Healthy Athletes

improving health FOR SUCCESS.

Healthy Athletes is a program offered for Special Olympics Athletes in conjunction with their sporting events. Healthy Athletes offers free health screenings in 8 different disciplines of health, to ensure athletes are taking care of themselves both on and off the field. These screenings are snapshots into a bigger picture of their health, and if concerns are found they then undergo a referral process to ensure they are able to receive proper follow up care. Healthy Athletes is run by Clinical Directors who are practitioners in their specific discipline of health, along with health professional students and general volunteers. In offering Healthy Athletes, we are slowly eliminating the disparities that many of our athletes face when it comes to their overall health.

Did you know…

On A Team Of Ten Athletes,

6 are overweight.
4 have untreated tooth decay.
2 have never had an eye exam.
6 have concerns around flexibility.
2 have potential hearing loss.

Healthy Athlete Disciplines

Click on a discipline to learn more about our programming and find resources, or find more information on becoming a Clinical Director. 

UPCOMING SCREENINGS

Athletes might receive referrals for follow-up care from any of the Healthy Athletes screenings, and Special Olympics Kansas is committed to assisting them find the services and resources that they require when they return to their local communities.

We have created a Directory with the contact information of Providers. These Providers have signed an application agreeing to screen individuals with intellectual disabilities.

CLINICAL DIRECTORS

Special Olympics Healthy Athletes Clinical Directors are trained volunteer professionals who are responsible for working with Special Olympics Kansas Health and Fitness Manager, Erin McDaniel, and other volunteer health professionals to coordinate the SOKS Health Athletes Program. Special Olympics has Clinical Directors who specialize in eyes, ears, mouth and teeth, nutrition, feet, physical therapy, sports medicine, and general medicine. To find out the qualifications for each of health disciplines please click on the link below.

Qualifications to Become a Clinical Director.

Click here to view more details on the role of the Special Smiles Clinical Director

BY THE NUMBERS

Healthy Athletes collects, analyzes, and disseminates data on the health status of Special Olympics athletes, and advocates improved health policies and programs for people with intellectual disabilities. SOKS Health Screenings from 2007-2016 indicate:

59%

of adults are obese

40%

of athletes have exposure to second hand smoke

38%

of youth are obese

36%

of athletes are physically active less than 3 days a week

36%

of athletes have untreated tooth decay

24%

failed a hearing test

19%

of athletes have never had an eye exam

41%

of athletes need a new eye prescription