Paralympic disability categories

(International Paralympic Committee, 2003)

"Disability" is allocated into three key groups, in which all of them are divided into
sub-categories that later make, it easy for the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to
divide the Athletes depending to their impairment that can altered and impact the Athlete’s
capability to complete their preformat in a competition. Those key groups and its subcategories are:

1) Physical disability “A physical disability is any impairment which limits the physical
function of one or more limbs or fine or gross motor ability. Other physical disabilities
include impairments which limit other facets of daily living, such as respiratory disorders
and epilepsy” (Goldstein, 1994).
Into physical disability we can include:
Impaired muscle power: The disability in this group have in mutual that there is
reduced force produced by the reduction of a muscle or muscle groups (e.g. muscles of one
limb, one side of the body, the lower half of the body). Examples of conditions included in
this group are Para and quadriplegia, muscular dystrophy, post poliomyelitis, spine bifida.
Leg length difference: Because of inherited deficiency or trauma, bone shortening
that takes place in one leg.
Short stature: Vertical altitude is reduced because of abnormal sizes of bones of
upper and lower limbs or trunk (e.g. achondoplasia). 13

Amputee: Is the remove of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or

surgery. As a medical measure, it is used to adjust pain or an illness process in the affected
limb. In this group are the athletes with a part or complete loss of at least one limb.
Types of amputation include: Leg, Arm, Teeth, Facials, Breasts, Genitals,
Hemicorporectomy, and Decapitation.
Causes:
a) Circulatory disorders: Diabetic foot infection or gangrene (the most common
reason for non-traumatic amputation), Sepsis with peripheral necrosis.
b) Neoplasm: Cancerous bone or soft tissue tumors (e.g. osteosarcoma,
osteochondroma, fibrosarcoma, epithelioid sarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, synovial sarcoma,
sacrococcygeal teratoma, liposarcoma), Melanoma.
c) Trauma: Severe limb injuries in which the limb cannot be spared or attempts to
spare the limb have failed, Traumatic amputation (an unwanted amputation that occurs at
the scene of an accident, where the limb is partially or wholly severed as a direct result of
the accident, for example a fingertip that is cut off by a meat grinder). Amputation in utero
(Amniotic band).
d) Deformities: Deformities of digits and/or limbs, Extra digits and/or limbs (e.g.
polydactyly).
e) Infection: Bone infection (osteomyelitis).
f) Athletic performance: Sometimes professional athletes may choose to have a
non-essential digit amputated to relieve chronic pain and impaired performance.
g) Legal punishment: Amputation is used as a legal punishment in a number of
countries.

Wheelchair: An athlete may compete in wheelchair racing or running or jumping

events in Paralympic Athletics if they have a permanent impairment that alters the
biomechanical execution of the running action in a way that is demonstrable and which
will adversely affect performance. 14
Types of Wheelchair disability include:
Hypertonia: is defined as increased muscle tone which is caused by central nervous
system impairment and which results in increased resistance to passive lengthening of the
Musile. Types of Hypertonia:
a) Spastic Hypertonia: this is defined as a velocity dependent resistance to
passive
movement with a clasp-knife type of resistance.
b) Rigidity: this is defined as a heightened resistance to passive movement of a
limb that is independent of the velocity of stretch and relatively uniform throughout the
range of motion of that limb.
c) Dystonia: this is resistance to passive movement that may be focal (affecting
muscles of one limb or joint) or general (affecting the whole body).
Ataxia refers to an unsteadiness, incoordination or clumsiness of volitional
movement and eligible ataxias must result from either motor or sensory nervous system
dysfunction. Types of Ataxia:
a) Cerebellar ataxia: is used to indicate ataxia that is due to dysfunction of the
cerebellum.
b) Sensory ataxia is employed to indicate ataxia due to loss of proprioception, the
loss of sensitivity to the positions of joint and body parts.
c) Vestibular ataxia is employed to indicate ataxia due to dysfunction of the
vestibular system.

