In 2003, CSDE entered into a formal collaborative relationship with Special Olympics, Inc. Recognizing the importance of cross-cultural research in mental retardation, Dr. Timothy Shriver, CEO and president of Special Olympics, Inc. and Joanne Gora, past-chancellor of UMass Boston, signed the Memorandum of Agreement to establish a Regional Collaborating Center (RCC) at CSDE. The purpose of the RCC is to conduct rigorous scientific research that is of value to the international community. In recent years, the RCC has conducted studies on the impact of Special Olympics on its constituents, and on attitudes of people internationally toward individuals with intellectual disabilities.
In 2006, the CSDE Regional Collaborating Center became Special Olympics' only Global Collaborating Center. The UMass Boston/Special Olympics Global Collaborating Center is solely responsible for all international research related to attitudes and intellectual disabilities.
In addition to research on attitudes, CSDE carries out program evaluation for Special Olympics on the national and international levels.
Special Olympics Participation, Community Connections and Vocational Outcomes for People with Intellectual Disabilities
CSDE has implemented a major research study focused on the employment of adults with intellectual disabilities. This study is exploring the positive impact of participation in Special Olympics (SO) on the employment of adult athletes among a random population sample of families with adult children with intellectual disabilities in the US who have or have not participated in SO at some point in their lives. The inclusion of a comparison sample will provide us the opportunity to more directly determine the pathways to employment for SO athletes. More specifically, it will provide stronger evidence allowing us to draw more distinct conclusions about the impact of SO on the employment of adults with intellectual disabilities. The survey includes questions about the families’ and the adult child with intellectual disabilities participation in the community and where appropriate, in Special Olympics. To obtain information about the employment of adults with intellectual disabilities, detailed questions were designed concerning present and past employment. Additional questions are also included that address the role that Special Olympics plays or has played in the employment of both active and inactive athletes.
Gallup has identified the SO and comparison samples through its Daily Tracking poll in which 1,000 households are contacted per night. As of July 1st, more than 200,000 households have been screened and 860 families with an adult child with ID have been interviewed. Data collection is expected to be completed in the fall of 2012.
Athlete in the Family Project, Part II
Building on the findings of the Athlete in the Family study completed in 2009, CSDE has developed and implemented an online survey for parents of Special Olympics athletes to explore in greater depth the value of Special Olympics in the lives of families of athletes. The survey addressed a number of areas including the families’ involvement in sport and recreational activities and their satisfaction with these activities, the families’ social support networks and their satisfaction with this support, as well as constructs of family adjustment/ well-being (e.g., parental stress, happiness, parenting efficacy, family cohesion) that are salient for better understanding the ways in which Special Olympics benefits families. The study involved a nationally representative sample of approximately 400 parents of male and female athletes (ages ranging 8 to 21) who lived at home and were participating in Special Olympics programming.
The study yielded a rich data set that has allowed for two levels of analysis. First, the data has yielded a deep understanding of the many ways that families are involved in Special Olympics and the variety of benefits that they derive from this involvement. Second, the data is providing a better understanding of how families of children with disabilities are thriving. The data has provided a positive perspective on families of children with developmental disabilities. More specifically, parents in this study reported high levels of happiness and resilience, which in turn contributed to low levels of stress and more positive self-perceptions of their parenting competence. Results of both these analyses were presented at the 2012 International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disabilities World Congress in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and manuscripts are currently being prepared for submission to peer-reviewed journals.
Military Families' Needs and Strengths Assessment
As an expansion of the Athlete in the Family Project described above, the CSDE is further building on its existing body of research about families of people with intellectual disabilities in a study that addresses the unique strengths and needs of military families that include a member with intellectual disabilities. There is limited research and knowledge about the unique strengths and needs of military families that include a member with a disability. Increased understanding about the challenges and support needs of these families will enable educators and other community service providers to customize needed interventions and resources.
The CSDE is in the process of developing a survey to explore how military families of children with intellectual disabilities are functioning and whether/how they are involved with Special Olympics or other community service organizations. A range of questions is included about involvement in sport and recreational activities and satisfaction with social support networks. Brief measures of several constructs of family adjustment/well-being (e.g., parental stress, mental health, happiness, coping style, parenting efficacy, family cohesion) are also included in order to understand the challenges and resiliency of military families. The CSDE will develop collaborative relationships with military bases around the country to recruit family participants, and plan to begin recruitment efforts in the fall of 2012. This survey has significant potential to add to the knowledge-base about family adjustment in the military context.
