|  | Member's News | No.51 September 2007 |

Special Olympics: Improving the Lives of Individuals with an Intellectual Disability in Africa Annemarie van Wieringen |
Special Olympics MedFest in Nigeria | Local athletics competitions in Special Olympics Rwanda.
If Special Olympics supporter Nelson Mandela was correct when he said that “a nation should not be judged by the way it treats its highest members, but its lowest”, then Special Olympics Africa is surely in the process of building better nations on the continent. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Special Olympics offers individuals with an intellectual disability an opportunity to excel and be praised for their numerous abilities. From the 1000 athletes who competed at the first World Summer Games between the United States and Canada, Special Olympics now boasts over 2.5 million athletes in 157 countries and this years’ Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai, China will once again be the world’s largest sporting event of the year. Special Olympics Special Olympics was founded on the conspicuous disparity in our communities – those that benefit the most from physical exercise and social interaction are the same individuals who barely see a football, never mind get picked for a team. The same individuals who struggle the most to learn are the ones who only get taught to stay at home. It was based on these principles that Special Olympics developed a year round program of various Olympic summer and winter sports in which children and adults with an intellectual disability could train and compete. Through sports, these athletes are given an opportunity to improve their physical fitness, participate in the sharing of friendships and ultimately create a platform where family members, volunteers and the community at large can openly marvel at their outstanding abilities and courage. The World Health Organization estimates that the percentage of individuals with an intellectual disability in any given society varies between 1% and 3% [1] illustrating that Special Olympics’ achievement thus far is merely the tip of the ice berg with the largest portion being those individuals who are deprived of any form of special education and remain submerged by the shame of their families. As an athlete-led and athlete-focused organization, the quality of the athlete experience at the local program level largely determines the success of the movement. Approximately one volunteer coach is available to every 13 Special Olympics athletes [2] and ¾ of all athletes competed at least once in 2006 whilst many programs offer their athletes over 3 competition experiences per year as a means of retaining athletes within the program. The highlight of the Special Olympics calendar is surely the biennial Special Olympics World Games, however on any given day, an average of 60 Special Olympics competitions take place around the world and bring joy and pride to the athletes involved. Although 26 different summer and winter sporting codes are on offer, athletics, football, table tennis, basketball, bowling and aquatics remain the most popular with 84% of all athletes participating in one or more of these 6 sporting codes. Sports within Special Olympics are unique in that they cater for all levels of skill and ability and reward all athletes according to their position rather than only highlighting the 3 top finishers. In all sports, the highest levels are those in which national or international federation rules are applied and the lowest level being that of the individual skills contest where an athlete gains points for the skill shown in completing skills necessary for that particular sport. Similarly, various levels of competition bridge these 2 scenarios such that each athlete is always afforded a competition level equivalent to his or her ability level. In addition, Special Olympics offers a divisioning process to further enhance the competition experience for the athlete. Classification systems used by bodies such as the International Paralympic Committee could not be replicated firstly because only a small minority of Special Olympics athletes present with physical disabilities too, but mostly because one can not draw a parallel between intellectual capacity and sporting capacity in the way that one can between physical capacity and sporting capacity. For this reason, athletes are divided by gender, age and then their speed or sporting skill such that they are only grouped or divisioned to compete against other athletes of a similar prowess. This process ensures that each race and game demonstrates stiff competition, but more importantly, it ensures that even those athletes of a lower ability level are afforded an opportunity to compete and win at a local, national and international level as winners of each division are reserved the right to advance to the next level of competition. Special Olympics has historically only catered for those athletes from the age of 8 upwards, but the request for athletes to become involved in their formative years has seen the development of a Young Athlete program in which those between the ages of 2 and 7 are involved in play activities as a precursor to sporting skill development. These athletes, along with those involved in the Motor Activity Training Program (MATP) engage in training, but not competitions. MATP is a program of physically adapted sports skills targeted at those with a profound disability who are unable to manage in the individual sports skills arena.
Special Olympics Lions Clubs International Opening Eyes screening in Nigeria
Special Olympics in Africa With the globe divided in to 7 geographic regions, Special Olympics Africa comprises largely of sub Saharan Africa and is home to 32 active national programs. These programs are supported by a regional office based in Johannesburg, South Africa and staff located throughout the region. Founded in 1979, Kenya is the oldest program in Africa and also the largest with 21 523 athletes. In second place is Special Olympics South Africa with 16 217 athletes, together accounting for almost half of the athletes in the region. The Special Olympics Africa program has grown considerably over the last 7 years with a total athlete count in 2000 of just on 4000 athletes to a closing total in 2006 of 81 884 athletes. It is expected that by 2010, the region will provide trainings and competitions to in excess of 140 000 Special Olympics athletes in over 35 countries. Table 1: 2004-2006 Athlete growth by region [2] In 2006, the Program in Austria lost many registered athletes and participants due to closings of special schools and centers – making the overall growth of the region appear stagnant. However, if Austria is excluded, the Europe/Eurasia region grew by almost 10%. Economic and political stability are the greatest challenges in ensuring a vibrant and sustainable Special Olympics program in the region, whilst poor social services and educational structures for the disabled compromise program growth. The effect of myths and attitudes around individuals with an intellectual disability cannot be overlooked and the prevalence of intellectual disability being attributed to a curse or a failure on the part of the mother are more significant than those being attributed to their genetic or disease related cause. Despite these challenges and through the identification of proficient leaders, all the programs in the region are growing steadily and making significant in-roads in changing the perception towards individuals with an intellectual disability. Family members are now coming out in support of their athletes as they compete in public arenas with pride. Special Olympics programs are governed by a Board of Directors and as non-profit and non-governmental organizations, they remain independent to the Ministries of Sport but in most cases, programs form strong partnerships with all relevant government departments in order to facilitate growth and sustainability.
