NIDRR Project Results Used by Special Olympics International to Evaluate Impact of Sports Program.

Special Olympics International (SOI) has begun an extensive research effort that uses an assessment of adult self-determination developed by The Arc of the United States with funding from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). SOI will examine the impact of integrated recreation on the social competence and self-determination of people with mental retardation. SOI, founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, has a mission to provide children and adults with mental retardation with year-round sports training and athletic, Olympic-type sports competition. SOI feels involvement in sports training and competition benefits people with mental retardation physically, mentally, socially and spiritually. In addition, it strengthens families and the community at large, both through participation and observation, by uniting all in better understanding people with mental retardation in an environment of equality, respect and acceptance. The positive effects of Special Olympics have often been the subject of research; the latest example of this is recent research conducted by Yale researchers Dykens and Cohen on the "Effects of Special Olympics International on Social Competence in Persons with Mental Retardation."SOI recently added a new Department of Policy and Research to its organization with the primary purpose of conducting and funding research to promote the physical and mental health of persons with mental retardation through developing strategies such as community inclusion. Dr. Timothy Baker, SOI's Senior Research Manager and a member of the NCDDR Multicultural Research and Dissemination Task Force, recently learned about The Arc's NIDRR-funded Field Initiated Research project, "Promoting Choice and Self-Determination in Adults with Cognitive Disabilities" (CDFA 84.133, PR #H133G50178). The project is being conducted by The Arc, the nation's largest volunteer organization on mental retardation with more than 1,000 affiliated chapters and 140,000 members nationwide. Since 1990, The Arc has conducted research and developed materials to promote self-determination by youth and adults with mental retardation. These efforts resulted in the publication of The Arc's Self-Determination Scale, an inventory of self-determination skills and behaviors of students with cognitive disabilities, developed to facilitate student involvement in educational planning related to self-determination and to be used as a research tool in the promotion of this outcome. The Arc's NIDRR-funded project has developed an adult version of the Scale as part of the project's emphasis on promoting self-determination and increasing the participation of adults with mental retardation in their individual planning meetings. SOI's Baker particularly likes this research instrument "because it focuses on independent adjustment in the community rather than on behaviors to be 'managed,' and because it is designed to be used directly by persons with mental retardation rather than by third-parties such as caregivers."Working with Dr. Michael Wehmeyer, Assistant Director in The Arc's Department of Research and Program Services, and Principal Investigator of the NIDRR research project, SOI will conduct research using The Arc's Self- Determination Scale to evaluate the impact of participation in integrated recreation activities on social competence and individual self-determination. This research will provide an opportunity to further evaluate and expand the Scale's utility for adolescents and adults. SOI is currently translating the Scale into the Russian, Czech, Arabic and Spanish languages in order to conduct research in seven countries. Further work may also be on the horizon as The Arc and SOI discuss the viability of creating a version of the Scale for elementary-age students.

Reference:

Dykens, E. M. & Cohen, D. (1996, February). Effects of Special Olympics International on social competence in persons with mental retardation. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 35(2), 223-229.

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