Sports for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities in Russia and the Un Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Reality and Prospects

¹Professor, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Education, Russia

²Head of the Department of Theory and Methods of Adaptive Physical Training at Lesgaft National State University, Russia

³President of the Russian Sports Federation of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities, Russia

⁴Vice President of the Russian Paralympic Committee, Russia

⁵General Manager of Russian Sports Federation of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities, Russia

⁶Vice-President of VIRTUS-EUROPE, UK

*Corresponding author: Dr. Evseev SP, Holder of Habilitation degree in Pedagogy, Professor, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Education, Russia; Head of the Department of Theory and Methods of Adaptive Physical Training at Lesgaft National State University, Russia; President of the Russian Sports Federation of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities, Russia; Vice President of the Russian Paralympic Committee, Russia, Tel: +55 0xx 31 99121-2064; Email: [email protected].

Received Date: October 11, 2023

Published Date: October 27, 2023

Citation: Evseev SP, et al. (2023). Sports for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities in Russia and the Un Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Reality and Prospects. Mathews J Psychiatry Ment Health. 8(4):43.

Copyrights: Evseev SP, et al. © (2023).

ABSTRACTS

The present article substantiates the necessity of implementation for two development programs within adaptive sport for persons with intellectual impairment in order to meet the requirements of THE UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES in each nation, which ratified this document.

These programs include:

- Program of the International Sport Organization SPECIAL OLYMPICS INTERNATIONAL (SOI) and

- Program of the International Sport Association (Federation) of Persons with Intellectual Impairment VIRTUS

Program of SOI uses the unconventional, “mild” model of performance evaluation and denies the special athletes the right to compete according to the rules based on the conventional model of performance evaluation, which is general for Olympic, Paralympic and Deaf Olympic Sports. It leads to the impairment of rights for ID persons with mild impairment in comparison with able-bodied, physically impaired and sensory impaired athletes. Therefore, SOI upholds the rights for severe ID athletes regarding their participation in sport events with “mild” model of performance evaluation which is optimal for them. As regards ID persons with mild impairment, it leads to the violation of THE UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES or to their discrimination because it does not give them a chance to use the conventional model of performance evaluation and it considers them incapable to adequately perceive, for example, their defeat in competitions. This problem does not exist completely in Paralympic Sport for persons with intellectual impairment run by VIRTUS. So, only joint work of SOI and VIRTUS as well as corresponding national organizations (associations) fully allows implementing THE UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES in the area of ID Sport with various levels of impairment. The present article tells about Russian experience of implementation for two programs–SOI and VIRTUS–taking into account particularity of social situation in our country and special aspects of the national content of both programs.

Keywords: Sports for persons with intellectual disabilities, Special Olympics within Sports for persons with intellectual disabilities, Paralympic Direction within Sports for persons with intellectual disabilities: similarities, differences, structure of these Sports worldwide and in Russia.