Healthy Athletes at Special Olympics 2008 Invitational Winter Games a Success

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The Special Olympics 2008 Invitational Winter Games in Boise, Idaho, provided the perfect event for a combined Train-the-Trainer and Healthy Athletes screening. The training took place on 24 February and resulted in 45 newly trained Clinical Directors across six disciplines.  

Healthy Athletes screenings started on 25 February and lasted through 27 February. Out of 321 athletes registered for the Games, 177 (55 percent) were screened. Key findings reported from the screenings were:

• Fit Feet found that nearly 78 percent of the athletes screened had gait abnormalities and 64 percent had nail or skin abnormalities on their feet;
• 43 percent of the athletes screened at Healthy Hearing had blocked or partially blocked ear canals;
• Nearly 28 percent of adults screened at Health Promotion were overweight and nearly 28 percent were obese;
• Nearly 27 percent of athletes screened at Opening Eyes were found to have vision problems; and
• Volunteer dentists at Special Smiles found that nearly 64 percent had untreated tooth decay.

Special Olympics athletes get checked in to start their Healthy Athletes screenings at the 2008 Invitational Winter Games held in Idaho on the 25-27 February		A Special Olympics-Lions Clubs International Opening Eyes volunteer helps an athlete pick out the perfect pair of glasses at the 2008 Invitational Winter Games

Both the Games Organizing Committee and Special Olympics Idaho's Clinical Directors pulled together a large group of volunteers in a small amount of time. Special recognition goes out to:

• Jennifer Clayton of Special Smiles
• Shanna Endow of Special Olympics Idaho
• Amy Haugen of Special Smiles
• Jennifer Holst of Healthy Hearing
• Dr. Mel Miller of Healthy Hearing
• Wade Morehead of the GOC
• Virginia Schwartz of Health Promotion
• Samantha Smith of FUNfitness
• Dr. Jack Zarybnisky of Opening Eyes

Preschoolers from COSSA Preschool in Wilder, Idaho, participate in a Special Smiles demonstration for Young Athletes at the 2008 Special Olympics Invitational Winter Games. (Photo By: Sally Lemmon)

Young Athletes Screened at Boise Healthy Athletes Venue
The Special Olympics Young Athletes and Healthy Athletes Programs collaborated once again to screen future Special Olympics athletes, this time during the 2008 Special Olympics Invitational Winter Games on 27 February in Boise, Idaho.

Preschoolers from COSSA Preschool in Wilder, Idaho, participated in a demonstration Young Athletes program for children between the ages of 2½ to 7 years with intellectual disabilities. Short, hands-on demonstrations of a few Healthy Athletes disciplines for the participating Young Athletes, including Special Smiles, took place.

Young Athletes engages children with intellectual disabilities through developmentally appropriate play activities. It is designed to foster physical, cognitive and social development. Family members of children with intellectual disabilities are offered a community network experience that supports the development of their young children. Young Athletes also raises awareness about the abilities of children with intellectual disabilities through inclusive peer participation, demonstrations and other events and can be used in a variety of environments, from individual family settings to classrooms to community programs.

Healthy Athletes Celebrates 10 Years with Video, Book
In honor of Healthy Athletes' 10th anniversary, Special Olympics International has developed an eight-minute video about the history of the program and its successes over the years. The video and a 10-year book will be part of a Healthy Athletes Kit which will be available later this year. Special Olympics International will work with the Healthy Athletes Regional Managers to translate both the video and book into the seven official Special Olympics languages. Copies of the Healthy Athletes Kit will be mailed out to regional offices when it is complete.

Be a fan of Special Olympics and of Healthy Athletes
Beginning in 2008, Special Olympics is launching a new, fully integrated marketing campaign called “Be a fan.” The “Be a fan” campaign will send the message of unity, acceptance, empowerment, dignity, courage, strength, pride, confidence and fun. We hope you will continue to support Special Olympics through your association with Healthy Athletes and encourage other people who are not already engaged in the movement to be a fan, too.

Internship Opportunity with Special Olympics International in Washington, DC
Special Olympics International is looking for undergraduate or graduate-level college students to work with us this summer at our Washington, DC, headquarters. The position will be funded through the Special Olympics Health Professions Student Grant Program, which can fund projects for up to US$3,500. The internship can be constructed around the student's interests, but could include: (1) working with the Sports Department to insert health education content in the coaches' manuals for each of 30 Special Olympics sports; (2) revamping existing train-the-trainer curriculum for Healthy Athletes Health Promotion program (strong writing skills needed); (3) enhancing the health literacy of educational materials directed at Special Olympics athletes through the development of new educational tools that address focus group feedback received from athletes about existing materials; (4) analyzing a database of health indicators on over 64,000 Special Olympics athletes from 159 countries and developing hypotheses, analyzing data, and developing health policy briefs reporting results; (5) developing a “research toolkit” for dissemination to internal and external stakeholders. The toolkit will package results of research studies for Special Olympics Programs (field offices) to use in advocating for improved state/provincial policies, for securing individual and corporate donations, and for public relations efforts; (6) creating a proposal in response to a National Institutes of Health RFP for a health literacy project related to people with intellectual disabilities; and (7) conducting literature reviews to inform development of RFPs for Special Olympics-commissioned research projects.