Special Olympics Healthy Athletes®
The Special Olympics Healthy Athletes® program is designed to help Special Olympics athletes improve their health and fitness and their ability to train and compete in Special Olympics through the provision of free health screenings and referrals where necessary.
Objectives:

• To improve access and health care for Special Olympics athletes at event-based health screening clinics;
• To make referrals to local health practitioners where appropriate;
• To train health care professionals and students about the needs and care of people with intellectual disabilities;
• To collect, analyze and disseminate data on the health status and needs of people with intellectual disabilities; and
• To advocate for improved health policies and programs for persons with intellectual disabilities.

Disciplines:

• Special Smiles®  (1993)
• Opening Eyes®   (1991)
• Healthy Hearing  (2000)
• FUNfitness  (1999)
• Health Promotion  (2001)
• Fit Feet   (2003)
• MedFest   (2004)

Healthy Athletes screenings are conducted at Special Olympics Games at all levels – local, state/provincial, national, regional and world.  Programs are supported by cash donations, significant in-kind donations of health equipment, products and volunteer health professionals and students, major cash sponsorships from organizations such as Lions Clubs International, and local support from many health-related organizations and industries.

As a result of “Train-the-Trainer” programs conducted at the last three Special Olympics World Games, Healthy Athletes has been able to expand rapidly. Some 1,000 new clinical directors across the Healthy Athletes disciplines have been trained.  Additionally, hundreds more clinical directors have been qualified through regional Train-the-Trainer programs.   Currently, some 500 screening events are conducted each year, attracting more than 60,000volunteer health professionals who provide valuable health services and acquire new knowledge and hands-on experience in treating people with intellectual disabilities.

Clinical screening protocols utilized in the Healthy Athletes program are developed by leading professionals in their disciplines.  A number of professional standards organizations have helped to develop or validate clinical screening procedures used in the Healthy Athletes program, including, for example, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Optometric Association, American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine and American Physical Therapy Association.

Special Smiles® (1993) 
Special Smiles offers dental screenings, health education and prevention services, and refers athletes to potential sources of treatment and follow-up care. At a Special Smiles event, dental professionals provide the following services to athletes:
Oral screenings;

• Oral health education;
• Individually fitted sports mouth guards, if needed;
• Oral health education and personal prevention products; and,
• Information for follow-up care by community-based dentists.

Athletes, coaches, and families receive education about the importance of good oral hygiene habits and are instructed in correct tooth brushing and flossing methods.

Suggestion on the criteria for Clinical Director: licensed dentist or dental hygienist.

Opening Eyes® (1991) 
Opening Eyes, introduced to Special Olympics in 1991, conducts extensive vision screening and provides athletes with prescription daily and sports eyewear. Through a global partnership of SOI and Lions Clubs International (LCI), and with corporate support from Safilo, Essilor, and Liberty Optical, SO athletes receive the following:

• Extensive vision and eye health tests and refraction for those requiring further screening;
• Prescription eyeglasses, if needed;
• Prescription protective sports eyewear, if appropriate; and,
• Referral for follow-up care.

LCI has been committed to global blindness prevention and sight conservation programs for more than 80 years. The collaborative effort has brought eye care to more SO athletes around the world than would have been possible otherwise. The partnership has tripled the amount of quality vision care available to all SO athletes through grants to individual SO Programs worldwide. The SOI-Lions Clubs International partnership uniquely serves the worldwide volunteer community. Eye health professionals who perform clinical screenings are joined by local volunteer Lions Club members who handle athlete registration, distribution of glasses and protective sports goggles, and the some of the less  technical testing, e.g. near and far visual acuity and color vision testing. When further follow up care is required referrals are made.

Suggestion on the criteria for Clinical Director: Vision Care Professional, Licensed Optometrist or Ophthalmologist.

Healthy Hearing (2000) 
Healthy Hearing provides external ear canal inspection, evoked otoacoustic emissions screening, tympanometry, and pure tone screening for those with identified need.  Individual molded swimming ear plugs are offered at many Healthy Hearing screening events and referral and access to hearing aids is beginning to be offered. Healthy Hearing assesses the hearing of individual athletes, and reports to coaches and caregivers if any follow-up care is needed.

If an athlete does not pass the initial screening, at least two other assessments can be conducted for the middle ear. The results of the screening are noted and given to the athlete and coach, accompanied by comments and professional judgments. Athletes may be referred for earwax removal, further testing of middle ear problems or management of hearing loss.

