Eunice Kennedy Shriver passed away and, as an advocate for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), she made a significant impact. Shriver came to prominence as the sister of politicians, John, Robert and Edward Kennedy. She may be most closely associated with the
Special Olympics (SO), which she founded. The SO challenged assumptions that people with IDD were
too fragile to be involved in activities that others enjoyed; and, as a result, SO became one of the most anticipated events of the year for participants.
Shriver and the Special Olympics were
criticized by members of the
disability rights movement for fostering segregated and paternalistic activities. The SO attempted to make some adjustments in the structure of the way in which the games were organized. With the rise of the
paralympic games, similarly focused on a disability community (but organized by the participants), some of the criticism of the Special Olympics diminished. There are alleged to be a number of
professional athletes who got their start in SO.
We see Eunice Shriver's legacy in the
abundance of activities now available to folks who were once considered too fragile to get out of bed for several months of the year. There is a
thriving vacation industry aimed at those with IDD, many of those packages involve
extreme sports. Therapeutic
horseback riding is routinely available in many communities (successfully replacing the "Watch out or they'll be trampled!" perspective).
By helping us to understand that
people with more profound cognitive disabilities enjoy and benefit from participating in the same activities as those of us with milder cognitive disabilities, Eunice Kennedy Shriver has not only had a significant impact, but has, hopefully, made a
long-lasting contribution to the way we think about and treat one another.
by
Greg Monaco, Ph.D.Copyright, Monaco & Associates Incorporated. All rights reserved.
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