Inclusion Starts on the Field: Special Olympics and Unified Sports

Special Olympics began with a simple belief: people with intellectual disabilities deserve the same chance to play, compete and belong.

Special Olympics offers year-round training and competition to children and adults with intellectual disabilities, in more than 30 Olympic-style sports. It reaches millions of athletes in more than 170 countries.

Unified Sports

In Unified Sports, athletes with and without intellectual disabilities train and compete on the same team. The idea is simple: friendship and respect grow when people play together. Unified Champion Schools extend the same approach to school clubs, leadership and whole-school activities.

Why it matters

• People with intellectual disabilities are more likely to be socially isolated and to face barriers in health care, education and employment.
• Sport builds confidence, fitness and friendships, for athletes and for the partners who play beside them.
• The Healthy Athletes program provides free health screenings at events, often the first some athletes have received.

How you can take part

Volunteer at a local event, coach, become a Unified partner, cheer from the stands, or ask your employer to sponsor a team. Inclusion is something we do, not just something we say.

Part of the Boston Made Reader’s special collection Courage, Conscience & Service. Written for the Reader and free to read here.