radio.
Able-bodied actors also appear with regularity in roles where
characters have a physical disability: Jon Voight playing a parapalegic
in Coming Home, Daniel Day-Lewis playing a man with cerebral
palsy in My Left Foot, or Ben Affleck playing a blind superhero
in Daredevil. Now let’s think of movie stars with a disability.
There’s Marlee Matlin, an actress with a hearing impairment. And then
there’s, uh, well, … no one. Get my point?

Representation

Like most minorities, people with disabilities are underrepresented in
the media. According the 2003 US Census (the most recent available),
27.4% of the population has a disablility. That includes the 4.8% with
an intellectual disability. Do we see 1 person out of 4 on tv or in movies
having a disability? I think not.

I understand that movies and tv are for the most part fantasy and
escapism. Most actors and actresses are prettier and more handsome than
average. They speak in complete, well-formed sentences and are much
wittier than you and me. However, consider the audience. We all like to
see stories about us and want to relate to people with the
same abilities and disabilities as we have.

Realism

Actors like to stretch and play characters that are very
different than them. It makes their job more challenging and the result
more impressive. I wouldn’t want to deny them that opportunity. Of
course, they should be willing to allow an actor with disabilities the
same opportunity in reverse but I won’t go into that here. However, how
accurate are these portrayals? When I hear Marlee Matlin speak it
sounds very different than an actor that doesn’t have a hearing
impairment trying to immitate those sounds. People with Down Syndrome
have distinct physical characteristics (e.g. very flexible joints) that
are hard to realistically portray by people without that condition.

There are often situations where it would be appropriate for an
able-bodied actor to portray a character with a disability. For
example, in Forrest Gump Gary Sinise plays Lt. Dan Taylor who
has both legs at the beginning of the movie but loses one part way
through. With special effects it is a lot easier to paint out
a leg than to try to realistically add one to a person that does not
have one. I am not saying that there is no occasions for able-bodied
actors to play these roles just that the current balance is way off.

Capabilities

I am sure that one of the responses to my rant would be that people
with intellectual disabilities would find it hard to remember all their lines
and work in a complex industry. I have two words for them: Chris Burke.
He is the fine actor that was one of the leads in the television series
Life Goes On. The fact that he has Down Syndrome didn’t seem to
prevent him from doing a fine job in his role as a character with Down
Syndrome and it was much more realistic that way. That tv show also had
secondary characters (e.g. Chris Burke’s character’s girlfriend/wife)
portrayed by actors with intellectual disabilities and in my opinion it all
added to the realism of the show.

The Present

Life Goes On seems to have been a high point that has not been
duplicated in the dozen years since it went off the air. On tv a recent
special, Riding on the Bus with my Sister, the main character
had an intellectual disability but was portrayed by Rosie O’Donnell. In
the movies the situation is similar. In I am Sam, Sam had
several friends that were portrayed by characters with intellectual disabilities
but they were very minor roles. In Radio there were no other
such characters. The Ringer had a great supporting cast made up of real Special Olympics athletes but that movie was about Special Olympics and even there two of the supporting actors did not have intellectual disabilities. Nonetheless it was a welcome exception.

The Future

One can only hope that it gets better. If you agree with me then vote
with your pocketbook (i.e. watch shows, go to movies, etc. that feature
actors with disabilities) and make your friends and family aware of
this issue.

Words Matter

Words can open doors but they can also create barriers or stereotypes. Many people think that political correctness (or PC) has gone too far and that some people are overly sensitive. However, if it means that one person will not be hurt by a negative word or phrase then I’m willing to go as far as necessary.

The main guideline is that people should not be defined by their conditions, so we refer to a person with an intellectual disability and not an intellectually disabled person. Some other guidelines from Special Olympics literature can be found below.

There is no consensus on the proper term to use as a general term to describe the athletes in question. Disabilities are either intellectual, physical, or in some individuals, both. See the table below for a longer list of acceptable and not acceptable terms. Given the wide variety of acceptable terms it should be possible to find a description that we can agree on.

Appropriate Terminology

It is not appropriate to use the word kids when referring to Special Olympics athletes. Adult athletes are an integral part of the program.

It is also not appropriate to use the word the in front of Special Olympics unless describing a specific Special Olympics event, e.g. the 2005 Regional Summer Games Competition.

The following are sports organizations that include people with intellectual and/or physical disabilities.

