Olympic Games
Starter
IT'S YELLOW DAY! What are the Paralympics (also Special Olympics)? The Paralympic Games are the Olympics for people with disabilities. In fact the name Paralympics means “alongside" the Olympics. Hold on - what is a disability? Do we know anyone with a disability? A disability means that something in a person's body doesn't quite work. Maybe their legs don't work, or their eyes don't work. Sometime you can see that a person has a disability, sometimes you can't. Some things that are harder for people with disabilities to do, so they and we find ways to support and help them. Maybe a wheelchair for someone who can't walk or listening patiently when it takes a longer time for someone to learn or say something. Sometimes you can see a disability, sometimes you can’t. The 3 most important things to remember about people with disabilities are:
- Some things are harder for them to do (eg walking or seeing), but there a lots of things they CAN do. Don't just focus on the 'disability', also focus on 'ability'.
- We can help each other, be friends and play together. And today we are going to be extra aware and good at making sure everyone is included in our games, and can make any adjustments or adaptations to the games.
- We are all different, but we can also find what is 'the same', what we have in common (for eg both liking sport or unicorns or cake!)
So the Paralympics are about overcoming extra challenges with our bodies and finding extra strength and different ways to do sport. It isn’t just about what you can’t do – it’s about what you CAN do. Here is a clip about different sports and people in the Paralympics. Most of the sports we will do today are also done in the Summer Olympics (side note: it is unnecessary to say 'main' or 'regular' Olympics) - that is, people with disabilities AND people without disabilities can also play the same sports. People with disabilities play or do them with some adaptations. AND to emphasise that, really recommend watching this story of 9 yr old Ezra Frech