special olympics healthy...
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Healthy Athletes® is a Special Olympics program that provides free health screenings and health education in a fun, welcoming environment with a focus on removing the anxiety people with intellectual disabilities often experience when faced with a visit to a medical professional. The impact of Healthy Athletes on the health and wellness of Special Olympics athletes around the world is significant! Since 1997, Healthy Athletes has discovered undetected health problems, alleviated pain and provided health services that otherwise would not be available.
Healthy Athletes is not only a program for athletes but,through training and hands-on experience at screenings, it is a program for health care students and professionals toincrease knowledge of best practices in caring for people with intellectual disabilities.
Screenings are offered in eight different health areas:
Importance and Impact: The Healthy Athletes Software (HAS) System is the largest database on the health of people with intellectual disabilities. In the United States, Special Olympics athletes are:
Accomplishments:
Provided more than 1 million screenings to Special Olympics athletes in the United States
Trained more than 130,00 health care professionals in the specific health care concerns of people with intellectual disabilities
Healthy Athletes Software (HAS) is the largest database of health data for people with intellectual disabilities in existence
Contributed to establishment of the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry and the signing of the Special Olympics Sports and Empowerment Act of 2004
Fit Feet MedFest FUN Fitness HealthPromotion
Special Olympics Lions Club
International Opening Eyes
Strong Minds Special Smiles HealthyHearing
46% 25% 8% 46% 17%
have at least one kind of skin or nail
condition
have untreated tooth decay
have permanenthearing loss
are obese adultsover age 20
have an eyedisease
Special OlympicsHealthy Athletes®
For more information, contact:
DDella NortonHealthy Athletes Manager,
Special Olympics WashingtonE-mail: [email protected]
The mark “CDC” is owned by the US Dept. of Health and Human Services and is used with permission. Use of this logo is not an endorsement by HHS or CDC of any particular product, service, or enterprise.
Official Health Partner:
CONTACT:Della Norton
Healthy Athletes Manager [email protected]
Fall Games Healthy Athletes Volunteer Opportunities Chiawana High School- Tri-Cities, WA
Saturday, November, 23 4:00pm-9:30pm
Opening Eyes Optometrists, Ophthalmologists, Optometry Students, Optician and Optical Tech/Assistants are needed to assist with the 12 station visual evaluation.
Strong MindsSocial Workers, Psychiatrists, or Psychologists will evaluate athletes' coping skills and lead interactive activities and conversations about stress, coping, and emotional wellness. Individuals and students with wellness experience will assist with evaluating athletes' coping skills and leading interactive activities and conversations about emotional wellbeing.
Fit Feet Podiatrists, foot care specialists, and Podiatry students will evaluate athletes’ ankles, feet, lower extremity biomechanics, and proper shoe and sock gear.
General volunteers – will lead athlete registration, discipline check-ins, data entry, and educational stations at screenings.
Tech Support – will assist clinical volunteers with tablet data entry and troubleshooting.
Sign up to volunteer here:https://2019fallgames.my-trs.com/
Official Health Partner:
Fit Feet offers podiatric screenings to evaluate ankles, feet, lower extremity biomechanics, and proper shoe and sock gear to participating athletes. Many athletes suffer from foot and ankle pain, or deformities that impair their performance. Often Special Olympics athletes don’t wear the most appropriate shoes and socks for their particular sport. To alleviate these problems, volunteer foot specialists work with athletes to evaluate problems of the feet, ankles and lower extremity biomechanics.
Importance and Impact
Fit Feet screenings have found that a large percentage of Special Olympics athletes in the U.S. have untreated foot conditions.
• 64% have gait abnormalities• 44% have skin and nail problems• 29% have bone deformations• 51% of Special Olympics athletes in the
U.S. are wearing the wrong size shoe
The mission of Special Olympics Fit Feet is to improve the quality of life and long-term health of Special Olympics athletes and people with intellectual disabilities. Fit Feet screenings give athletes, coaches and caregivers a better understanding of any existing and previously unknown foot problems. They also:
• Offer free podiatric screenings to evaluateankles, feet, lower extremity biomechanics,and proper shoes for Special Olympicsathletes.
• Increase access to foot care for SpecialOlympics athletes, as well as all people withintellectual disabilities.
• Raise podiatrists awareness of foot concernsof people with special needs includingdifficulties involved in accessing treatment.
