The Special Olympics brings the spectacle of sport and human achievement to the Middle East March 15-19. Though played out on the Arabian Gulf, the impact of the courage displayed on the fields, unified competition, and strides into promoting healthcare for the most underserved on the globe will send ripples across the seas. Here are 3 important ways Special Olympics Abu Dhabi will transform society.

Ways Special Olympics Abu Dhabi Will Transform Society

50 years and the Power of One

Special Olympics turned 50 this past year. It is hard to comprehend the impact of this one organization on our world, but simpler if we re-trace history. At a time those with intellectual disabilities (ID) were commonly institutionalized, one woman, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, saw a potential that few others did. Perhaps because of her personal experience with sister Rosemary Kennedy’s mental challenges, she had a vision to bring those like her sibling out of the shadows.

That “power of one” led her to found Camp Shriver in 1962. Today, Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports and humanitarian event for adults and children with intellectual disabilities, which makes it totally distinct from the Paralympics and Olympic Games. To date, more than 4.5 million athletes with ID have participated in the Games. How many other “ones” are in our world? You?

After 50 years of changing the game, Special Olympics has more than 170 different athlete programs. Its inclusionary athletic competitions, or “Unified Sports,” have grown dramatically worldwide. Since 1997, another cornerstone element has taken root; the Healthy Athlete initiative.

Inclusive Healthcare

As per the Special Olympics site, “despite severe need and higher health risks, people with intellectual disabilities are often denied health services and die on average 16 years sooner than the general population.” Since the inception of the Healthy Athletes program in 1997, athlete screenings have identified significant rates of obesity, untreated tooth decay, incorrect lens prescriptions, hearing loss, balance deficits, and ill-fitting shoe wear in that population. Clearly, this effort is changing the game in healthcare for those most underserved, those with ID.

Special Olympics Abu Dhabi will highlight seven disciplines of medicine:

• Special Smiles (dentists provide oral healthcare)
• Fit Feet (podiatric screenings)
• FUNfitness (physical therapists assess balance, strength, flexibility, and endurance of each athlete)
• Opening Eyes (vision care professionals partner with Lions Club International to assess and provide athletes with new prescription eyewear, sunglasses, and sports goggles)
• Healthy Hearing (audiologist care)
• Strong Minds (teaches the importance of emotional well-being)
• Health Promotion (wellness and self-care skills).

The 5 Key Objectives of the Healthy Athletes Program

1. Improve access and health care for Special Olympics athletes at event-based and other health screening clinics
2. Make referrals or recommendations for follow-up to community health professionals, as appropriate
3. Train health care professionals, students and others about the needs and care of people with intellectual disabilities
4. Collect, analyze and disseminate data on the health status and needs of people with intellectual disabilities
5. To advocate for improved health policies and programs for people with intellectual disabilities

Special Olympics Healthy Athletes is designed to help Special Olympics athletes improve their health and fitness. The ultimate goal of Healthy Athletes is to improve each athlete’s ability to train and compete in Special Olympics as well as in life.

• Special Olympics Healthy Athletes Programs directly support inclusion
• Millions of people have benefitted as a result of the work done through the Healthy Athletes Program

FACT: Since it started in 1997, Special Olympics has trained more than 240,000 healthcare professionals and students to treat people with intellectual disabilities.

*** Due to the Healthy Athletes data collected over the past two decades, persons with ID have been officially designated as a “medically underserved population” by the American Medical Association. Stay tuned to the U.S. Congress and the efforts they will make to do the same in the near future.

The Middle East “Meets the Determined”

At the Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi, over 7,000 athletes competed in 24 sporting events. Stories of courage, determination, growth, and sportsmanship were spotlighted on television, on billboards, even on the vehicles in the streets! In a part of the world that those with ID would typically be kept in the shadows, this is particularly relevant.

In 2017, Special Olympics World Games Chairman and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces announced Abu Dhabi would host the largest sports and humanitarian event in the world – the Special Olympics World Games. Even more profound was his announcement that athletes would ID would now be deemed “People of Determination.” What wisdom!

#SpecialOlympics Chairman Tim Shriver talks about the UAE’s commitment to people of determination https://t.co/7BOlHWHRLB #MeetTheDetermined @WorldGamesAD pic.twitter.com/PYLqLaBe7s

— The National (@TheNationalUAE) March 14, 2019