History Of Disabled Sports In The Disability Civil Rights Movement

Chanel Yu

Mrs. Williamson

History 10

May 21, 2016

Disabled Sports in the Disability Civil Rights Movement

Before the 1960s society held bias assumptions and harmful stereotypes towards people with disability. They were forced to go to nursing homes and institutions because they were considered destitute, scandalous, defective, and feeble-minded. Institutions showed them little respect, never made attempts to empathise with disabled people’s experiences, and often deliberately caused them pain and discomfort. Not only did they have to endure harsh living conditions and poor medical treatment, but they also were asked personally offensive questions that may be may be intentional or unintentional. The efforts of trying to make their way in

Some could never be able to work again, some needed helping performing daily life functions, and others felt that they had no hope in life. Sir Ludwig Guttmann, a neurosurgeon, was the creator of a world sports movement for the disabled. In 1944, he opened a spinal injuries treatment for large numbers of war wounded veterans at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. When he encountered the patients, he reported that they had lose their self confidence, a great deal of mental activity, and personal dignity. To find a way to hasten their recovery, he discovered that sport could be used as a psychological aid to help the war-injured soldiers. Dealing with limited resources, inexperienced staff, and the hopeless attitude that rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injuries didn’t not come easily. One of the obstacles he faced was that patients would get terribly infected bedsores or kidney infections when they arrived to the hospital. In order to make his patients to resume normal life as quickly, he tried strengthening exercises such as throwing medicine balls, which the patients would throw back. Sir Ludwig Guttmann's action played a significant role in the development of disabled sports through the rehabilitation of veterans from wars. Although he has been criticized for having an overprotective attitude during the process, he never lose hope in himself and

disability sport movement. This law charged the USOC, United States Olympic Committee, to help athletes with disabilities to gain access to sport. The U.S. Paralympics was established in 2001 to develop and train athletes, and the Amateur Sports Act has helped them to provide sport opportunities to the 21 million Americans with