As the Sochi Winter Olympics draw to a close, the Paralympics will be underway in the same location in little time. However, think about the word that describes the competitors: disabled. Yes, potential of disabled people may be limited due to whatever impairments they may have, but in truth, they’re humans just like us. Even so, their limits should not compel us to hold anything against them. It’s like discrimination of homosexuals, where other people don’t like them just because they’re different.

I’m not sure how many people know this, but my older brother is senior Mark Liu, who has autism. His impairment even now can cause some people to discriminate him because he has trouble communicating. It’s happened many times in the past; I remember when teachers would take serious measures against him due to misunderstandings. In fact, I’ve suffered a little bit of discrimination as well for being his younger sister. I remember some times when teachers would know I was his sister, and they would not like me until I proved myself to them, or they would never really like me at all.

Back then, and even now, I saw him being undermined, even by special services teachers. I do not understand why these people had so much against my brother just because of his communication impairments. They were and are supposed to build him up, not tear him down. Even when I was in middle school when his special services aid was particularly condescending towards him, I actually really wanted to go along with my parents to defend him. I hated to see this, and I find it sad that it still happens no matter how hard my family has fought against it.

Also, in the fall of this school year, I went to the National High School Journalism Convention in Boston, where I participated in a write-off contest for feature writing. Our topic to write about was EagleEyes, a computer software that uses muscle movements in the eyes of severely disabled people to control a computer cursor, enabling communication, recreation and learning, and eventually enabling them to unleash their potential.

However, I remember Debbie Inkley, one of the co-founders of EagleEyes, described that disabled people are “so bright, but locked up in a body that doesn’t work.” Those words hit me hard that day. It was a wake-up call that we all need to realize this exact thing. They think and have feelings just like us. They strive to do the things we do. Yet their impairments do them in; they cause people to look down on them, to sometimes not even treat them like people.

There is no reason for this. The right way to help others like my brother is to be as patient as possible with them, not to avoid them, belittle them, manipulate them or whatever other condescending acts. I admit even I have to work on this, but as the Paralympics in Sochi approach, we should take this time to set aside any beliefs we may have against these people and let them achieve their dreams. Once again, they’re just like us. They’re pursuing their passions (for sports, in this case) just like we would. They don’t deserve discrimination, like many other groups had and have been. Spread the word “respect” to end the word “retarded.”