• Provide a list of regional podiatrists who carefor people with special needs to all athleteswho participate in the Special Olympics FitFeet program.
• Develop a body of knowledge about properfoot care of children and adults with specialneeds.
Purpose of the Screening and Goals:
CONTACTDella Norton: Healthy Athletes Manager Special Olympics WashingtonE-mail: [email protected]
Vinai Prakash: Fit Feet Clinical Director Special Olympics Washington Email: [email protected]
Special Olympics Healthy AthletesFit Feet
The mark “CDC” is owned by the US Dept. of Health and Human Services and is used with permission. Use of this logo is not an endorsement by HHS or CDC of any particular product, service, or enterprise.
Official Health Partner:
The Special Olympics Lions Clubs International Opening Eyes® program is changing lives in communities, providing free eye assessments, prescription eyewear, sunglasses and sports goggles to people with intellectual disabilities. At the end of the 12-step visual exam, a decision is made if new glasses may be helpful. Through the generosity of our corporate sponsors Essilor (lenses) and Safilo (frames), athletes choose from a selection of free eyewear. Athletes who do not need any corrective lenses receive plano sunglasses provided by Safilo.
Importance and ImpactOpening Eyes examinations have found that a large percentage of Special Olympics athletes in the U.S. have untreated eye problems.• 4% have never had an eye exam• 17% have an eye disease• 48% need new prescription glasses
There are several ways that the Opening Eyes program helps increase athletes’ access to care:
1. Providing vision exams, refractions, anddispensing of appropriate eyewear toathletes during Special Olympics events.
2. Making permanent changes in theattitudes of the optometrists/eyecarepractitioners and optometry studentswho volunteer to participate in theOpening Eyes vision exams.
3. Educating athletes, their guardians,coaches and administrators about theimportance of vision to the performanceof athletes in sports, school and work.
4. Providing continuing education toour volunteer optometrists/eyecarepractitioners in order to familiarize themwith the best techniques for testing thispatient population.
5. Collecting and analyzing screening data inorder to raise awareness and to advocatefor improved eye care for people withintellectual disabilities.
CONTACT
Della Norton: Healthy Athletes Manager, Special Olympics WashingtonE-mail: [email protected]
Michelle V Carle MMEd, MD, FRCSC, ABO: Opening Eyes Clinical Director, Special Olympics WashingtonE-mail: [email protected]
Purpose and Goals:
The mark “CDC” is owned by the US Dept. of Health and Human Services and is used with permission. Use of this logo is not an endorsement by HHS or CDC of any particular product, service, or enterprise.
Official Health Partner:
Strong Minds is an interactive learning activity focused on developing adaptive coping skills. Competition provides a natural opportunity to develop active strategies for maintaining emotional wellness under stress, such as: thinking positive thoughts, releasing stress and connecting with others. Athletes try a few different active coping strategies as they move through the stations. Before exiting, athletes identify the strategies they like best and volunteers provide them with visual reminders to use these tools in competition and in daily life.
Importance and ImpactPilot data from Strong Minds events found that a large percentage of Special Olympics athletes in the U.S. face significant stresses on a daily basis, but have access to only a few adaptive coping strategies (Hartley & MacLean, 2010)
• 12% of athletes report having no copingstrategies
• 62% mostly use avoidant strategies (e.g.,not think the stressor), which is associatedwith increased depression
• 26% mostly use active strategies (e.g.doing something to help themselvesto feel better), which is associated withincreased well-being
• Increase athlete awareness of activecoping strategies that can be used incompetition and in life
• Support athletes to identify stressmanagement/coping strategies thatthey like and think the will use
• Provide resources on good coping forathletes, coaches & caregivers
• Start conversations about stress,coping and emotional wellness
• Provide training and experiencesfor mental health student andprofessionals to discuss emotionalwell-being with individuals withIntellectual Disabilities.
Purpose of the Exam and Goals:
CONTACT
Della Norton: Healthy Athletes Manager, Special Olympics Washington E-mail: [email protected]
David O'Neal, MS, LMHC, MHP: Strong Minds Clinical Director, Special Olympics WashingtonE-mail: david.o'[email protected]
Special Olympics Healthy AthletesStrong Minds
The mark “CDC” is owned by the US Dept. of Health and Human Services and is used with permission. Use of this logo is not an endorsement by HHS or CDC of any particular product, service, or enterprise.
Official Health Partner: