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Abstract #151580

Matthew Holder, MD, MBA¹, Dettrick Stith, PhD², Donna Bainbridge, PT, EdD, ATC³, Alice Lenihan, MPH, RD, LDN², Meaghan McHugh, MPH⁴, Ryan Murphy, MSc, MA⁵, Mary Pittaway, MS, RD², Joan Medlen, RD², Beverly Berkin, MA, CHES², Karla Sirianni, BSc⁵, and Stephen B. Corbin, DDS, MPH⁶. (1) American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry, 2120 Douglas Blvd. # 4, Louisville, KY 40205, 502.368.2348, mattholder@aadmd.org, (2) Special Olympics, 1133 19th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036, (3) Healthy Athletes, Special Olympics, 1133 19th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036, (4) Cancer and Tobacco Initiatives, Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, 1335 Piccard Dr, Lower Level, Rockville, MD 20854, (5) Sports and Competition Dept., Special Olympics Inc., 1133 19th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036, (6) Constituent Services and Support, Special Olympics International, 1133 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036

Approximately 1-3% of the population has intellectual disability (ID). Because of associated cardiopulmonary defects, musculoskeletal abnormalities, complex medication regimens, and a general lack of preventive health support, people with ID face a number of secondary health consequences which may inhibit their abilities to perform optimally in all domains of life, including sports physical activity.

Though the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes Program has identified and helped to alleviate many unmet health needs, there has never been a concerted effort to correlate health status improvement with sports skills development. In 2006, a new Special Olympics program was created which combines a thorough medical history adapted specifically for people with ID, physical examination; nutritional assessment; musculoskeletal assessment; and, sports skills assessment. These assessments combined with nutritional and prehabilitative counseling programs were tested.

One hundred and five athletes in three states were assessed. A comparison group (n = 35) received only general education; the interventional group (n = 70) received individualized programming, intensive instruction, and a prioritized plan. Target groups received the same sport and health assessments as well as the same follow up protocol.

Some factors identified which complicated the implementation of sports and health improvement programs include: medication side effects (23%), asthma (13%), and television usage (29% watch more than 4 hours per day). Despite these factors, however, the athletes reported a significant level of athletic training (51% training more than 2 hours per week).

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Understand the role of Special Olympics in promoting health of people with ID;
• 2. Explain the unique differences in health and secondary conditions of people with ID;
• 3. Understand the effect of health on sports skills development.

Keywords: Disability, Physical Activity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.