• Hearing examination
• Hearing Health Education
• Prescription protective ears plugs, if appropriate
• Referral for follow-up care

Suggestion on the criteria for Clinical Director: A properly certified Audiologist or Speech-Language Pathologist. 

SO FUNfitness (1999) 
FUNfitness, developed by the American Physical Therapy Association for SOI, has been a part of SO events since 1999. Physical therapists, assisted by physical therapist assistants and students, provide an assessment of athlete flexibility, functional strength, balance, and aerobic condition. Flexibility of hamstring, calf, shoulder rotator and hip flexor muscles; functional strength of the abdominal, upper extremity, grip and lower extremity muscles; static and dynamic balance; and, aerobic fitness are assessed and used as the basis for one-on-one education and on-site consultation to athletes and coaches on how to improve performance. Physical therapists also discuss with athletes, families, and coaches the components of a good fitness program for risk prevention and make recommendations for optimal function in sports training and competition so that the athletes can train and compete safely.

• Physical Education
• Flexibility, Strength, Balance screening
• Referral for follow-up care

Suggestion on the criteria for Clinical Director: A licensed Physical Therapist is the preferable choice for Clinical Director. In situations where it has been difficult to identify a PT, and when interest has been expressed by a licensed or registered Physical Therapist Assistant, the PTA can be trained to become a CD. The PTA can definitely coordinate the event, solicit funding and recruit volunteers. However, they must work in conjunction with a physical therapist to identify volunteer PTs, the only professionals who can perform the specific tests in FUNfitness.

SO Health Promotion (2001)
Health Promotion focuses on healthy lifestyles and the facilitation of healthy choices by athletes in the areas of nutrition, bone health, hydration, sun safety, and tobacco use prevention and cessation. The rationale for SO to promote overall health is the long-standing awareness that people with ID frequently develop chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, obesity and diabetes, and that they tend to develop these conditions at earlier stages of life.
 
Health Promotion uses interactive and non-interactive educational tools and motivational information to encourage SO athletes to improve their nutritional habits, keep physically active, and modify lifestyles to lower disease risk. The nutrition component includes athlete education, conducted in a fun environment, about the importance of good eating habits; this component is adapted regionally to include locally available examples of healthy foods. Height and weight measurements are taken to calculate BMI. In the sun safety component, athletes learn about the dangers of exposure to the sun and how to protect themselves while training and competing in sports. Education in tobacco prevention and cessation is also provided. Bone density screening and education on how to build strong bones are now being provided at most events. 

• Nutrition / Foods
• Height / Weight screening
• Bone Denist screening
• Sun Safety / Somke
• Referral for follow-up care

Suggestion on the criteria for Clinical Director: Dietician, Physician, Nurse, PT, Health Educator, someone with Public Health background.

SO Fit Feet (2003) 
Fit Feet was developed 2003 in collaboration with the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine, based in part on anecdotal reports from podiatric doctors about frequent foot and ankle pain in this population. Early Fit Feet screening events confirmed the extent of podiatric concerns in athletes with ID, concerns that were undoubtedly impacting sports performance. Healthy Athletes has developed Fit Feet to evaluate foot and ankle conditions. Athletes receive foot and ankle screening for deformities and are checked for proper shoes and socks. Education is provided in proper footwear and care of the feet and toes. When indicated, referrals are made for follow-up care.

• Biomechanics screening
• Foot care and Treatment
• Referral for follow-up care

Suggestion on the criteria for Clinical Director: Should be a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM) or have similar training, able to assist with garnering corporate sponsorship, networking, and soliciting, train local volunteers, work within the guidelines of the local program to coordinate events yearly, ensure proper data collection and quality assurance, and develop follow-up referral for athletes.

SO MedFest® (2004) 
Since the earliest days of Special Olympics, “medical volunteer days” have been organized in order to help athletes obtain the necessary sports physical exam for participation in SO.  In 1999, medical volunteers in Chicago coined the term “MedFest” to describe these events and, in 2004, SOI adopted this concept as a new Healthy Athletes discipline. This event also offers Special Olympics a unique opportunity to exhibit local sports offerings and other opportunities to incoming athletes. 

The purpose of MedFest is fivefold:

• to provide a high quality sports physical to people with ID, 
• to expose physicians, nurses and other healthcare providers to the ID population, 
• to recruit new athletes to SO,
• to retain existing SO athletes and,
• Suggestion on the criteria for Clinical Director:  Physician, Medical Doctors (MD), Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), Chiropractic Medicine (DC), Registered Nurses (RNs)