“Last year, there were over 53,000 Special Olympics competitions in more than 170 countries and every one was a lesson in dignity and empowerment. At over 800 of those games, athletes not only played sports but also participated in health screenings, education, and referral services making Special Olympics the largest public health outreach effort in the world.” cont.
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Over on Special Olympics International’s blog, Chairman and CEO Tim Shriver highlights the gap that still exists between the healthcare community and people with intellectual disabilities. “The International AIDS Conference was held this year for the first time in the US since 1990,” Shriver writes. “But like every one before it, there was little attention to the needs of people with intellectual disabilities (ID).”
Here at Special Olympics Massachusetts, we’re constantly working to find ways to better serve and advocate for people with intellectual disabilities within the Bay State. That being said, it’s always important to remember that we’re all a part of this global movement.
In the words of Martin Luther King Jr., delivered at the Oberlin College commencement ceremony of 1965:
“Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. For some strange reason I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. And you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be—this is the interrelated structure of reality.”
Tim Shriver did an interview earlier this month with Katherine Marshall, senior fellow at Georgetown’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs and Visiting Professor in the School of Foreign Service. In it he touches upon the history of the movement and how he got involved, but also goes on to explain the differences of Special Olympics and Paralympics—two very different organizations that are often confused as one another by a misinformed public.
As Shriver goes on to state, “The Paralympics use the Olympic model to show that people with physical disabilities can achieve extraordinary physical feats. The Special Olympics model is that people with intellectual disabilities can achieve extraordinary human achievements. Special Olympics is not interested in an elite achiever, but rather that everyone has these elite achievements within themselves.”
It’s a wonderful article that also speaks to the inclusive nature of Special Olympics and where it’s headed in the coming years. It’s also interesting to note that Katherine Marshall’s daughter, currently at medical school at the University of Chicago, served in the Peace Corps in Guinea, the very organization that Tim’s father Sargent Shriver helped found in 1961. Small world.
Kerri Gilroy with Dikembe Mutombo at the inaugural NBA Cares Special Olympics Unity Sports basketball game in Orlando, FL.
My name is Kerri Gilroy and I am a Special Olympic Athlete in Hyannis, MA. I was chosen as one of 12 athletes to participate in the first ever NBA and Special Olympics Unity basketball game. It was an amazing experience. I am huge fan of sports and play pretty much all sports. However, I would have to say my favorite sport is basketball. Continue reading →
Courtney became a Unified Partner® in 2001 to participate in Special Olympics competitions with Alyssa. The enthusiasm Courtney exhibited for Alyssa and their special bond as sisters on and off the field prompted local coach, Mary Beth O’Neil to nominate both girls for the Special Olympics International Project Unify committee in 2008. Continue reading →
Evan Heller grew up with first-hand knowledge of those with intellectual disabilities with his mom serving as an intensive special needs teacher at the middle school in his town. Having individuals with intellectual disabilities in his life is so natural, at the young age of 18 he has already dedicated nearly a decade to Special Olympics. In this time he has taken on a variety of different positions with Special Olympics ranging from chaperone to coach to intern at the organization’s south section office.
This is a letter sent to Bob Johnson, president and CEO of Special Olympics Massachusetts from a Winter Games Volunteer; Jason Smith, USCG Sector Boston. It shows just how much being at a Special Olympics event can impact someone;
Bob,
Thank you and your wife for speaking with me yesterday afternoon and for letting the Coast Guard be part of SOMA’s Winter Olympics. Everyone that participated had only positive comments and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. As for me, there’s always a moment, when I realize why I love SO. I did not catch her name but there was one young female athlete (picture attached) during the bowling awards that was hysterical for receiving an award that I only assumed was gold. Continue reading →
Guest Post by Special Olympics Massachusetts Intern and Curry College Student Jillian Macomber:
Kerri Gilroy was “completely shocked” when she received the news that she was selected to participate in the Special Olympics NBA Cares Unity Sports Basketball Game game this weekend in Orlando, Florida. Kerri was one of twelve North American Special Olympics athletes chosen to participate in the game. Kerri’s challenges have not stopped her from following her dreams. If anything, they made her want to achieve them even more.
Kerri is 35 years old and has been playing basketball since she was 5 years old. Her passion for playing basketball stems from her siblings, whom she says “taught her how to play”. Since her siblings all played basketball, she felt they could share a common passion, together as a family. The first word that comes to mind when she steps on a basketball court? Teamwork. “I like doing everything I can to help the team and my teammates succeed! The skills you learn on the basketball court are invaluable and can be used to help you succeed in life”. With an answer like that, it is easy to imagine the unique person that Kerri is. With her passion to work and help others also comes with the personal gratification that she receives while playing basketball. She says, “Playing basketball makes me feel like all opportunities are wide open and that I can do anything because of the skills and lessons I have learned through the games. It is a place I am very comfortable, free of worries, confident, able to be myself as well as open up and have the camaraderie of it all”. Kerri had just summarized the beauty of team sports, the personal rewards and how they play an important role helping shaping people’s lives. Continue reading →
A young woman named Amelia was recently denied the opportunity to get on a waiting list for a kidney transplant because, according to the Nephrology Department at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, she is “mentally retarted”. The hospital deemed Amelia unworthy of this critical health-care procedure, based on their pre-conceived notions about her “quality-of-life” as well as “her mental delays”. The hospital even went so far as to say they would not even perform the transplant if Amelia’s family came up with a donor. They simply will not perform the procedure no matter what, essentially choosing to let Amelia… um… well let’s just say that Amelia’s mother says that the young girl’s future depends on this transplant.
