According to Wikipedia, social norms can be defined as the accepted standards of conduct among various social groups. Social norms can affect most decisions a society makes including about parasports. People with impairments, especially those who are physically or mentally challenged, participate in activities known as parasports. With the steady emergence of different sports and sporting competitions specifically designed for athletes with different types of disabilities, there has come an opportunity to revise, update, and create entirely new social norms and standards to better accommodate these athletes. The standards these athletes face is both similar and unique to the standards faced by non-disabled athletes and therefore require equal amounts of unique and universal changes to better support athletes with different disabilities. This report will look into several ways that social norms and practices surrounding para-sport competitions …show more content…
In what ways can social norms change to better accommodate athletes with disabilities in developing countries such as those in Africa and the Middle East? For athletes in African and Middle-Eastern countries where parasports have not yet become more widely known and practiced the lack of parasport competitions can be directly related to society’s perception regarding the ability of athletes with different types of disabilities. It seems that social norms surrounding athletes with disabilities can act as an insurmountable barrier to those who might otherwise love to compete in parasports but do not believe they are capable or able to do so. Specifically, social norms can be a barrier to athletes who have different types of physical conditions or neurological