Spread the Word to End the Word is a National Awareness Day to raise the consciousness of society about the dehumanizing and hurtful effects of the word “retard(ed)” and encourage people to pledge to stop using the R-word. In order to learn more about youth experiences with the R-word, staff from Special Olympics, the Special Olympics Global Collaborating Center at the University of Massachusetts Boston, and the Harris Interactive® worked together to design an online survey. In this online survey, youth across the country were asked questions about the r-word, including whether they have ever heard the word, and if so, how they reacted to hearing it. Over a thousand youth between the ages of 8 and 18 responded to the online survey.
Together with Special Olympics, CSDE has embarked on an international research agenda focusing on public attitudes toward individuals with disabilities. This research has uncovered the fact that around the world, misperceptions about the capabilities of individuals with intellectual disabilities remain the biggest barrier to inclusion.
Multinational Study on Attitudes toward Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities
In 2002-2003, CSDE completed the first part of an ongoing research endeavor documenting attitudes of the public worldwide. The Multinational Study on Attitudes towards Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities involved more than 7,000 adults from Brazil, China, Egypt, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Russia, and the U.S. In 2004, the Multinational Study of Attitudes was expanded to include two new countries, South Africa and India. The findings from these two countries confirm the trend of attitudes worldwide, namely, that people with intellectual disabilities are misperceived and misunderstood, and that the public believes that separate settings for work and school are the best option for people with intellectual disabilities. With attitude change as one of the major goals for CSDE and Special Olympics, Inc., CSDE will continue to expand its attitude research on a global scale over the next decade.
Youth Attitudes toward Peers with Intellectual Disabilities
In 2004-2005, CSDE carried out two simultaneous studies on youth attitudes, one in the United States and one in Japan. The Youth Attitude Studies in the U.S. and Japan provided important information as to the current state of attitudes among youth in these two different countries. Specifically, youth in the U.S. and Japan underestimate the capabilities of peers with intellectual disabilities and are unwilling to interact with them socially. However, the studies also found that youth in both countries are open to the possibility of greater inclusion in schools. Building upon this cross-cultural research base, CSDE will expand this research to China in 2006.
Past projects and collaborative efforts between CSDE and Special Olympics
Evaluation of the Young Athletes Program
CSDE continues to build on their preliminary evaluation of the Special Olympics Young Athletes Program (YA) started in 2006. Young Athletes is a program designed to promote motor and social development in young children (ages 2 ½ to 7) with developmental disabilities through physical activity and play. As part of the Center’s work, a new in-depth curriculum (Favazza, Zeisel, Parker, Leboeuf, 2012) was developed to accompany the activity guide created by Special Olympics for use by teachers and parents of preschool age children. The Young Athletes Curriculum consists of 24 detailed lessons and materials for home implementation and training for teachers who implemented the curriculum.
On collaboration with the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Feinstein School of Education at Rhode Island College, CSDE conducted an intense study of the YA program. A rigorous random assignment to treatment design was used involving 238 preschool children (3-5 years of age) in 52 pre-school classes. The classes selected represented inclusive settings (69%) and self-contained early childhood special education classes (31%.)
CSDE and its partners at Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute and Rhode Island College also undertook a longitudinal study of the YA program, following children in both states to examine the long-term impact of YA participation.
Global Expansion and Evaluation of the Youth Athletes Program
Given the success of CSDE’s ongoing research into the Young Athletes program, CSDE has been asked to oversee and evaluate the expansion of the Young Athletes (YA) program to developing countries worldwide. SO programs in developing countries, particularly impoverished communities, will be instructed on how to provide 8 weeks of structured Young Athletes programming using the YA Curriculum (Favazza, et al., 2012.) With the support of CSDE, community leaders will be instructed on how to recruit and engage families and their children with disabilities who otherwise may not have any early intervention opportunities or supports and how to train teachers and parents to deliver the program in schools, home, and orphanages. Read more about the CSDE recent trip to Africa and next steps here.
Because the absence of these kinds of supports in impoverished settings can lead to children having significant pervasive developmental delays, including delays in motor development, there is a great need for motor and social stimulation. Aside from having limited educational programs, they also may not have regular access to other motor supports (i.e., physical therapy, occupational therapy, organized motor play.) This project will build on the previous YA research by documenting and assessing how Young Athletes is adapted and implemented in the developing countries of India, Pakistan, Tanzania, Malawi, Romania, and Venezuela and the impact of the program on children, families and communities.
