Bonjour from the iconic Team USA House at the historic Palais Brongniart in Paris! I’m here representing Zeno Group and supporting the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. 

It’s a privilege to influence how Team USA athletes’ journeys make their way to the public eye  specifically for the Paralympic Games, which historically receive less attention compared to the Olympic Games. Roughly 13% of the American population live with a disability, yet Team USA Paralympic athletes still battle for media coverage.

However, there is real progress being made. Paris 2024 Paralympics drew record crowds and NBCUniversal aired more of the Games than ever before – indicative that the Paralympic Movement has positive momentum in the U.S. leading into the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games, and later on home soil: Los Angeles 2028. What’s more, the Paralympic Games saw support from fellow Olympic athletes, including Simone Biles and Ilhona Maher, the most followed rugby player on social media. 

For nearly two years, Zeno has worked with the USOPC to share the incredible, compelling stories of athletes and lay the groundwork prior to the Games, ensuring authentic representation of the disabled community and fostering a deeper understanding of adaptive sports. This included educating media, stakeholders and the public about common myths and misconceptions around adaptive sport, how to navigate classification and creating safe space conversations where media can learn from athletes firsthand. See an educational hub here. 

Whether you’re a brand or a PR professional, it’s critical to genuinely connect with the disabled community and ensure their voices are represented and heard. Explore these key takeaways on how to communicate with authenticity and respect:

• Push for parity across communications. From compiling a roster of creators to reviewing creative, challenge teams and partners for representation and consider intersectionality. 
• Ask questions and be open to feedback. Many people are afraid to say something “wrong” or offensive, yet often, the best course of action is to ask someone what they prefer. For example, some individuals prefer people-centered language to remove the linguistic emphasis on the disability and put the person ahead of the label (e.g. person with disabilities), while others prefer identity-first language to reclaim and highlight disability as a defining identity and descriptor (e.g. disabled person). It is acceptable to use both person-first and identity-first language when discussing disabilities. Pay close attention to how people communicate and be willing to accept corrections as part of the education process.
• Emphasize abilities, not limitations. Focus on the person before their disability. For example, assistive devices like basketball wheelchairs or ice hockey sledges should be seen as sports equipment, not medical devices. Use terms like “wheelchair user” to highlight mobility and promote independence, rather than “wheelchair-bound,” which focuses on limitations. These small changes and slight nuances can make a big impact.

Remember, adaptive sports occur year-round, not just every 2-4 years. From wheelchair rugby, basketball and fencing to para athletics, swimming and goalball, adaptive sports are thrilling and heartracing to witness. We encourage you to support Team USA and disabled representation by following athletes and their teams (or national governing bodies) on social media, and tune in to competitions.  

Au revoir, and go Team USA and all the Paralympians!