![]() | Member's News | No.52 January 2008 |
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Special Olympics, Inc. is an international, nonprofit organisation
dedicated to empowering over 2.5 million individuals with intellectual
disability (ID) to become physically fit, productive and respected members
of society through sports training and competition. ID is defined by
the World Health Organization as “a condition of arrested or incomplete
development of the mind, characterised by impairment of skills and overall
intelligence in areas such as cognition, language and motor and social
abilities.” The overall prevalence of ID worldwide is estimated
to be between 1% and 3% (World Health Organization, 2001).
Special Olympics commissioned the Multinational Study of Attitudes
toward Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities to document the social
acceptance level of individuals with ID worldwide. Conducted in 12 countries
with 10 000 respondents, the study focused on how the general population
views the capabilities of individuals with ID; the extent to which they
should be able to employ those capabilities in inclusive settings; and
exactly how far average people believe that persons with ID should be
integrated into everyday society. The study is the largest and most
comprehensive study ever conducted on this subject, reporting how people
across the world view the roles and capabilities of persons with ID
in the workplace, the classroom and in daily social life. Survey results
showed that the general population lacks an appreciation of the range
of capabilities of individuals with ID and therefore have low expectations
of what people with ID can achieve. The study also revealed that the
world still believes individuals with ID should work and learn in separate
settings, apart from people without disabilities. Regarding healthcare,
27% believed that persons with ID receive better health care than the
general population, 39% believed they receive the same treatment and
34% believed they receive worse treatment (Siperstein, G., Norris, J.,
Corbin, S., Shriver, T., 2003). This is much more optimistic than what
actual assessments of healthcare access, health status and need demonstrate.
![]() ![]() Data collected in 2003 at the Special Olympics World Games Healthy Athletes
venue in Dublin, Ireland found that people with ID have a higher prevalence
of health problems across disciplines than the general population. Investigators
screened more than 3,500 athletes from 145 nations, the largest, most comprehensive
survey of the health status of people with ID ever conducted at the time.
Health indicators examined included: dental and oral health, foot health,
hearing, vision, muscle strength, bone strength, physical fitness and health
promotion. Screening results showed:
Special Olympics Healthy Athletes® Goal: Help Special Olympics athletes improve their health and fitness
and ultimately improve their ability to train and compete in Special
Olympics as well as in life
Objectives:
Healthy Athletes screening disciplines:
Additional findings from the combined screening results of the 2003, 2005
and 2007 Special Olympics World Games Healthy Athletes, which screened
athletes from 159 countries, showed:
The data gathered at Healthy Athletes screenings, which collectively
constitute the largest and fastest growing health database on people with
ID, are important for planning programs, gaining support, improving policies
and research (Special Olympics International Healthy Athletes Software).
A survey distributed to more than 2 500 US medical school deans, dental
school deans, medical residency directors, dental residency directors,
medical students and advocacy and patient care groups reported a general
lack of competency to treat individuals with ID. Results showed:
More encouraging data also from this study showed how 74% of medical
school students and 74% of dental school students are indeed interested
in treating people with ID, while nearly all administrators said that
they would implement a curriculum for this population if given one (Corbin,
S., Holder, M., et al., 2005). More than 55 000 health professionals and
health professional students have volunteered to screen more than 500
000 athletes at over 2 700 Healthy Athletes events during the past ten
years.
At the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai, China, leaders
across government, health, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), sports,
academic and business sectors, representing 60 countries, gathered to
make a commitment to people with ID and their families throughout the
world. Hosted by Special Olympics International, the 2007 Special Olympics
World Summer Games Committee and China Disabled Persons' Federation, the
“Commitment to Changing Lives: The Global Policy Summit on the Well-being
of People with Intellectual Disabilities,” was the largest policy
event ever to cast light on the attitudes towards and needs of people
with ID and the challenges they face throughout the world. The event brought
together the greatest collection of key global leaders in an effort to
educate, inform and activate people around critical issues facing individuals
with ID. Using the powerful platform of sport, the Global Policy Summit
presented five core areas: a global snapshot highlighting key research
findings on the attitudes toward, status of and prospects for people with
ID; an in-depth analysis of the progress that China has made and plans
to strengthen outreach to this population as a World Games legacy; model
corporate, NGO and intergovernmental inclusion and collaboration policies
and practices that support and engage people with ID; discussion of model
laws and policies currently in place and future policy implementation;
and, the role of sport in advancing peace, fitness and health for people
with ID. The Summit incorporated more than 30 scientific presentations
about people with ID from around the world, while furthering opportunities
for this community. The Special Olympics movement was strengthened as
UNICEF, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Lions
Clubs International Foundation announced official “Commitments to
Action” and encouraged other attendees to follow their lead. The
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)
also pledged its commitment to Special Olympics.
Over the last ten years, Special Olympics has made great strides in identifying
the health care needs of people with ID. Moving forward, it is critical
to make health a presence in the athletes’ lives on a daily and
continuous basis and empower them for healthy living. There must be a
greater commitment to integrating health promotion programs throughout
Special Olympics by providing athletes with the information, encouragement
and facilities they need to sustain physical fitness, healthy lifestyle
choices and, ultimately, better sports performance. To accomplish this,
improving athlete, coach and care giver health literacy, defined in Healthy
People 2010 as “the degree to which individuals have the capacity
to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services
needed to make appropriate health decisions,” (US Department of
Health and Human Services, 2001) is imperative. Creating partnerships
outside of Special Olympics is also important for educating the community
on both the abilities and specific health care needs of people with ID,
establishing relationships with health care professionals for follow up
after events and continued research. Misperceptions are the biggest barrier
to inclusion, and while the world has tried to rectify the wrongs of discrimination
for many other minority groups, people with ID stand alone as the silent
and forgotten minority, which has had serious ramifications on their health
status. Special Olympics aims to identify and highlight the health disparities
facing people with ID and promote a more realistic image of this population
throughout the world so that they are more readily accepted in schools,
the workplace, the health care communities and daily life.
References
1. World Health Organization. (2001). Mental and Neurological Disorders.
Fact Sheet:
The World Health Report. Retrieved December 17, 2007 from http://www.who.int/whr/2001/media_centre/en/whr01_fact_sheet1_en.pdf 2. Siperstein G., Norrins, J., Corbin, S. and Shriver, T. (2003). Multinational
study of attitudes toward individuals with intellectual disabilities.
Washington, D.C., Special Olympics International: 12 pp.
3. Special Olympics International Healthy Athletes Software (HAS), HEALTHone
Global. Data collected at the 2003, 2005 and 2007 World Games in Dublin,
Nagano, and Shanghai.
4. Corbin, S., Holder, M., et al. (2005). Changing attitudes, changing
the world: the health and health care of people with intellectual disabilities.
Washington, D.C., Special Olympics International: 6 pp.
5. US Department of Health and Human Services. Office
of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (n.d.). Healthy People 2010.
Retrieved January 22, 2001, from the World Wide Web: http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/
Contact
Dr. Stephen Corbin
Senior Vice President, Constituent Services and Support Dean, Special Olympics University Special Olympics, Inc. 1133 19th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 P: 202-824-0283 Email: scorbin@specialolympics.org Heather Driscoll Senior Manager, Health Promotion Special Olympics, Inc. 1133 19th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 P: 202-715-1149 Email: hdriscoll@specialolympics.org ![]() http://www.icsspe.org/portal/index.php?w=1&z=5 |