April 2001

Long-Term Rehab News

Paralympics Suspends Athletes With Intellectual Disabilities Group

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) recently voted to continue the suspension of the International Sports Federation for Athletes with an Intellectual Disability from IPC membership. The decision came after the IPC Investigation Commission found that the assessment and certification of intellectually disabled athletes for the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games were “not properly carried out, supervised, and audited on both a national and international level.” More than two-thirds of the registration forms for intellectually disabled athletes at the Sydney Games were considered technically invalid.

In December the Spanish Paralympic Committee discovered that 10 of the 12 members of its championship basketball game (Spain came in third overall at the Sydney Paralympic Games) did not have an intellectual disability. The team was ordered to return all its medals.

In the meantime, athletes with an intellectual disability will be able to obtain provisional certification of their eligibility so they can participate in IPC events (including the Winter Games in Salt Lake City next March) until a new eligibility process is in place and has been approved by the IPC.

Study Focuses on Self-Employed Persons with Disabilities

The numbers are in, but the jury is still out, on a new study concentrating on self-employed individuals with disabilities. In a February progress report, the Rural Institute on Disabilities at the University of Montana published preliminary data showing that participants pursued diverse careers, including agriculture, art, law, real estate, publishing, and construction.

Researchers collected data from a 51-question survey sent to business persons around the country. Participants answered questions about why they chose self-employment, their initial financial investment, years of employment, working hours, financial security, health benefits, and job satisfaction. From the 330 usable responses, investigators determined that the typical business person with a disability was a middle-aged white male with some college education.

Nancy Arnold, PhD, research director of the institute, says that this early data give demographic information, but that further analysis is needed before conclusions can be drawn about self-employment trends.

“The big thing for us is to try further analysis to see if we can understand the difference between rural and urban areas—where [participants] live, if they had support, where they went to get business assistance,” Arnold says. “Part of where we go [from here] will come out of these questions after they are answered.”

Respondents were members of the Disabled Business Association or individuals who sought assistance from state vocational rehabilitation agencies. With more information, researchers hope to determine where individuals turn for support and assistance with their businesses. Researchers noted that the group surveyed may not be representative of all self-employed individuals with disabilities. However, they hope the study will provide an opportunity to compare self-employed people with and without disabilities.

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