Perceptions About Special Olympics From Service Delivery Groups in the United States: A Preliminary Investigation

Abstract

Special Olympics has been providing sport / recreation opportunities for individuals with mental retardation for over a quarter of a century. Recent trends such as access, inclusion and the use of the non-categorical approach in identifying individuals with disabilities, however, has led Special Olympics to reeval-uate its programs. To this end, a 15 question survey instrument was developed and sent to a total of 232 potential respondents across 9 identified strata. These respondents represented various agencies / organiza-tions throughout the United States that provide a variety of services to individuals with disabilities. Survey questions addressed terminology, philosophy, perceptions and programming. An overall response rate of 50.4 percent was obtained across the 9 strata, with 117 total questionnaires returned. Results indicate that: 1) the mission of Special Olympics should be to place more emphasis on inclusion opportunities, 2) there appears to be a trend away from the term “mental retardation” toward other terms, 3) Special Olympics should provide opportunities to a wider variety of individuals with disabilities, and 4) Special Olympics should examine its mission statement in order to stay abreast with current philosophies being espoused by other agencies/organizations. Future research efforts should extend the efforts of this preliminary investigation in examining Special Olympics' mission and goals.

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