Special Olympics

In 2003, CSDE entered into a formal collaborative relationship with Special Olympics, Inc. Recognizing the importance of cross-cultural research in mental retardation, Dr. Timothy Shriver, CEO and president of Special Olympics, Inc. and Joanne Gora, past-chancellor of UMass Boston, signed the Memorandum of Agreement to establish a Regional Collabrating Center (RCC) at CSDE. The purpose of the RCC is to conduct rigorous scientific research that is of value to the international community. In recent years, the RCC has conducted studies on the impact of Special Olympics on its constituents, and on attitudes of people internationally toward individuals with intellectual disabilities.

In 2006, the CSDE Regional Collaborating Center became Special Olympics' only Global Collaborating Center. The UMass Boston/Special Olympics Global Collaborating Center is solely responsible for all international research related to attitudes and intellectual disabilities.

In addition to research on attitudes, CSDE carries out program evaluation for Special Olympics on the national and international levels.

R-Word Campaign

Spread the Word to End the Word is a National Awareness Day to raise the consciousness of society about the dehumanizing and hurtful effects of the word “retard(ed)” and encourage people to pledge to stop using the R-word.

In order to learn more about youth experiences with the R-word, staff from Special Olympics, the Special Olympics Global Collaborating Center at the University of Massachusetts Boston, and the Harris Interactive® worked together to design an online survey. In this online survey, youth across the country were asked questions about the r-word, including whether they have ever heard the word, and if so, how they reacted to hearing it. Over a thousand youth between the ages of 8 and 18 responded to the online survey.

Attitude Research

Together with Special Olympics, CSDE has embarked on an international research agenda focusing on public attitudes toward individuals with disabilities. This research has uncovered the fact that around the world, misperceptions about the capabilities of individuals with intellectual disabilities remain the biggest barrier to inclusion.
Multinational Study on Attitudes toward Individuals
with Intellectual Disabilities

In 2002-2003, CSDE completed the first part of an ongoing research endeavor documenting attitudes of the public worldwide. The Multinational Study on Attitudes towards Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities involved more than 7,000 adults from Brazil, China, Egypt, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Russia, and the U.S. In 2004, the Multinational Study of Attitudes was expanded to include two new countries, South Africa and India. The findings from these two countries confirm the trend of attitudes worldwide, namely, that people with intellectual disabilities are misperceived and misunderstood, and that the public believes that separate settings for work and school are the best option for people with intellectual disabilities. With attitude change as one of the major goals for CSDE and Special Olympics, Inc., CSDE will continue to expand its attitude research on a global scale over the next decade.

Youth Attitudes toward Peers with Intellectual Disabilities

In 2004-2005, CSDE carried out two simultaneous studies on youth attitudes, one in the United States and one in Japan. The Youth Attitude Studies in the U.S. and Japan provided important information as to the current state of attitudes among youth in these two different countries. Specifically, youth in the U.S. and Japan underestimate the capabilities of peers with intellectual disabilities and are unwilling to interact with them socially. However, the studies also found that youth in both countries are open to the possibility of greater inclusion in schools. Building upon this cross-cultural research base, CSDE will expand this research to China in 2006.

For more information, contact Jennifer Norins Bardon.