#partneruppowerup

Overview

Working with Special Olympics North Carolina this semester has been so rewarding. Team SONC was given the role to plan, promote, present, and collect data from Wellness Wednesdays. Working alongside Ellen, Team SONC preceptor, made every week run smoothly. Each week overall got better and better. From working out to dancing, the hour spent with athletes was my absolute favorite. Team SONC was very blessed in all aspects during this internship with SONC. This semester was so much fun and I am very excited to be back working with SONC again in the Spring.  

Limitations and barriers

Every year Special Olympics hosts an event called Medfest which allows the athletes to come and get a variety of health screenings. A list of things Medfest does includes: Offering a free sports physical, and other health screening services to people with intellectual disabilities (ID), providing individuals with ID who are not yet Special Olympics athletes the means to become Special Olympics athletes, providing individuals who are already Special Olympics athletes the means to remain athletes by supplying the necessary re-qualification physical examination, providing members of the medical community with training and specialized experience in the examination and assessment of people with ID, and offering sports demos and wellness activities in the form of a Wellness Fair. This is to promote the local SO sports programming as well as connect athletes to local community health and wellness resources.

Unfortunately, this year due to COVID-19, Special Olympics North Carolina was not able to have Medfest for the athletes to do their health screenings. Fortunately, this is where Team SONC comes in. The Wellness Wednesday sessions that I discussed in all of my previous posts were an opportunity to not only teach athletes about being healthy but to do screenings that otherwise would have been done at MedFest. Although these screenings were virtual which ultimately was a barrier due to not being hands on with the athletes, the turnout of participants was always a great success. Being that these sessions were virtual, there were athletes that were unable to participate due to the lack of technology or wifi capabilities. There were 39 total countries that participated, 51% being rural counties. Every athlete was given a play book for the semester that they were to complete and if they were unable to meet virtually, they were to fill out the book and return to their coach to show participation. Every athlete was very excited about participating whether it was virtually or just by completing their playbook. The barriers of being in rural areas versus urban is the access to quick and efficient internet. 

The biggest challenge for me was not being able to be hands on with the athletes and not allowing the athletes to unmute themselves on the zoom sessions. Even though this semester looks different for everyone, I would have loved to give an athlete a hug or hear them share their story through a virtual session. It was during the Special Smiles session that we broke out into break out rooms and I was able to talk with a few athletes about their dentist experiences. This was one of my favorite sessions. Not only was I excited to talk with the athletes but they were so excited to finally talk with us!  

Successes

Wednesday 10-07-2020 wrapped up the first five weeks of Partner Up, Power Up. The first five weeks were absolutely incredible. My practicum group has been given the opportunity to plan and prepare Wellness Wednesdays for 10 weeks in the Partner Up, Power Up program. The 10 weeks are split in half due to the athletes participating in a Playbook provided by Special Olympics of North Carolina. The Playbook was provided to the athletes because of the inability to meet in person. The athletes are given Zoom links they can join to participate in daily events. In the Playbook, athletes can find what they are to be participating in each day via zoom, the exercises they are to be doing each day, activity write-ins, and a check off box for participation. Each week is a different topic for the athletes but exercising and stretching is every day. The Playbook provides the athletes with healthy goals and allows the athletes to set goals for themselves each week. 

On Wednesdays, my group hosts Wellness Wednesdays. My favorite day of the week. Each Wednesday is a new topic for the athletes but the topic we present on goes with their weekly Power Up tracker. The first five weeks have taught me so much. The Wednesdays so far have consisted of presentations on nutrition, hydration, cooking healthy meals, and mental health. These Wednesdays have already taught me so much about individuals with IDD and how important it is for them to continuously be receiving education as well as educating themselves on healthy topics or known as “healthy athlete disciplines” to them. Wellness Wednesdays are led by my practicum group as well as certified professionals on the specific topic presented on each week. My group has successfully kept the number of participants each week over 100! This number is impressive and so reassuring. The athletes really feel like they are getting knowledgeable information from our sessions and want to come back each week. The athletes favorite part might not be the actual education portion but the dance party at the end. It is so much fun to see over 100 athletes dancing and moving around at the end of every session.  

One of the most important weeks for the athletes thus far was Strong Minds. Strong Minds focused on mental health. Mental health is important for any individual but particularly important for an individual with IDD. The session was all about how important it is to take care of your mind as well as your body. The athletes were provided with different ways to cope with their mental health when they are feeling stressed, sad, or angry. The athletes were also given ways to positively reinforce their mental health throughout the day whether it is through positive affirmations or breathing techniques. Athletes already know they are different than everyone else therefore it is important to keep their mental health in mind when working with them. Gaining a better understanding of how they cope with stress or anxiety and providing education for them is something they appreciate. Even though each Wednesday is a different topic, the athletes are fully aware they are allowed to reach out to any Special Olympic Staff and they will be guided in the right direction. 

Aside from the Wellness Wednesday Strong Minds session, the athletes go through mental health screenings with professionals. These screenings allow the athletes to have one on one conversations with professionals about their mental health. They are able to discuss what they are going through and ask as many questions as they need to. Similar to the Wellness Wednesday Strong Minds session, they are provided with coping strategies and other ways to continue to have positive and healthy mental health. 

From the first 5 weeks, I have learned so much. The athletes are always so excited to participate in their Power Up book each week and their interactions with us during our Wellness Wednesday sessions are always amazing. I've learned that the little things mean so much to the athletes. A simple shoutout on the Zoom call can make their day. I’ve also learned that even though they know they are different, they still want normalcy. They appreciate any and every normal daily routine that comes with being them. Each athlete wants to feel included and that is my group's job with this program. Little educational moments stick with the athletes for a long time. Working with these athletes has been a blessing and I am so excited to continue these next 5 weeks with them.