Beyond the Playing Field
A Program Evaluation of Unified Sports in Elementary Schools
The value of Special Olympics in the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities has been well documented. Special Olympics has been shown to have numerous benefits for participants, from improving the physical well-being of athletes to increasing their social competence, self-concept, adaptive behavior, and social relationships.
Recently, in an attempt to become more inclusive, Special Olympics (SO) has broadened its programs to include Unified Sports, a program in which youth with and without intellectual disabilities (ID) train and compete as equals on a competitive sports team. These programs have been received positively by athletes, teachers, school administrators, and parents.
The Center for Social Development and Education has had the opportunity to document the positive impact that Unified Sports has had on athletes. A 2001 evaluation of Unified Sports programs throughout the United States showed that family members saw significant improvements in athletes’ self-esteem and social relationships, as well as in physical abilities and sports skills.
We would now like to look more closely at the benefits of Unified Sports “beyond the playing field,” specifically the impacts that it may have on students’s classroom performance. Studies have found improved academic achievement, classroom conduct, and social skills for students who participate in after-school programming. Therefore, we believe that after-school recreational and sports programming have great promise in helping students with intellectual disabilities succeed in the classroom and building social and academic skills.
About the Project
Beyond the Playing Field is a research project that is a joint initiative between the Center for Social Development and Special Olympics International. The purpose of this project is to explore the ways in which participation in Unified Sports benefits students in their classrooms and schools. Unified Sports is a program in which people with and without intellectual disabilities train and compete as equals on a competitive sports team. These programs have been received positively by athletes, parents, teachers, and school administrators.
The study is being conducted in selected schools in eastern Massachusetts. The results of this study will provide support for expanding quality inclusive recreational programming in schools, and these Massachusetts-based programs will serve as models for the rest or the nation. We believe that inclusive after-school recreational and sports programs have great promise in helping students with and without intellectual disabilities succeed in the classroom and build social and academic skills. For more information, contact Joanne Kersh at firstname.lastname@example.org or 1.888.289.3060.
For Our Participants
Please follow the links in the panel to the left to access surveys and questionnaires. You will be able to complete and submit the surveys online. Thank you for your participation.
Thank you for consenting to participate in the Beyond the Playing Field Unified Sports evaluation. For this evaluation, you are asked to complete a parent survey.
The Social Skills Rating System for Parents evaluates how often your child exhibits certain social skills and behaviors. You are also asked to rate how important each social skill is to your child's development.
Use the links above to complete the questionnaires. When completing the surveys please use the identification number you were assigned. This number has also been emailed to you. When you are finished with each survey you will be redirected to this page.
Please remember that all responses are confidential and will not be seen by anyone outside of the Beyond the Playing Field Project or influence you or your child’s involvement in Special Olympics Massachusetts or the Unified Sports program.
If you experience any difficulties while completing the questionnaires please contact the Beyond the Playing Field administrator.
For the evaluation you are asked to complete a Coach Questionnaire and weekly practice logs. You will receive the Coach Questionnaire in paper and pencil format at the first practice. Please complete the questionnaire and return it to observers at the next practice. Weekly logs can be completed online after each team practice. Be sure to select the log for the sport that you are coaching. Please remember that all responses are confidential and will not be shared with or influence your involvement with Special Olympics Massachusetts or Unified Sports.
If you experience any difficulties while completing the questionnaires please contact the Beyond the Playing Field administrator.
Beyond the Playing Field Coaches Questionnaire
The Beyond the Playing Field Coaches Questionnaire asks about your current and prior involvement with Special Olympics and Unified Sports, as well as your perceptions and beliefs about effective coaching techniques. You will be asked to complete the coaches questionnaire prior to the start of the Unified Sports season and after the season ends.
You will be provided the pre-season coaches questionnaire at the first team practice by project staff. Please complete the questionnaire for the following practice, when project staff will collect it.
Beyond the Playing Field Coaches Logs
The weekly logs will ask questions about the activities you conducted during your practices and athlete and partner participation. Each week a link to the new weekly log will be provided. Please complete the log within a few days after practice. Again, when you begin the log you will not be able to save and return to it. The first week’s log is available below.