Tara Browne

More than Capable: The History of the Special Olympics If you’re attached to any major news station or outlet, you may have seen some back and forth about the funding/de-funding of the Special Olympics. Given that this forum is never meant to be political, I will refrain from digging into the political aspect specifically, but I thought now might be an opportune time to highlight an amazing organization, learn more about their history, and better understand how and why the Special Olympics is so important [Spoiler Alert: It is very important]. And because you’ve stumbled onto this article, you too, dear reader, are going on this journey with me. In the Beginning… Understanding where things are often requires an amount of reflection on where things started, so let’s rewind. America has come a long way in how it views individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). Though the Special Olympics represents more than those with Down Syndrome, I’ll focus on the Down Syndrome Civil Rights Movement specifically in order to provide a wide-overview and snapshot of how life used to be for most children and adults with ID. Pre-1960s, if a child was born with an ID (re: Down Syndrome), the standard was to lock them away in a mental institution. The Global Down Syndrome Foundation writes: “the majority of people with Down syndrome and other intellectual and developmental disabilities were kept in inhumane institutions where they were deprived of education, healthcare and even plumbing… It is important to remember people with Down syndrome and other intellectual and developmental disabilities were a key target in the eugenics movement in the United States – which influenced Hitler’s first mass murders under the Aktion-T4 program in 1939. Through that program, Hitler murdered an estimated 200,000 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, a large number being people with Down syndrome.” The common belief was that mentally disabled children and adults were incapable of being productive members of society and there just wasn’t much to be done other than institutionalizing them. Institutionalization and forced sterilization was common practice until the 1980s. As late as 1984, “life saving intervention” was refused to newborns with Down Syndrome—this included feeding babies with Down Syndrome. One such case was the infamous Baby Doe case, where a child born with Down Syndrome and tracheoesophageal fistula, died from starvation after the obstetrician “recommended that the family not pursue treatment.” The same administration that brought about the Americans with Disabilities Act first cut benefits to the physically and mentally handicapped in 1987. To say equality was an uphill battle would be a watered-down cliché of the truth. Eunice Kennedy Shriver. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_ALnC_0Qzg Yes, as in THOSE Kennedys, and, yes again, as in the mother of Maria Shriver—Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ex-wife and the former First Lady of California. When discussing the Special Olympics, this name comes up pretty quickly. What started off as a summer camp in her backyard grew to be the largest athletic competition for the intellectually differently-abled, in the world. In 1957, Eunice took over running the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation. The Foundation served as a memorial to the oldest Kennedy son, Joseph, who died in WWII. The two major objectives of the Foundation are: “to seek the prevention of intellectual disabilities by identifying its causes, and to improve the means by which society deals with citizens who have intellectual disabilities.” Amon other notable accomplishments for those with IDs, Eunice founded the Special Olympics through the Foundation in 1968. Today So now that we’re acquainted with the background, let’s talk about why the Special Olympics is still relevant and important today. ID Civil Rights didn’t happen overnight…or even over a decade. It took multiple decades to tear down stigma to the point that individuals with ID would be seen as fully human and deserving of rights and protection under the law. Let that sink in for a second. Even after being legally covered, the social stigma of ID (and physical disability) still exists. Individuals with ID are consistently the most socially excluded populations and tend to face the most substantial health, housing, and employment disparities directly due to stigma. Think a stigma is a harmless misunderstanding? Think again. Research has shown that ID stigma is directly responsible in perpetuating social inequality and human rights violations in this population. One of the primary purposes of the Special Olympics is to continue to tear down the stigma surrounding ID by showcasing the athletic capabilities of people with ID. It also gives a place where those with ID have a place to connect with one another and gain confidence in their own capabilities. People like Samantha, who has autism and was terrified of water, is now a competitive swimmer and has gained a new found confidence her mother, Karina Piedo, is stunned by. In an OpEd, Karina wrote, “[Samantha] now has two favorite sayings that say a lot about what she has achieved. One is, "Anything is possible if you try," and the other is, "Different not less." Every time she gets in the pool she feels free, relaxed, confident. She believes in herself in way I could not have expected.” British Ambassador to the UN, Matthew Rycroft, told the Security Council during the Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict: “How a society treats its most vulnerable is always the measure of its humanity.” In an age increasingly marked by petty low-blows and an admiration of attacking someone at their weakest point, the mission and vision of the Special Olympics is more relevant now than ever—“to create a new world of inclusion and community, where every single person is accepted and welcomed, regardless of ability or disability. We are helping to make the world a better, healthier and more joyful place—one athlete, one volunteer, one family member at a time.”