Motivations for joining the Special Olympics

The Special Olympics have competitions from the local level to the national level. In the 2011 National Games there were over 3000 participants and throughout the world there are 3.1 million participants that take the oath "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.^[1] " These participants have many different motivations for joining the Special Olympics. The most obvious being physical benefits like reducing the trend of obesity and cardiovascular disease. The participants are also shown to achieve emotional and social benefits such as enhancing social competence and gaining self confidence. Many studies around the participants of the Special Olympics point to the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) ^[2]

Involvement

Special Olympians get involved with the Special Olympics organization in different ways. Most (87%) join Special Olympics programs before the age of 18 either through a school based program or a community based program.^[3] Many reasons for the initial interest of the athlete to join the Special Olympics are due to SDT. The athlete joins to have fun, establish a sense of self identity as well as achieving trophies and metals.^[4] It is typical once an athlete gets involved in a Special Olympic program to stay within the program for 11–20 years. During this time the athletes, along with training for their event once a week, participate in social activities with teammates outside of training.^[3] These participants are able to feel comfortable and really build relationships with their teammates because most coaches of special olympic teams have stated that participants stay on their team for six or more years in the same sport.^[3] This is magnified by having a supportive environment from family, friends, coaches and teammates.^[4] Families have stated that they support their athlete to join the Special Olympics because of all the participants involved in the Special Olympics. Of all the athletes in the United States that participate in the Special Olympics only 3% make it to compete at the global level, however 38% compete at the state level and the majority, 52% , compete at the local or regional level.^[3]

Physical Benefits

Getting involved in the Special Olympics is also a way to have these athletes engage in physical activity. A study done shows that there is a very noticeable disconnect between the importance of exercise in adults with special needs and the willingness to complete these daily exercises. Studies like these have also shown children and adults with special needs respond differently to physical exercise. This directly relates to the high levels of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and low muscle capacity in adults with special needs.^[5] By not having the muscle capacity adults with special needs also do not have what is considered average endurance, this along with producing health risks puts a hinderance on the ability for these adults to perform at work.^[5] Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death for the United States population, there is no exception for adults with special needs. Cardiovascular disease is actually more prevalent in adults with special needs, it accounts for up to 50% of deaths in certain populations.^[6]

The U.S._Department_of_Health_and_Human_Services (USDHHS) states that regular physical activity greatly reduces risk for morbidity and mortality associated with chronic diseases, diabetes, certain cancers and obesity.^[7] The physical activity recommendations stay consistent throughout special needs youth. The recommendations say that a child should participate in 60 minutes or more of age and developmentally appropriate physical activity every day of the week.^[7] These aforementioned diseases or illnesses start to come about when these kids are not meeting this recommendation.

Psychological Benefits

Many athletes that participate in the Special Olympics gain much more than just physical fitness. Athletes that join the Special Olympics organization have been shown to have an increased self worth and social competence. Generally, competence comes from a positive self worth and positive motivation.^[8] Many studies have been produced to find out how big of an impact Special Olympics has been on the lives of its participants. A study done at York University has shown that participants gain self-esteem, confidence,and independence. These athletes have also been able to promote community understanding of people with disabilities.^[8] These studies have also shown these changes to take place after an 8-10 week training period, but with some athletes it only took 1–2 days.^[8] Family support, understanding and involvement also increases with the participants confidence, once the athlete is more invested than the family becomes invested as well.^[8]

The USDHHS states that by meeting the physical recommendations on a daily basis, it will lead to positive behavior, happiness, and intellectual and social outcomes in youth.^[7]

Opposition

There are some views that discourage members to join the Special Olympics. Some feel that the Special Olympics in itself are a form of segregation. This is because of the necessity to have a disability to participate. Some studies have shown that Special Olympic events do not lead to the reduction of prejudice and also reinforces the stereo type of people with intellectual disabilities.^[9] The relationships made are also said to be surface level and short termed. Especially between the participants and the volunteers. Many volunteers are just in charge of helping out and setting up events and get very little to no action with the athletes besides a few side conversations. This leads to making acquaintances and then maybe keeping in touch after the closing ceremonies of the Special Olympics.^[9] On top of these views, people with this view continue to say that the Special Olympic events promote a lack of functional skill and that the events are not age appropriate which further widens the gap between people with special needs and those temporarily able bodied.^[9]

References

1. ^ "Special Olympics". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_olympics. Retrieved 17 October 2011. 
2. ^ "Special Olympics 2010 USA National Games". http://www.2010specialolympics.org/. Retrieved 15 October 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Siperstein, Gary; Harada, Coreen; Parker, Robin; Hardman,Michael;McGuire,Jayne. "A Comprehensive National Study of Special Olympics Programs in the United States". http://specialolympicseurasia.org/uploadedFiles/LandingPage/WhatWeDo/Research_Studies_Desciption_Pages/A%20Comprehensive%20National%20Study%20of%20Special%20Olympics%20Programs%20in%20the%20United%20States.pdf. Retrieved 17 October 2011. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Lavallee, David (2005). "The Digest". Sport & Exercise Psychology 27 (2): 261–265. http://journals.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/SiteName/Documents/DocumentItem/4836.pdf. Retrieved 19 October 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Fernhall, Bo (April 1993). "Physical fitness and exercise training of individuals with mental retardation". Medicine & Science in Sports & Medicine 25: 442–450. http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1993-38038-001. Retrieved 20 October 2011. 
6. ^ Horwitz, Sarah (15). The health status and needs of individuals with mental retardation. http://soi-prod5.specialolympics.org/NR/rdonlyres/e5lq5czkjv5vwulp5lx5tmny4mcwhyj5vq6euizrooqcaekeuvmkg75fd6wnj62nhlsprlb7tg4gwqtu4xffauxzsge/healthstatus_needs.pdf. Retrieved 20 October 2011. 
7. ^ ^{a b c} Pan, Chien-Yu; Frey, Georgia C. (May 2, 2006). "Physical Activity Patterns in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disordres". Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 36 (5): 597–606. http://www.springerlink.com/content/jgv34615mx677284/. Retrieved 7 November 2011. 
8. ^ ^{a b c d} Weiss, Jonathan; Diamon, Terry; Denmark, Jerry; Lavold Benedicte (July/August 2003). "Involvement in Special Olympics and its relations to self-concept and actual competency in participants with developmental disabilities". Research in Developmental Disabilities 24 (4): 281–305. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S089142220300043X. Retrieved 21 October 2011. 
9. ^ ^{a b c} Storey, Keith (2004). "The Case Against the Special Olympics". Journal of Disability Policy Studies 15 (1): 35–42. http://dps.sagepub.com/content/15/1/35.full.pdf+html. Retrieved 9 November 2011.