Talk About It ...

Be straightforward but sensitive when you discuss disabilities with your children, and invite questions. Here's how to begin.
• Explain that people have differing abilities, and that there are some things that people with disabilities can't do, or do differently. For example, some people can't move their arms or legs. Others have trouble hearing or seeing. Some have difficulty learning.
• Talk about the kinds of equipment those with disabilities use and how they are able to compensate to complete everyday tasks. Discussing these issues before your family begins volunteering can ensure a comfortable experience for everyone.
• Semantics matter. Avoid certain words, such as labeling a person "disabled," "crippled," or "handicapped." Instead talk about "a person with a physical or movement disability." Avoid the phrase "wheelchair bound" for a child who uses a wheelchair "deaf and dumb" for a child with a hearing and speech disability, or "retarded" for a person with a mental disability. (Source: UNICEF, Teacher's Talking about Learning)
• In your everyday lives, try to involve children with and without disabilities in the same projects and encourage everyone to participate.

Learn About It ... View a short video about Special Olympics in the life of the Kaasa family from Minnesota. For children's books that focus on the issue of disabilities, see our resource page.

Photo: Unicef

"Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt."

Special Olympic Athlete Oath

Like many youngsters with older siblings, Katie Timmer spent a good part of her childhood cheering on the athletic endeavors of her older brother and sister, Christy and Michael. But when Katie turned 8 years old, she herself became an athlete. She was attending a school for children with intellectual disabilities in Minneapolis, and her venue was the Special Olympics. Suddenly, her family became her biggest supporters and most loyal fans. During the past 24 years (Katie is now 32 years old), each family member has actively volunteered for the organization that they say gave Katie a life - a sense of pride, enduring friendships, life skills and real joy.

Katie's siblings and her parents, Dick and Pat, have lent a hand at all levels of Special Olympics Minnesota - assisting at events, fundraising, coaching, sitting on committees, even serving on the Board of Directors. Pat believes that Special Olympics volunteers get far more than they give and that it is an especially worthwhile family service opportunity: "Every time a family volunteers at an event, it breaks down barriers. They begin to see our athletes as regular people, with the same wants, needs and desires as anyone else."

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