People with intellectual disabilies deserve every right that “typical” people enjoy, including access to health care.
A disabiltiy does not define an individual’s “quality-of-life”.
A person with an intellectual disabiltiy is a person first! Any medical diagnosis is just a part of the overall picture of who that person is.
Those of us who work in this field, as well as family members of people with disabilities, and franlkly most people alive in the United States in 2012 have met countless individuals with intellectual disabilities who have contributed greatly to society and made the world an infinitely better place. We have also met some people with disabilities who have a poor quality of life. Just like we have met some people without disabilities who have made great societal contributions and some people without disabilities who have a poor quality of life. A person’s disability is not what defines her quality of life or worthiness to live her life.
Being refused medical care because of an intellectual diability is no different than being refused for one’s religion, or sexual orientation, or the color of one’s skin. It is an issue of basic human rights. It is up to all of us to speak up when we encounter instances like these. We cannot afford to remain silent.
Tyler Lagasse, a great all-around young man who is also a Special Olympics athlete, gave another incredible speech on Friday, November 18 at the House of Blues Boston at “Red, White, and Bid” , a fundraising event. Please take 7 minutes to watch and be inspired. It gets especially good when he starts quoting, “Dead Poet’s Society”:
Here is the transcript of the speech:
Good evening, and welcome to the city of Boston for the 2011 “Red, White, & Bid” to benefit Special Olympics Massachusetts. Let me say that it is an honor to be back in “Beantown” to speak to you all here again, and to be a part of this “special” fundraiser for this organization that has changed my life. Before I get to my main topic, I want to talk about one of my many special moments from the year 2011. This past summer, my Mom, my Dad, and myself got to travel to Iowa to attend a charity golf tournament to benefit autism awareness and make a speech there. I golfed in a foursome with people I never met before and on one hole I had to attempt a birdie putt from 73 feet, 7 inches. We were most likely going to end up with either a par or a bogey. Instead I ended up making the birdie putt. Not only did I make the putt, I won myself a pair of new golf shoes because I happened to have made the putt on the longest putt hole. That putt is an example of what people living with autism can do.
I owe my gifts and abilities to Special Olympics. They are the reason why I’m as successful as I can be. Thanks to them, some of my speeches have made their way into the internet. Also I got to be on The Golf Channel’s “Golf in America”, and I got to go to Iowa because someone there saw me on that show.
Because of all this, miracles truly do happen. You make them happen for not just me, but for the many athletes of Special Olympics. All of you standing before me on this Friday night in November have an obligation. Your obligation is to make a difference in the lives of those whom ½-century ago would be shut out of society for who they were and who they were not. Thanks to Special Olympics, the thousands of athletes get to display something that not one of them thought they had, COURAGE. I encourage you to display courage in and out of your place of work.
Here are four ways to make a difference in the lives of the Special Olympians. 1.) Being here at the “Red, White, & Bid” is a good place to start because the money being raised from this event is going to the programs and other Special Olympic sporting events. 2.) Being involved at the local level such as the volunteering, coaching, fundraising, and attending such Special Olympic fundraisers as the Jolly Jaunt, Polar Plunge, Over the Edge, and the Golf-a-thon. Those events are worthwhile and help Special Olympics immensely because they rely heavily on fundraisers to keep their programs going. 3.) I encourage you to be mentors at work and have your company or business hire those that have participated in sporting events for Special Olympics in the past. 4.) Encourage your fellow co-workers to sponsor events for Special Olympics.
There is this scene in the movie “The Dead Poets Society” where Robin Williams, the most gifted actor of his time, goes on and on about reading and writing poetry. He states that “we don’t read and write poetry because it is cute; we read and write poetry because we are members of the human race, and the human race is filled with passion. Now let me ask you something. Why do we get involved with Special Olympics? We don’t get involved to make money, or to see who wins and who loses, or to see which Special Olympic athlete will be the first pick of the draft in any sport. We get involved because those Special Olympic athletes are members of the human race just like you are. Now all of you Special Olympics supporters may have backgrounds in management, technology, science, medicine, law and other professions outside of sports. Those are all and I quote from Robin Williams “noble pursuits” and “necessary to sustain life”. But Special Olympics, grace, compassion, character, goodwill; those are the things that we stay alive for.
Let me wrap up my speech by including some words of wisdom. Remember that generosity is not just the lifeblood of Special Olympics; it is an essential tool for humankind. Your generosity will only take you so far. Together we can make a difference. Together we are the Special Olympics.
Tomorrow marks World Autism Day. Every April 2 since the year 2007, the world has recognized this date as a day to keep individuals with autism in their thoughts. While there are many different degrees of autism, the need to understand this is still very much on the minds of parents and family members around the world. http://www.worldautismawarenessday.org
As we know the cause of autism is a highly debated issue but the resources that are available for individuals with autism are growing. Whether they are in the school systems, private programs such as speech therapy and ones that help with social skills and even Special Olympics. But as they say, there’s still a long way to go.
It’s been pointed out to us on several occasions that many are unaware that Special Olympics programs are also provided for individuals with autism. The programs which involve over 25 different sports can help in more ways than we can count including providing people with an important social aspect to their lives. With an incredible amount of family support that goes along with a relationship with Special Olympics, the organization can be a great place for an individual with autism to grow and in some cases shine.
There are many success stories in Special Olympics including those athletes who just happen to have autism. One such athlete is Tyler Lagasse who was featured on the Golf Channel a few months back. We invite you to watch the video and see just what an athlete with autism can do.
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