Have you ever heard of the Paralympic and/or the Parapanam Games? These are two worldwide events where people who have disabilities can participate and show their skills! The Paralympic and Parapanam Games are incredible to watch on television, and even more incredible to watch in person! Attending and participating in events that concern disabilities is very important for many, many reasons.

We all love to feel accepted and included. It gives us a sense of accomplishment, and a feeling of worth. People who have different-abilities want to feel those things to just like anyone else! Acceptance, inclusion and worth. By supporting these events, we give disabled people these feelings, and trust me, they feel great!

Attending events where people with different-abilities are included also allows learning opportunities! Everyone is different. Everyone has their quirks. Everyone has different strengths and different weaknesses. By attending and participated in events that concern disabilities, you will learn about people who can do the same things as you differently, and you will learn about special populations! You will learn that even though people fall under the label “disabled”, they are not less and are not that different from the “typical” person.

A few examples of events that concern disabilities that you can attend are:

• Sporting events
• Chairity walks
• Youth centres
• Old age homes
• Autism Speaks fundraisers
• Races

Participating and engaging with people who have different needs is very important. It will give you important skills, and teach you new ways to do things that you never even thought of! It will also show you that you need to appreciate your life the way it is and give you a better understanding of how others do too!

On a personal level, I work with students in my school who have special needs as an everyday job and this job has given me some of the most rewarding, fascinating experiences of my life. Every day, I am learning new ways of thinking, new problem solving strategies and new information. I have made so many connections and relationships with people who I never would have met if I hadn’t put myself out there and attended events concerning special populations.