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~~i~~i ~i RECFJVED ~I ifine..-~ By Special Olympics ~---------=j County Council ~ International SPECIAL OLYMPICS IMPROVES SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT ACCORDING TO NEW YALE STUDY For Immediate Release: Contact: Mike Janes 202/824-0305 1 IAM, Monday, June 12 Amy Hyland 202/778-1260 Cynthia Atwood 203/432-1326 New Haven, Conn., June 12 Special Olympics athletes perform better at school, at work and at home the longer they participate in the program, according to a study by mental retazdation experts at Yale University to be published in an upcoming edition of the Journal of America Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The study measured such social competency skills as the ability to live independently, hold a job, participate in community activities and develop close friendships. Released on the eve of the 1995 Special Olympics World Games, the Yale study is the first scientific study to focus on the social and emotional goals of the Special Olympics program rather than physical fitness and sports achievement. The study compared athletes who actively competed in Special Olympics games against a control group of people with mental retazdation who were not involved in the program. The reseazchers discovered that the length of time spent in Special Olympics is the greatest predictor of increased social competence better than I.Q. or age among study participants, who were randomly selected U.S. Special Olympics competitors in the Special Olympics World Games in Salzburg, Austria in 1993. "This study offers new insight on how Special Olympics provides an opportunity for athletes to develop their social growth," said Elisabeth M. Dykens, Ph.D., assistant professor at the Yale Child Study Center, who conducted the study with the center's director, Donald J. Cohen, M.D. "Furthermore, the results of this study show that, in addition to the real physical benefits of Special Olympics, the program offers a vehicle for social integration and accomplishment among its active participants." "The study conducted by Yale is very significant because it reflects something I have believed for a long time that Special Olympics provides an opportunity to do more than build athletic ability. At the same time, it substantially improves the athletes' relationships with their families, their co-workers and everyone they come in contact with," said Sazgent Shriver, Chairman and CEO of Special Olympics International. "For parents who aze looking for ways to enhance their children's development growth, this study suggests that athletes who participate in Special Olympics acquire important skills that can help them gain employment, maintain relationships, function independently, and contribute to ~n~. 1,z0. 19 ~.Ilo 1~~;,::~~~~. I+.~~r.., ;Presented~~~~, ~ Lei. 1Mte_ MAR 19 l~yd 1325 G STRHET, NW I SUITE 500 / WASNI~'GTO N. DC USA 20005-3104 / PHONE: 202.fi283630 / FAX: 202.824.0200 / 'I'GIFX. fi50284.1739 MCI