We must not allow disabled people fall victim to our litigious society

THE Special Olympics have certainly highlighted the plight of people with mental disabilities. Some of them have been the most articulate spokespeople for their own cause.

Caitriona Ryan, the young woman who called out the Olympic oath at the opening ceremony, made a particularly poignant appeal on RTÉ's lunchtime news during the week.

"Before I joined the Special Olympics I wasn't able to stand up for myself because I had special needs and I was bullied quite a lot in school because I had special needs," she explained. "I have so many scars from when I was bullied."