Special Olympics Health Professions Student Grants  Examples of Funded Projects The following projects are among those that have received funding through the Special Olympics Health Professions Student Grants Program: Physical activity in children with mental retardation with and without Down syndrome as measured with the MTI Actigraph. The main objective of this study is to determine the physical activity level and patterns of children with mental retardation, with and without Down syndrome. A secondary objective is to determine the percentage of these children who are meeting the physical activity objectives currently recommended for adolescents in the Healthy People 2010 initiative.      Dawn E. Roberts, Bachelor’s Candidate in Exercise Science, University of Massachusetts Amherst, under advisement from Dr. Patty S. Freedson China and U.S. comparison study of attitudes of optometrists to vision care accessibility by intellectually disabled children. The objectives of this project are to explore the similarities and differences between optometrists in the United States and those in China in regard to their attitudes toward Special Olympics and to identify strategies for improving the contributions of optometrists in both countries to the Opening Eyes service provided by Special Olympics.      Chen Hao, Postdoctoral position at New England College of Optometry and Wenzhou Medical College in China, under advisement from Dr. Lu Fan Medical students’ attitudes about individuals with developmental disabilities, and the training they receive to care for them. This study, funded during the first year of the Special Olympics student grant program, surveyed 247 second-year medical students from four different U.S. medical schools to measure student attitudes on interacting with individuals with MR/DD and their opinions of the training they were receiving to care for members of this population.      Brett Gerstman, MD Candidate, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, under advisement from Dr. Philip B. May Promoting healthy hearing in Special Olympics Alabama athletes: follow-up on the Healthy Hearing screening program. This study’s main objectives are to determine the extent to which athletes given recommendations at Healthy Athletes screening events for follow-up hearing care pursued that care, to document the care provided, and to ascertain whether the desired outcomes were obtained. This data will be used to assess the overall effectiveness of the Healthy Hearing screening program as employed in Alabama and make recommendations for improving and further developing the program.      Amber C. Reith, Doctoral Candidate in Audiology, Auburn University, under advisement from Lawrence F. Molt Return to main Student Grants Program page.