The Meaning of and History Behind the Paralympic Games
In taking time to reflect on the word paralympic, it came to my attention that I never truly considered the true meaning of the word. In the past, I only ever thought of the concept of the word and its relations to the athletes and sports it showcased. Before reviewing this week’s class content, I set aside some time to actually break down the word paralympic, and determine some sort of meaning. In doing so, I thought that “para-” could mean paraplegic to represent a form of disability, but quickly found that to be an inadequate explanation since game participants have countless forms of disability, in which any part of their body could be affected by physical and or intellectual means. I then thought back to my medical terminology days from both freshman years of high school and college, recalling that “para-” means near, alongside of, beside, and even abnormal. From there, I put the word back together in its entirety, continued to reflect upon it and its relation to the Olympics, and...