[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15443-15444]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  40TH ANNIVERSARY OF SPECIAL OLYMPICS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, today is the 40th anniversary of Special 
Olympics, an organization that has touched the lives of people with 
intellectual disabilities in Nevada and throughout the country. This 
spring, I had the chance to meet with one such Special Olympics 
athlete: Cari Davis, a resident of Henderson, NV, who has been winning 
medals since beginning her athletic career in 1988. It is my privilege 
today to recognize the achievements of all Special Olympics athletes, 
as well as the broader impact of their participation in sports.
  Forty years ago, Eunice Kennedy Shriver founded Special Olympics with 
the belief that everyone, regardless of ability or disability, deserves 
opportunities to participate in sports. What began as Camp Shriver on 
the lawn of her Maryland home has now grown into an international 
organization reaching over 180 countries. Through these programs, 
people with intellectual disabilities can do more than just develop 
skills in a particular sport or improve their physical fitness. They 
also get opportunities to form friendships, build self-confidence, 
learn teamwork, and enjoy the sheer joy of the athletic experience. 
That is why I was pleased to help enact the Healthy Special Olympics 
Sport and Empowerment Act of 2004, which enabled Special Olympics to 
expand its programs and increase the number of athletes served.
  In my home State, Special Olympics Nevada provides year-round 
training and competition opportunities in a variety of sports, 
including alpine skiing, basketball, swimming, and gymnastics. In 
addition to providing these activities and sponsoring competitive 
trials, Special Olympics offers services that promote good health, such 
as screenings through the Healthy Athletes Program. Larger events are 
also held, like the Special Olympics Nevada Summer Games that took 
place this June in Reno.
  These events highlight more than the athletes' determination, 
talents, and spirit. Their participation in sports is also serving to 
dispel myths and change attitudes, contributing to the greater 
inclusion, understanding, and acceptance of people with disabilities. 
In fact, there are Special Olympics initiatives, like its collaboration 
with the school district in Clark County, NV, that give students with 
intellectual disabilities and other students the chance to participate 
in sports together. Perhaps it is these young athletes who best embody 
this remark by Mrs. Shriver: ``May you overturn ignorance; may you 
challenge indifference at every turn; and may you find great joy in the 
new daylight of the great athletes of the Special Olympics.''
  Mr. President, I wish Special Olympics all the best as we celebrate 
its 40th

[[Page 15444]]

anniversary and look forward to many more years to come.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, today we are celebrating the 40th 
anniversary of the Special Olympics, an organization that has done an 
extraordinary job of improving the lives of individuals with 
intellectual disabilities. This remarkable organization was born in 
Eunice Kennedy Shriver's backyard, where she used to host a day camp 
for children with intellectual disabilities. Under her founding 
leadership--and for the last decade, under the leadership of her son, 
Tim Shriver--the Special Olympics has grown into a truly amazing 
enterprise, serving some 2.5 million people in more than 180 countries. 
It gives individuals with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to 
improve their health, well-being, social skills, and other skills 
through competitive sports--and the opportunity to have fun, just like 
everyone else.
  I have been a long-time advocate for people with disabilities. But it 
was not until the 1980s, when Eunice Kennedy Shriver came to see me and 
asked me to get involved as an advocate for individuals with 
intellectual disabilities, that I learned about the unique challenges 
faced by individuals with intellectual disabilities in our society. Of 
course, when Eunice Kennedy Shriver asked, I couldn't say no. She 
invited me to a Special Olympics competition here in Washington, and I 
immediately became a fan. It was extraordinary to see the athletes' 
talents, enthusiasm, and courage.
  Over the years, thanks largely to Special Olympics, I have developed 
a better appreciation of the needs of people with intellectual 
disabilities. They have health problems that many physicians do not 
know how to address. For example, by and large, individuals with 
intellectual disabilities have little opportunity for exercise and 
other physical activity. Too often, they are relegated to the fringes 
of our society.
  The brilliance of the Special Olympics is that it uses sports to help 
integrate people with intellectual disabilities into our broader 
society. Special Olympics provides a kind of ideal world for 
individuals with intellectual disabilities. The accent is on abilities, 
not disabilities. Athletes have the opportunity to compete and achieve 
on a level playing field. Special Olympics gives its athletes, like 
Kyler Prunty, one of my constituents from Marshalltown, IA, the 
opportunity to compete in swimming and other sports, as all children 
and young adults want the opportunity to do. Kyler knows that his 
success is determined by his own hard work, talent, determination, and 
courage.
  Special Olympics helps people overcome their fear and ignorance of 
individuals with intellectual disabilities. It transforms athletes by 
empowering them as competitors and leaders. It transforms communities 
by changing attitudes about people with intellectual disabilities.
  Special Olympics includes a number of associated programs. The 
Unified Sports program provides inclusive sports experiences with 
individuals with and without intellectual disabilities playing together 
on the same team.
  Special Olympics also improves the lives of individuals with 
disabilities by looking at health issues. I am a proud supporter of the 
Healthy Athletes program, which allows athletes to receive a variety of 
important health screenings and services in conjunction with local, 
State/Provincial, National, and World Games.
  Special Olympics has come a long way since it began 40 years ago. 
When Special Olympics held its first event in Illinois, my home State 
of Iowa sent fewer than 100 athletes to the games. Today, more than 
13,000 Special Olympics Athletes, and 2,000 certified coaches, from all 
99 Iowa counties in Iowa, participate in Special Olympics programs.
  I am proud that, in 2006, the first-ever Special Olympics USA 
National Games were held in Ames, IA. In conjunction with those games, 
I held a field hearing of my Senate Appropriations Subcommittee 
focusing on the status of people with intellectual disabilities in the 
U.S. That hearing taught us a great deal about the health and education 
needs of individuals with intellectual disabilities.
  As a result of the hearing, I introduced S. 1050, the Health and 
Wellness for Individuals with Disabilities Act. This bill would promote 
the training of medical and dental professionals to care for 
individuals with intellectual disabilities. In addition, it would 
create model wellness programs, and standards for accessibility of 
medical equipment to further level the playing field for the care of 
Special Olympics athletes and other individuals with disabilities.
  Special Olympics and its emphasis on inclusion of individuals with 
intellectual disabilities through athletics is now a worldwide 
movement. It shows what can be achieved when one individual, in the 
person of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, pursues a cause with passion. Her 
vision is making a difference in the fabric of our society, where 
individuals with intellectual disabilities can now participate in 
sports competitions in Iowa, across the country, and around the world.
  I salute the Special Olympics for a brilliant 40 years of service, 
and I wish the organization even greater success in the decades ahead.

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