Special Olympics exists because of how much Rosemary Kennedy—the joy she experienced and brought to others, as well as the challenges she faced—inspired her sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver . This ability of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to catalyze change is at the heart of the Special Olympics movement and the root of a new project launched by Special Olympics in 2024.
For 25 years, the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes program has screened Special Olympics athletes, collected health data, and inspired health professionals to change their attitudes and even their ways of doing their work. A variety of barriers keep people with IDD from obtaining follow-up care after a Healthy Athletes screening and from achieving good health outcomes.
Rosemary Collaboratory is an initiative that aims to use data to drive health systems improvements related to inclusion of those with IDD, targeting barriers that have been identified and prioritized with the leadership of those with IDD. A multi-level collaboration between Special Olympics and a variety of collaborators, Rosemary Collaboratory engages new disciplines such as law and public policy, facilitates international learning, and amplifies findings through strategic global advocacy and communications.
Vision: Health system reforms that stand to improve the health outcomes of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Approach
- Work with the Missing Billion Initiative (MBI) to create a new, IDD-specific module to their existing System Level Assessment on disability inclusion in health.
- Engage local teams in sites around the world to assess the level of IDD inclusion in their health system.
- Support development and implementation of plans for policy, systems, and environmental change in each Rosemary Collaboratory site, based on the findings of the assessment.
- Develop a global report to capture trends from assessment findings, other data, good practices, and policy recommendations to promote health equity for persons with IDD.
