The Importance of Sports for People with Disabilities

Working as a teacher for over 20 years, I was always very careful about disabilities in classroom and how they were approached by the school itself, the governmental sector and researchers throughout the world. Health experts reinforce the need to encourage the practice of physical activity by people with disabilities. Playing sports is a way for these individuals to rediscover life in a broad and global way. It prevents diseases secondary to disability and promotes social integration, leading the individual to discover that it is possible, despite of physical limitations, to have a normal and healthy life.

Embracing physical activity can transform the daily life of a special person or athlete and still do good for the health of the body and mind.

Moving is the watchword! It does not matter whether the people aim to play professionally or amateurly. The important thing is to look for a sport that fits the conditions and limits.

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Physical and psychological benefits

Practicing physical activity for both competitiveness and fun can bring physical and psychological benefits to the individual.

Physical benefits:

Here are some benefits which can be achieved: agility, balance, muscular strength, motor coordination, physical resistance, improvement of organo-functional conditions (circulatory, respiratory, digestive, reproductive and excretory systems), speed, rhythm, possibility to access the practice of sport as leisure, rehabilitation and competition, prevention of secondary disabilities, promotion and encouragement of movement, development of motor and functional skills to better perform activities of daily living, among others.

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Psychological benefits:

On the Psychological side, the benefits can be as follows: self-esteem improvement, the increase of social integration, reduction of aggression, independence and autonomy encouragement, experiencing new possibilities, potentials and limitations, experiencing new situations of success and/or frustration, motivation for future activities, development of the ability to solve problems, among others.

It is essential to respect the limitations, adapting modalities and personal goals. There needs to be monitoring and a lot of attention when executing a movement. It is necessary to respect all safety rules, avoiding new accidents and, most importantly, always encouraging the development of individual potential.

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Picture credits: The pictures used in this publication can be found on these sites: Waterford Sports Partnership, The New Indian Express.