Sunday, March 16, 2014

Winter Paralympics Results

Paralympics logo
And the top 3 countries are:

1. Russia
2. Germany
3. Canada

The United States came in 8th place.


This doesn’t quite convey the whole story, because Russia’s first place is by miles. They won 30 gold medals. The next highest, Germany, won only 9 golds, and on down from there. I don’t know much about the development of Paralympic sports, but the result does baffle me. Is it just because Russia could send more athletes tan anyone else, do the Russians devote more resources to Paralympic sports? It’s remarkable when you consider the fact that in 1980, when the Soviet Union hosted the Summer Olympics, they declined to host the Summer Paralympics as well. Was that a reflection of how Russians at that time viewed disabled people? Have disabled peoples’ status in Russian culture improved that much since?

And, for all our supposed leadership in disability matters, the US seems to have underperformed. Is this one of those instances where we just assume we’re ahead of the curve, only to find out that lots of other countries have quietly progressed further than us?

I will certainly be paying closer attention to the next Paralympics … the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Disability Thinking Survey

three check boxes in a row, large 3-dimensional red check mark on last box
A little less than a year ago, I set up a survey to get feedback on ideas for an expanded version of “Disability Thinking”. The site is still mainly just a blog, but I haven’t given up on expanding, so here is another survey. The main thing I want to find out is what people want to see in a multi-featured website by and for people with disabilities.

Please take a few minutes to complete the survey. I would really appreciate it!

Note: Make sure you scroll down and click the "Next" button after giving the first set of answers. Thank you!

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Weekly Wrap-Up

Sunday, March 9, 2014
Monday, March 10, 2014
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Friday, March 14, 2014
Saturday, March 15, 2014