Local football competitions in Special Olympics Rwanda | Athlete receiving award at Special Olympics Nigeria National Games
Healthy Athletes The causes of intellectual disability are widespread and may be subject to pre-natal, natal or post-natal factors. Causes of intellectual disability do not vary significantly from region to region, however the percentage that can be attributed to preventable causes such as childhood illnesses or laboured births is certainly more significant in Africa. In some cases, individuals with an intellectual disability present with myriad anomalies as a result of syndromes and this affect on their health directly affects their involvement in sport and thus Special Olympics. For this reason and coupled with the knowledge that Special Olympics athletes consistently receive less health care attention than the rest of the population [3], a Healthy Athletes program was initiated to begin to address these factors. On enrolling in Special Olympics a new athlete must undergo a physical examination to ensure that they are physically fit to partake in the program and that sport will in fact not be putting them at further risk such as an athlete with uncontrolled epilepsy partaking in aquatics. In Africa, the cost of being assessed by a general practitioner and the unwillingness of general practitioners to assess individuals with an intellectual disability remain an obstacle. The training of General Practitioners as national Clinical Directors by Special Olympics has gone a long way to alleviate this problem as these clinical directors conduct 1 or 2 day MedFest screenings in which new athletes may attend a Special Olympics event and receive a medical check up free of charge by local volunteer medical professionals. Similarly, various other Healthy Athletes disciplines were initiated and include the delivery of specialist screening services to the athletes at sports events. These include the Special Olympics Lions Clubs International Opening Eyes program (vision care professionals); Special Smiles (dental professionals); Healthy Hearing (audiology professionals); FUNfitness (physical therapists); FitFeet (chiropodists) and Health Promotion (various health care workers). Combinations of these Healthy Athletes disciplines are offered in 22 of the programs in the region, ensuring that athletes not only receive screening, but also facilitated treatment such as the provision of prescription glasses or referral for follow up care where necessary. Inclusion and Empowerment The readiness to use sport as a tool for social change is certainly not unique to Special Olympics, but is a large part of the movement that is addressing some of the challenges faced by individuals with an intellectual disability in our communities today. The provision of the Special Olympics Get Into It curriculum to mainstream and inclusive schools fosters a greater understanding and involvement with Special Olympics athletes while the Unified Sports program remains the most effective tool to integration as teams are made up of equal numbers of Special Olympics and mainstream athletes. The Athlete Leadership Program (ALPs) is not so much an initiative as a philosophy that is integrated into all aspects of the Special Olympics movement. With training and encouragement, Special Olympics athletes take up positions such as Global Messengers in which they advocate for the program at public forums; athlete representatives in which they form councils and influence rules and criteria applied in Special Olympics; sports related positions such as coach, official or event volunteer and governance such as the position of Board member that each program reserves for an athlete. Key partnerships In 2006, Special Olympics Africa teamed up with FIFA to ensure that the game of football reaches a greater number of athletes in 3 selected programs, namely Botswana, Namibia and Tanzania. Working hand in hand with local football federations to ensure that coaches are adequately trained resulted in a further 750 athletes being involved in this popular sport. The success of this pilot saw the Football for Hope project expand to a further 7 programs and today over 3000 athletes have benefited from this unique partnership. Furthermore, the project incorporates the Healthy Athletes program, so not only do the athletes benefit on the field, but off the field the athletes are provided with free medical screening. Special Olympics Africa is continuing to work closely with allied sport and development organizations to develop partnerships that ensure that Special Olympics athletes in the region deservedly benefit from the aid and resources that are already reaching the continent. Vision 2010 Special Olympics Africa currently accounts for only 3% of Special Olympics athletes worldwide, however this figure is set to reach 4.5% by 2010 as the global movement reaches out to 3 million athletes. The athlete growth will be coupled with growth in the number of trained coaches and volunteers and a focus on local program development to ensure that each athlete receives a minimum of 3 competition opportunities per year. On the back of poor health services and widespread epidemics, Special Olympics Africa expects to deliver health screening services to 20% of the 140 000 projected athletes and use this unique tool to improve awareness around people with intellectual disabilities and their health needs. This focus will be extended to national governments and international development agencies to ensure that the needs of intellectual disabilities both register on their radar and are addressed in their programs. Many athletes testify to the fact that their lives have literally been turned around through their involvement in Special Olympics. The same is slowly becoming true for whole communities and even countries that have embraced the Special Olympics movement and it is projected that through highlighting these positive testimonials, that the stigma around intellectual disability will progressively be dissolved and more families will bring their athletes forward to celebrate their abilities rather than shame their disability. In conclusion Today, at 60 different local Special Olympics competitions the world over, athletes are repeating the words the gladiators first used when they entered the arena “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.” And so beyond sport and disability and health and inclusion, Special Olympics is about being brave. Brave enough to change humanity. References [1.] World Health Organization, 2001 World Health Report, Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope, (http://www.who.int/whr/2001/en/index.html), 2001. [2.] Special Olympics Inc., Special Olympics 2006 Census Report (Internal). (Washington, DC: Special Olympics Inc., 2007) [3.] Sarah M. Horwitz, Bonnie D. Kerker, Pamela L. Owens, Edward Zigler, The Health Status and needs of Individuals with Mental Retardation. (Connecticut: Yale University, 2000), 135-153. Contact Dr John Dow Jr Managing Director Special Olympics Africa Washington, DC. USA Email: jdow@specialolympics.org http://www.icsspe.org/portal/index.php?w=1&z=5 Special Olympics: Improving the Lives of Individuals with an Intellectual Disability in Africa Annemarie van Wieringen