Objectives:

The key objectives of Special Olympics Healthy Athletes are:

• To improve access and health care for Special Olympics athletes at event-based health screening clinics;
• To train and educate health care professionals and students in the health professions about the special needs of, how to communicate with, and care for people with intellectual disabilities [mental retardation];
• To collect and analyze data and communicate about the health conditions and needs of people with intellectual disabilities [mental retardation]; and
• To raise public and professional awareness of the health care problems that Special Olympics athletes face.

Components:

There are many different components that are offered as part of the Healthy Athletes program. They are the following:

• Special Olympics – Lions Club International Opening Eyes Program – an extensive vision care program brought to the international arena by generous donation from the Lions Club International Foundation.
• Special Olympics Special Smiles – a dental screening designed to provide athletes with oral hygiene education, nutrition education and free protective mouth guards for those athletes who compete in sports that may require such protection.
• Special Olympics Healthy Hearing – an audiological screening designed to assess the prevalence of possible hearing loss among Special Olympics athletes, and to identify specific athletes who need audiological evaluations to determine if a hearing loss exists and requires treatment. This program is not currently offered in Oklahoma.
• Special Olympics FunFitness – supported by the American Physical Therapy Association, FunFitness is a program designed to educate and assess Special Olympics’ athlete’s flexibility, functional strengths and the importance of physical fitness as a competing athlete.
• Special Olympics Health Promotion – an initiative designed to improve the overall image and health status of the Special Olympics athlete. Using interactive educational tools and distributing motivational information, the program encourages athletes to improve their nutrition, stay physically active and modify lifestyles to lower disease risk.

If you would like more information on sponsoring this program, contact Derek Cain at 918-481-1234.