Healthy Athletes

Special Olympics Arkansas currently offers Healthy Athletes clinics year-round. The largest event takes place at Summer Games each year. The event hosts seven disciplines and provides 1,632 screenings. A variety of events host one or two disciplines throughout the year providing 100-300 screenings. In an effort to extend our reach in  Arkansas with Healthy Athletes we have added a purely educational extension of  our clinics,   Live Healthy Education Fairs. 

As of 2023 Special Olympics Arkansas added an 8th discipline, Strong Minds. Strong Minds was created to help athletes identify  ways to destress, have fun, and integrate healthy living choices into their day-to-day lives. This discipline educates athletes on a wide variety of stress management techniques including ideas on healthy sleeping tips, self care for families, and mindfulness.

If you are a healthcare professional interested in  getting involved with any of our Healthy Athletes clinics or programs please  reach out to 
​  Jennifer Avery.
​
Below are the eight different disciplines of Healthy Athletes that Special Olympics Arkansas offers. Each athletes that attends receives  free health screenings, education, and referrals for follow-up care.

Fun Fitness

Comprehensive, cooperative and educational, FUNfitness is the physical therapy component of Healthy Athletes® that Special Olympics athletes describe as “just plain fun”. Designed to assess and improve an athlete’s flexibility, functional strength, aerobic capacity and balance, volunteer physical therapists, assistants, and students assess the flexibility and functional strength of Special Olympics Athletes’ muscles, as well as overall balance at FUNfitness screenings. The FUNfitness curriculum was developed for Special Olympics Healthy Athletes by the American Physical Therapy Association. Professional volunteers (OTs, PTs, students) interested in assisting at FUNfitness events please contact:

Arkansas Clinical Director
Robin Dyer, M.S., P.T.
​​Flyer for Clinical Directors

Health Promotion

Health Promotion Programs validate the success of the diverse approaches offered, along with positive psychosocial and health benefits:
Improved perceived health;

Reduction in body weight;
  • Improved self-confidence;
  • Enhanced attitudes toward physical activity;
  • Increased fiber intake; and
  • Decreased perceived barriers.
Professional volunteers (RNs, LPNs, Paramedics, nursing students etc.) interested in assisting at Health Promotions events please contact:

Arkansas Clinical Directors
Warren Newman
Duston Morris, PhD, MS, CHES, CHC
​Flyer for Clinical Directors

Healthy Hearing

As the audiological component of Healthy Athletes®, Healthy Hearing was created to assess the hearing of athletes using multiple screening methods such as pure tone testing and tympanometry. In some cases, like at the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games, healthy Hearing volunteers are able to provide free hearing aids that immediately restore hearing for athletes, thanks to corporate donations.

Professional volunteers (audiologists, students) interested in assisting at Healthy Hearing events please contact:

Arkansas Clinical Directors
Jan Stroud, Au.D, CCC-A
​Flyer for Clinical Directors

Opening Eyes

With eyes wide open to the needs of people with intellectual disabilities, Special Olympics – Lions Clubs International Opening Eyes®, was created to provide free vision screening for Special Olympics athletes.

Opening Eyes also works to educate athletes, parents and coaches about the importance of regular eye care, and enlightens and alters the attitudes of eye care professionals about the vision care needs of people with intellectual disabilities. Professionals can also earn continuing education  credits.

Arkansas Clinical Directors
Airiell Schwab, O.D.
​Flyer for Clinical Directors
Special Smiles Sponsor:

Special Smiles

Special Smiles has demonstrated remarkable success in its mission to increase access to dental care for Special Olympics athletes, and to all people with intellectual disabilities. Today, Special Smiles is considered a leading advocate on standards for care an equality-of-care issues.

The scope of Special Smiles has been expanded to include:
  • Initiatives to increase public, governmental and professional awareness of oral health problems faces by people with disabilities.
  • Dental education programs for dental professionals, dental schools, community residences, institutional facilities and Special Olympics athletes.
  • Sports injury prevention programs.
  • Nutritional guidelines and programs for our athletes.
  • Research on the oral health needs of people with disabilities, for use in health care reform; and fabrication of adaptive devices and oral facial sports programs for people with quadriplegia.
Professional volunteers (Dentists, Dental Hygienists, students) interested in assisting with Special Smiles events contact.

Arkansas Clinical Directors
Dr. Lindy Bollen
Jennifer Garner, RDH
​
​Flyer for Clinical Directors

Fit Feet

Fit Feet  helps Special Olympics athletes step lively on the playing field, and in  everyday life. Many athletes suffer from foot and ankle pain, or deformities that impair their performance. In fact, up to 50 percent of Special Olympics athletes experience one or more preventable or treatable foot conditions that can affect their sports participation. Often, these individuals are not fitted with the best shoes and socks for their particular sport. To alleviate these problems, volunteer podiatrists work with athletes to evaluate problems of the feet, ankles and lower extremity biomechanics.

Arkansas Clinical Director
Jame Pierce, DPM
Joseph M. LaCava, DPM
​Flyer for Clinical Directors

MedFest

​The goals of MedFest include: offer a free sports physical and other health examination services to people with intellectual disabilities, recruit new athletes to Special Olympics, foster new partnerships between Special Olympics and the community, and provide physicians, nurses and other health care providers with training and specialized experience in caring for people with intellectual disabilities.
 
Arkansas Clinical Directors
Leonie Declerk, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC 
Teresa Whited, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC
Mario Hofheinz, PA-C
Tara Almand, DPN, APRN
​Flyer for Clinical Directors
Flyer for Clinical Directors

Strong Minds

Strong Minds is an interactive learning activity focused on developing adaptive coping skills. Competition provides a natural opportunity to develop active strategies for maintaining emotional wellness under stress, such as: thinking positive thoughts, releasing stress and connecting with others.

Arkansas Clinical Directors
Stephanie Rose,   DSW, LCSW, AADC, DCS
Tisha Jenkins,   LCSW, AADC
The Healthy Athletes Provider Directory is an online database of healthcare  professionals who treat patients with intellectual disabilities. Healthcare
providers can create and maintain a listing in the Provider Directory.