The sport movement for persons with a disability has changed dramatically over the last decades with even more changes ahead. Public awareness has increased. More and more individuals with a disability of all ages find interest in sport. Sport programmes and opportunities worldwide have increased in scope and number as well. Overall, sport has become a viable option for individuals with a disability.

Already in the 1970's, professional researchers showed interest in the further development of sport for and including persons with a disability. Sport Science, the scientific discipline that studies the human movement with the aim to improve the sporting performance, found its application in disability sport. Sport Science incorporates research in areas such as physiology, psychology, biomechanics, performance analysis, nutrition and sports technology.

GUIDELINES – REPORTING ON PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY

When speaking, interviewing or socializing with a person or an athlete with a disability, here are a few general rules to remember:

• Always identify the person first and then the disability. Sometimes it may not be necessary or relevant to the article to mention the disability, so don’t feel obliged to do so. When it is relevant, just mention what the disability is and then move on.
  
  
• Act naturally and don’t monitor every word and action. Don’t be embarrassed if you use common expressions like “see you later” (to a person with a visual impairment) or “I’d better run along” (to someone who uses a wheelchair).
  
  
• Avoid using emotional wording like “tragic”, “afflicted”, “victim”, or “confined to a wheelchair”. Emphasize the ability and not the limitation, ie, by saying that someone “uses a wheelchair” rather than “is confined” or “is wheelchair-bound”.
  
  
• Avoid portraying people with a disability who succeed as “extraordinary” or “superhuman”. For example, overstating the achievements of athletes with a disability inadvertently suggests the original expectations were not high.
  
  
• Portray the person as he/she is in real life. For example, a person with a disability might be an athlete but he/she may also be a parent, a civil engineer, a doctor, a business manager or a journalist.
  
  
• People do not want to be recipients of charity or pity. Remember that a person with a disability isn’t necessarily chronically sick or unhealthy.
  
  
• Always ask a person with a disability if he/she would like assistance before rushing in. Your help may not be needed. However, it is quite all right to offer help. If your assistance is needed then listen or ask for instructions.
  
  
• When talking with a person who has a disability, speak directly to that person rather than a companion or interpreter. Don’t forget that people with a disability may need your patience and sufficient time to act independently. Give the person extra time to speak if they are using a communication aid or have a learning disability.
  
  
• Ask persons with a disability to repeat themselves if you do not understand them.
  
  
• Respect the person’s personal space and remember that a wheelchair is part of a person’s personal space.
  
  
• When greeting a person, if you normally shake hands, then offer the same gesture, even if the person has limited use of his/her hands or wears prosthesis. The person will let you know if a certain action is appropriate or not.
  
  
• Do not assume that a person with a physical disability also has a hearing disability or that his/her mental capacity is diminished in any way. Speak in a normal tone and do not use language that is condescending.
  

Appropriate words and phrases

Words can project images that are inaccurate and may hurt a person. In the following you can find a list of preferred terminology and appropriate wording to use when referring to athletes or people with a disability in general. Appropriate words and phrases Words can project images that are inaccurate and may hurt a person. In the following you can find a list of preferred terminology and appropriate wording to use when referring to athletes or people with a disability in general