2019 Games ‘to change minds’

About 7,000 atheletes will be competing at the Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi in 2019. Delores Johnson / The National

ABU DHABI // UAE organisers of the Special Olympics World Games in 2019 aim to bring about positive changes that last into the future.

The Games, which will be held in Abu Dhabi, must achieve long-term effects such as educating the youth on social inclusion and better training for healthcare professionals in their work with people with disabilities, organisers said.

“There’s a number of ways we look at legacy – how we build more year-round sports programmes, recruit more doctors and provide health screenings on a regular basis,” said Peter Wheeler, chief executive of the Games’ organising committee. He has been involved with the Special Olympics for more than 30 years.

The week-long Games must affect the community by “changing attitudes” towards those with special needs, he said.

The 7,000 athletes will be staying in the homes of local hosts for two or three days in Abu Dhabi. “It allows us to get more people engaged and aware of the Special Olympics,” Mr Wheeler said.

Tala Al Ramahi, chief strategy officer for the 2019 Games, said she hoped that schools would raise awareness about people with special needs in their moral education classes. Ms Al Ramahi is also a member of Abu Dhabi’s campaign team to host the Games.

“There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding people with disabilities and that’s one of the things we want to start addressing,” she said.

“Of course it starts with schools, but it goes beyond that, into employment, society as a whole, addressing these misconceptions.”

Under the Games’ Healthy Athletes programme, the 7,000 competitors will receive free health screenings including vision, hearing and dental examinations.

Like the broader society, healthcare professionals need more training on treating people with special needs, according to Yahia Kabani, a physical therapist with the Healthy Athletes programme.

He works with 260 people with special needs at the Dubai Club For The Disabled.

In the United States, about 80 per cent of medical graduates were not educated about people with disabilities and had never been in contact with the community, he claimed.

“It’s the same in the UAE for sure, and the care given to those with intellectual disabilities is also less than those given to people with physical disabilities,” said Mr Kabani.

“As those with intellectual disability cannot communicate in the same way, it becomes much harder to assess them, so healthcare professionals must be better trained.”

About 60 per cent of Special Olympics athletes are overweight or obese, according to him.

“If screening were done better, this wouldn’t be the case,” he said.

“They can’t look after themselves, so we need to intervene. It’s all of our responsibility,” he said in reference to healthcare providers, sports coaches and clubs.

Mehnaz Ahmed, general manager of the Special Needs Future Development Centre, said schools would want their students to take part in the Games to gain local recognition, which might serve as a springboard to international sports.

Reuben Samuel, a volunteer with Wings Of Angelz, said he hoped the Games would change hearts and minds. His group has campaigned for and helped to build more than 500 ramps for people with special needs.

“There is also so much hidden talent. And with these games, people with disabilities will want to show their talent,” he said. “It will also improve the environment and change the way that society thinks of people with disabilities who are sometimes shunned.

“Sports for people with disabilities are not embedded in the culture here, so this will help to bring more people with disabilities outdoors.”