Being wheelchair-bound doesn?t have to mean one can?t dance, ride horses or even skateboard.
That?s the message behind the second annual Extreme and Adaptive Sports Expo today at Western Regional Park in HowardCounty.
“We are trying to gear the whole thing toward young people and get them thinking early that people with disabilities can do anything they put their mind to,” said Deidre McCabe, spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Disabilities.
The event, hosted by the Maryland Department of Disabilities and the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks, will feature wheelchair sports, horseback riding and wheelchair dancing demonstrations. The event will also feature skateboarding by the Amped Riders, a Pennsylvania-based group of athletes with physical disabilities.
At least 350 students from the county?s after-school programs are expected to attend, said Cathy Vigus of the county?s Department of Recreation and Parks.
“It?s kind of a two-sided thing,” Vigus said. “It?s a disability awareness for those who aren?t disabled, and [it?s] also for those who are disabled to see what they can do.”
However, Jessica Pearsall, a board member for the ARC of Howard County, which provides services and support to individuals with developmental disabilities, said she would prefer events that integrate athletes with and without disabilities. “I like things that build community and are not segregated,” she said.
While people are often surprised when they see people with disabilities play sports, Pearsall said her reaction is “of course they can.”
“The solution is that we try to find more ways to integrate people with disabilities and support them in typical activities.”
