Special Olympics PEI hopes to address barriers to health care for Islanders with intellectual disabilities

Special Olympics PEI (SOPEI) is conducting a three-year project to address the needs and barriers those with intellectual disabilities face.

The healthy communities project willtouch on a wide array of issues, but one of the central themesthe project will exploreis the experiences SOPEI athletes have when accessing health care.

Kristen MacDonald, community engagement specialist with SOPEI, said anobjective is to build healthy communities forathletes tobe successful in all aspects of their lives.

"We know sport is important to them. It builds their confidence, it builds their life skills. But if they don't have good health, they can't become great athletes," she said.

'This is to go beyondSOPEI'

MacDonald said SOPEI offers clinicscalled healthy screenings, to address athlete'sneeds in a more comfortable environment.

Thesescreenings include various health issuessuch as vision ormental health.

When the projectcommences, MacDonald hopes to increase the number of these screenings not only for SOPEIathletes, but for anyone with an intellectual disability.

"This is to go beyond SOPEI. They can all benefit from these screenings and the tool kits that they get."

She said in some cases, people with intellectual disabilities can bemisdiagnosed, or information can bemisinterpretedin traditional health-care settings.

"There was an athlete that was always finishing second in her races and sure enough the opening eyes screening found out she had vision issues. After the screening and follow-up care, she began to finish first in her races," she said.

'I can answer those questions'

MacDonald said the project is also looking to informpolicy, increase the number of clinical directors leadingthe clinics, and work to decrease the body mass indexand blood pressure for those with intellectual disabilities.

"It's been thought that they have health issues because of their weight and their intellectual disability.But what the research has found is that it hasn't been diagnosed, it hasn't been identified, because screenings haven't been specific enough to communicate with them."

They all just need a little bit more time sometimes to express what their feelings, or pain is, to really be heard and get the services they need.- Kristen MacDonald, SOPEI

According to SOPEI, individuals with intellectual disabilities are more susceptible to obesity and are twice as likely to die before the age of 50, compared to those without.

SOPEI athlete Heidi Mallett credits thehealthy screenings clinics for meeting her health-care needs.

"They asked you questions, but they were questions that you were comfortable answering because they put it in a language that I can understand what they were saying."

Mallett reinforced the need for health-care professionals to communicate clearly and directly to their patients.

"I've often seen it, they'll go to your mother for a question. Well, I can answer those questions," she said.

Mallett said she believes the healthy communities project is important, in order to identify and improve upon the services available to all Islanders with intellectual disabilities.

Sustainable Change

"Because, not all these athletes have a family doctor, or they're not comfortable going into a doctor when that doctor uses big words," Mallett said.

"Another reason is the athlete is not fully aware of the resources that could be helpful to these athletes."

MacDonaldsaid SOPEI is currently conducting surveys to see what resources are already available on the Island.

She said this project is imperative to create sustainable change.

"They all just need a little bit more time sometimes to express what their feelings, or pain is, to really be heard and get the services they need."

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