PERCEPTIONS ABOUT SPECIAL OLYMPICS FROM SERVICE DELIVERY GROUPS IN THE UNITED-STATES - A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION

Special Olympics has been providing sport/recreation opportunities for individuals with mental retardation for over a quarter of a century. Recent trends such as access, inclusion and the use of the non-categor ical approach in identifying individuals with disabilities, however, h as led Special Olympics to reevaluate its programs. To this end, a 15 question survey instrument was developed and sent to a total of 232 po tential respondents across 9 identified strata. These respondents repr esented various agencies/organizations throughout the United States th at provide a variety of services to individuals with disabilities. Sur vey questions addressed terminology, philosophy, perceptions and progr amming. An overall response rate of 50.4 percent was obtained across t he 9 strata, with 117 total questionnaires returned. Results indicate that: 1) the mission of Special Olympics should be to place more empha sis on inclusion opportunities, 2) there appears to be a trend away fr om the term ''mental retardation'' toward other terms, 3) Special Olym pics should provide opportunities to a wider variety of individuals wi th disabilities, and 4) Special Olympics should examine its mission st atement in order to stay abreast with current philosophies being espou sed by other agencies/organizations. Future research efforts should ex tend the efforts of this preliminary investigation in examining Specia l Olympics' mission and goals.