General Organizations (multisport)

Special Olympics

For people with intellectual disabilities

International Paralympic Committee

For people with physical disabilities

Go to the Membership page to find local Paralympic organizations

International Sports Federation for Persons with an Intellectual Disability

For people with intellectual disabilities. The same eligibility criteria as Special Olympics but athletes are not divisioned (banded) so that there is only one winner per event instead of multiple winners from divisions/heats of similar ability

World Association of Persons with disAbilities

An umbrella organization for all people with disabilities

Their links to sports organizations

Organizations Based on a Physical Impairment

International Blind Sports Federation

For people with visual impairments

Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association

For people with Cerebral Palsy

Deaflympics

For people with hearing impairments

Wheelchair Sports Worldwide

For people that use wheelchairs

The Wheelchair Sports Worldwide has over 70 member nations but the website does not have links to their websites. Some of the countries where readers of this site might live are Canada United States Great Britain

Organizations Based on a Sport

Challenger Baseball

A division of Little League baseball for people aged 5-18 or the completion of high school with intellectual and physical disabilities

International Wheelchair Basketball Federation

Basketball for people that use a wheelchair

World Organization Volleyball for the Disabled

For people with physical disabilities

Organizations Based in a Country

Australian Athletes with a disability

Australia: This organization combines the Australian Sports Organisation for the Disabled, the Cerebral Palsy Sports and Recreation Federation of Australia, and Wheelchair Sports Australia

Finnish Association of Sports for the Disabled

Finland: for people with cerebral palsy or spinal cord injuries and for anyone with a locomotor disability or a disease affecting their ability to move

Singapore Disability Sports Council

Singapore: for people with intellectual and physical disabilities

The National Center on Physical Activity and Disability

United States: at the University of Illinois, it is not a sports organization but rather a resource center doing research and promoting sports programs

National Sports Center for the Disabled

United States: in Colorado

An Organization that Changes Lives

Special Olympics touches the lives of over one million athletes and a similar number of volunteers in over 150 countries worldwide.

The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for persons eight years of age and older with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills, and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.

Misconceptions about Special Olympics

Jerry Seinfeld tells a joke about how every parking spot at a Special Olympics event is a handicapped parking spot. Cute but not true. While people with physical disabilities are welcome to participate in Special Olympics they must also have an intellectual disability to be eligible. Most people with intellectual challenges do not also have special physical needs that would require a handicapped placard.

Sometimes you hear a person ask, “When are the Special Olympics?” as if it is an event that takes place (perhaps) once a year. However, Special Olympics training and competitions take place year round. There about 26 Special Olympics sports (there is some variation by region) and most are done in appropriate “seasons” (e.g. downhill or alpine skiing is done in the winter when snow is easier to find; but remember that winter is a different time of year in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres).

Like many sports organizations, there is a hierarchy or progression of events from local through regional and country up to the World events. So it is appropriate to ask when the next Special Olympics World Summer Games will be held (answer: 2011 in Athens, Greece) because those are pretty unique. By the way, Special Olympics World Games are held every 2 years just like the “regular” Olympics alternating between winter and summer games and are held the year before the corresponding games (e.g. Special Olympics Summer Games in 2007 in Shanghai, China; “Regular” Olympics in 2008 in Beijing, China).

Another misconception about Special Olympics is that the participants are “kids”, as in, “How did the kids do in the Special Olympics this year?” The athletes might have child-like qualities but the average age of participants that I have coached is in the 20’s or 30’s. The oldest athlete that I have worked with was 82 (a wonderful bowler named Dorothy who used a ramp and was so happy when we aimed it correctly and knocked down some pins).

Finding Out More About Special Olympics

The top-level Special Olympics website is at www.specialolympics.org where you would expect. It includes general information about the organization, the sports, worldwide initiatives, etc. In addition most of the countries in the organization also have their own website. Every state in the United States and every province in Canada also has its own website. Finally when you reach a local website or section of a website that covers your town or city you can find the local organization that you can contact to experience Special Olympics as an athlete, coach, volunteer, donor, spectator, etc. Start at the top from the SO Locator Page or from the bottom by entering appropriate keywords into a search engine.

Original Source: Brudirect.com News

Bandar Seri Begawan -– Three of the country’s special athletes who have intellectual disabilities are physically and mentally ready to take up the challenge in participating in the 3rd Special Olympics at Mount Kinabalu Climbathon in Sabah, Malaysia.

These special athletes, two students from the Bengkurong Pusat Ehsan and the other from the Special Education Unit, are the first from Brunei to compete in such a challenging event.

Their determination should be an exemplary to normal athlete for despite their disability they are well adapting to adventurous activities.

They are currently undergoing training under the supervision of three officials of the Pusat Ehsan and the Special Education Unit.

Awang Rasit bin Mohd Dalal, an officer at the Special Education Unit, said that the athletes are anxious to take part in the climb and showed high confidence despite their intellectual disability.

A physiotherapist of the Pusat Ehsan, who will accompany the three athletes at the event, said thus far they are very keen in the training involved and are trying hard to keep their endurance up to the maximum fitness level.

The participation of Brunei in the climbathon is at the invitation of the Malaysian Special Olympics.

The climbathon is scheduled to commence on April 1 and the country’s athletes will leave for Sabah on March 31. — Courtesy of Radio Television Brunei