Athetosis refers to unwanted movement and posturing resulting from damage to

motor control center of the brain, most frequently the basal ganglia. Types of Athetosis:
a) Involuntary movement of the fingers or upper extremities despite the person
trying to remain still.
b) Involuntary movement of the toes or lower extremities despite the person trying
to remain still.
15
c) Inability to hold the body still – swaying of the body. Swaying should not be due
to other neurological deficits such as vestibular or proprioceptive impairments and
therefore should not be exacerbated by closing of the eyes.
d) Characteristic athetoid posturing.
Limb deficiency is described in terms of upper and lower limb. Types of Limb
deficiency:
a) Limb deficiency – Lower limb: Complete unilateral amputation of half the length
of the foot.
b) Limb Deficiency – Upper Limb: Unilateral amputation, through or above elbow;
bilateral amputation through or above wrist, Unilateral dysmelia in which the length of the
affected arm measured from acromion to wrist is equal in length or shorter than the
humerus of the unaffected arm.
2) Sensory disability “Sensory disability is impairment of one of the senses. The term is
used primarily to refer to vision and hearing impairment, but other senses can be
impaired.” (Du Feu & Fergusson, 2013). In this type of impairment is also including:
Visually Impaired: Is the consequence of a functional destruction of vision,
instead of the eye disorder itself. Eye disorders which can tend toward visual impairments
can comprehend retinal degeneration, albinism, cataracts, and glaucoma; muscular
problems that result in visual disturbances, corneal disorders, diabetic retinopathy,
congenital disorders, and infection. Visual impairment can also be produce by brain and
nerve disorders, in which case it is usually name as cortical visual impairment (CVI).
Types of Visually Impaired.
a) Partially sighted: indicates some type of visual problem, with a need of person to
receive special education in some cases.
b) Low vision: generally refers to a severe visual impairment, not necessarily
limited to distance vision. Low vision applies to all individuals with sight who are unable
to read the newspaper at a normal viewing distance, even with the aid of eyeglasses or
16 contact lenses. They use a combination of vision and other senses to learn, although they
may require adaptations in lighting or the size of print, and, sometimes, Braille.
- Myopic - unable to see distant objects clearly, commonly called near-sighted or
short-sighted.
- Hyperopic - unable to see close objects clearly, commonly called far-sighted or
long-sighted.
c) Legally blind: indicates that a person has less than 20/200 vision in the better eye
after best correction (contact lenses or glasses), or a field of vision of less than 20 degrees
in the better eye.
d) Totally blind students learn via Braille or other non-visual media.
The sighted guides for athletes with a visual impairment are such a close and
essential part of the competition that the athlete with visual impairment and the guide are
considered a team, and both athletes are medal candidates.
Hearing impairment: Also well known as “deafness” is related to conditions in
which individuals are fully or partially unable to experience or determinate at least some
frequencies of sound which can be normally heard by most people.
Olfactory and gustatory impairment: damage of the sense of smell and taste.
Somatosensory impairment: Is a lack of sensitivity to stimuli such as touch, heat,
cold, and pain.
Balance disorder: Is a disturbance that causes an individual to feel unstable, for
example when standing or walking.
3) Mental disability Intellectual disability or also well known as mental retardation is a
inability characterized by significant restriction in intellectual functioning and adaptive
behavior as expressed in practical skills and social. In this type of impairment is also
including:
- Mental health and emotional disabilities that is a psychological or behavioral
illness.17
- Developmental disability that is a mentally or physically impairment that is
develop in the early age and has an indefinite duration.

Into physical disability we can include:

Intellectual Disability: Is a broad concept encompassing various intellectual
deficits.
Types of Intellectual disability include: Mental retardation, Specific learning disability,
Acquired brain injury, Neuro-degeneration, Dementia.
Causes:
a) Genetic conditions: Sometimes disability is caused by abnormal genes inherited
from parents, errors when genes combine, or other reasons.
b) Problems during pregnancy. Mental disability can result when the fetus does not
develop properly. For example, there may be a problem with the way the fetus' cells divide
as it grows.
c) Problems at birth. If a baby has problems during labor and birth, such as not
getting enough oxygen, he or she may have developmental disability due to brain damage.
d) Malnutrition is a common cause of reduced intelligence in parts of the world
affected by famine, such as Ethiopia.
e) Heredity – Learning disabilities often run in the family.

The IPC primarily serves athletes with physical disabilities, but the disability group
Intellectual Disability has been added to some Paralympic Games. This includes only elite
athletes with intellectual disabilities, where few qualify. The IOC recognized Special
Olympics World Games however, are open to all persons with intellectual disabilities, also
persons with severe and profound levels of intellectual disabilities.
Cerebral Palsy: Is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive,
non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development,
chiefly in the various areas of body movement. Cerebral refers to the cerebrum, which is
the affected area of the brain (although the disorder most likely involves connections18
between the cortex and other parts of the brain such as the cerebellum), and palsy refers to
disorder of movement.

Types of Cerebral Palsy include: Spastic, Ataxia, and Athetoid/Dyskinetic.

Causes In certain cases there is no identifiable cause, typical causes include problems in
intrauterine development (e.g. exposure to radiation, infection), asphyxia before birth,
hypoxia of the brain, and birth trauma during labor and delivery, and complications in the
perinatal period or during childhood. Athletes with non-progressive brain damage, for
example cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, stroke or similar disabilities affecting
muscle control, balance or coordination.
Exist also a group of disability that is not included in the groups above. This group
is called:
Les Autres: From the French for the others, this includes persons with mobility
impairment or other loss of physical function that does not fall strictly into one of the other
five categories. Participants include those with dwarfism, multiple sclerosis or other
disabilities. Athletes with a physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the
other five categories, such as dwarfism, multiple sclerosis or congenital deformities of the
limbs such as that caused by thalidomide (the name for this category is the French for "the
others").