Disabled Issues

The Paralympic Games are a multi-sport event for athletes with physical and visual disabilities. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. The Paralympic Games are held every four years, following the Olympic Games, and are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). The Paralympic Games are sometimes confused with the Special Olympics World Games, which are only for people with intellectual disabilities.

Although the name was originally coined as a portmanteau combining 'paraplegic' (due to its origins as games for people with spinal injuries) and 'Olympic', the inclusion of other disability groups meant that this was no longer considered appropriate. The present formal explanation for the name is therefore that it derives from the Greek preposition ????, pará ("beside" or "alongside") and thus refers to a competition held in parallel with the Olympic Games.

A service dog is a type of assistance dog, specifically trained to help people who have disabilities other than visual or hearing impairment. Desirable character traits include good temperament or psychological make-up, good health including physical structure, biddability and trainability. Service dogs are sometimes trained and bred by service dog organizations. Some dogs are donated by private breeders, and some are selected from shelters. Any breed or mixture of breeds of dog might produce a representative capable of service work, though few dogs have all of the qualities in health, temperament, biddability, trainability and physical ability needed. Such a dog may be called a "service dog" or an "assistance dog," depending largely on country. Other common names include "helper dog," "aide dog," and "support dog."

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 defines a service animal as "any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including, but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing to intruders or sounds, providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling awheelchair sic, or fetching dropped items." 28 C.F.R. 36.104 Definitions Retrieved on November 2, 2009.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) is the short title of United States (), codified at et seq. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush, and later amended with changes effective January 1, 2009. The ADA is a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits, under certain circumstances, discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, and other characteristics illegal. Disability is defined as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity." The determination of whether any particular condition is considered a disability is made on a case by case basis. Certain specific conditions are excluded as disabilities, such as current substance abuse and visual impairment which is correctable by prescription lenses.

On September 25, 2008, President George W. Bush signed into law The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA). It is intended to give broader protections for disabled workers and "turn back the clock" on court rulings which Congress deemed too restrictive. The ADAAA includes a list of major life activities.