Privilege to Represent Members: Special Olympics

Abstract

In December, I wrote in this space about dietetics students—the future of our Academy and our profession. As an educator, students are very close to me, both personally and professionally. And in recent months, I have met with hundreds of dietetics students—undergraduates and graduate students—in 13 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, and two Caribbean nations. I am always impressed by our students’ passion, energy, and enthusiasm.This past summer, in Los Angeles, I had the privilege to represent the Academy and to interact with student members at an amazing event: the 2015 Special Olympics. Since 1999, Academy members—practitioners and students alike—have annually volunteered to provide free health exams to Special Olympics athletes in vision, foot health, physical ability and balance, hearing, oral health, and health promotion.The Special Olympics has become “the largest global public health organization dedicated to serving people with intellectual disabilities.”2Food & Nutrition Magazine. Alice Lenihan: Special Olympics Global Clinical Advisor http://www.foodandnutrition.org/Alice-Lenihan. Published April 28, 2015. Accessed October 23, 2015.Google ScholarFor dietetics students, this is a distinctive and rewarding community nutrition rotation. The photo on this page shows some of the graduate students and dietetics interns from area programs who I had the pleasure to meet as they conducted the screenings. On the left is Academy member Alice Lenihan, MPH, RD, LDN, the Special Olympics’ global clinical advisor, who supervises the health screenings and helped arrange my visit. Academy member Bettye Nowlin, MPH, RDN, FADA, joined me in observing the health screenings as well.Meeting Unique NeedsAs Lenihan describes the program: “All of the health professionals volunteer their time for the exams and education. We assess the athletes’ [body mass index], bone density, blood pressure and provide education and information on healthy eating, hydration, physical activity, and other topics. I have been working with the Healthy Athletes, Health Promotion Program for over 10 years and we have had wonderful participation from dietitians and other health professionals from around the world.”In representing the Academy at the Special Olympics, I was particularly proud to support our members who contribute their time working with a population with unique nutrition risks and needs. The recent release of the Academy’s position paper “Nutrition Services for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Special Health Care Needs”1Academy of Nutrition and DieteticsPosition of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Nutrition services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and special health care needs.J Acad Nutr Diet. 2015; 115: 593-608Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (37) Google Scholar illustrates the importance of our work with Special Olympics. Children and adults with disabilities and special needs often have health risk factors that require nutrition interventions, such as failure to thrive, growth retardation, poor feeding skills, obesity, metabolic disorders, drug–nutrient interactions, and sometimes partial or total dependence on enteral or parenteral nutrition.Demonstrating Passion, CommitmentFor more than a century, it has been a tradition among Olympic athletes to exchange pins from their home countries, sponsors, and organizations, and the Special Olympics are no exception. I brought a bag filled with Academy pins and gave them away in swaps with athletes.The Special Olympics vividly demonstrated to me—once again—the commitment and passion of Academy members (students and veterans alike) to help each and every person with whom we interact to do what it says on our pin: Eat Right. In December, I wrote in this space about dietetics students—the future of our Academy and our profession. As an educator, students are very close to me, both personally and professionally. And in recent months, I have met with hundreds of dietetics students—undergraduates and graduate students—in 13 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, and two Caribbean nations. I am always impressed by our students’ passion, energy, and enthusiasm. This past summer, in Los Angeles, I had the privilege to represent the Academy and to interact with student members at an amazing event: the 2015 Special Olympics. Since 1999, Academy members—practitioners and students alike—have annually volunteered to provide free health exams to Special Olympics athletes in vision, foot health, physical ability and balance, hearing, oral health, and health promotion. The Special Olympics has become “the largest global public health organization dedicated to serving people with intellectual disabilities.”2Food & Nutrition Magazine. Alice Lenihan: Special Olympics Global Clinical Advisor http://www.foodandnutrition.org/Alice-Lenihan. Published April 28, 2015. Accessed October 23, 2015.Google Scholar For dietetics students, this is a distinctive and rewarding community nutrition rotation. The photo on this page shows some of the graduate students and dietetics interns from area programs who I had the pleasure to meet as they conducted the screenings. On the left is Academy member Alice Lenihan, MPH, RD, LDN, the Special Olympics’ global clinical advisor, who supervises the health screenings and helped arrange my visit. Academy member Bettye Nowlin, MPH, RDN, FADA, joined me in observing the health screenings as well. Meeting Unique NeedsAs Lenihan describes the program: “All of the health professionals volunteer their time for the exams and education. We assess the athletes’ [body mass index], bone density, blood pressure and provide education and information on healthy eating, hydration, physical activity, and other topics. I have been working with the Healthy Athletes, Health Promotion Program for over 10 years and we have had wonderful participation from dietitians and other health professionals from around the world.”In representing the Academy at the Special Olympics, I was particularly proud to support our members who contribute their time working with a population with unique nutrition risks and needs. The recent release of the Academy’s position paper “Nutrition Services for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Special Health Care Needs”1Academy of Nutrition and DieteticsPosition of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Nutrition services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and special health care needs.J Acad Nutr Diet. 2015; 115: 593-608Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (37) Google Scholar illustrates the importance of our work with Special Olympics. Children and adults with disabilities and special needs often have health risk factors that require nutrition interventions, such as failure to thrive, growth retardation, poor feeding skills, obesity, metabolic disorders, drug–nutrient interactions, and sometimes partial or total dependence on enteral or parenteral nutrition. As Lenihan describes the program: “All of the health professionals volunteer their time for the exams and education. We assess the athletes’ [body mass index], bone density, blood pressure and provide education and information on healthy eating, hydration, physical activity, and other topics. I have been working with the Healthy Athletes, Health Promotion Program for over 10 years and we have had wonderful participation from dietitians and other health professionals from around the world.” In representing the Academy at the Special Olympics, I was particularly proud to support our members who contribute their time working with a population with unique nutrition risks and needs. The recent release of the Academy’s position paper “Nutrition Services for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Special Health Care Needs”1Academy of Nutrition and DieteticsPosition of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Nutrition services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and special health care needs.J Acad Nutr Diet. 2015; 115: 593-608Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (37) Google Scholar illustrates the importance of our work with Special Olympics. Children and adults with disabilities and special needs often have health risk factors that require nutrition interventions, such as failure to thrive, growth retardation, poor feeding skills, obesity, metabolic disorders, drug–nutrient interactions, and sometimes partial or total dependence on enteral or parenteral nutrition. Demonstrating Passion, CommitmentFor more than a century, it has been a tradition among Olympic athletes to exchange pins from their home countries, sponsors, and organizations, and the Special Olympics are no exception. I brought a bag filled with Academy pins and gave them away in swaps with athletes.The Special Olympics vividly demonstrated to me—once again—the commitment and passion of Academy members (students and veterans alike) to help each and every person with whom we interact to do what it says on our pin: Eat Right. For more than a century, it has been a tradition among Olympic athletes to exchange pins from their home countries, sponsors, and organizations, and the Special Olympics are no exception. I brought a bag filled with Academy pins and gave them away in swaps with athletes. The Special Olympics vividly demonstrated to me—once again—the commitment and passion of Academy members (students and veterans alike) to help each and every person with whom we interact to do what it says on our pin: Eat Right.