The mission of the "Special Olympics Lions Clubs International Opening Eyes" (SOLCIOE) Vision Health Program is to improve the quality of life for people with intellectual disability by optimizing their vision, eye health and visual skills through quality eye care for Special Olympics athletes.
This is accomplished by screening the integrity of the athlete’s visual system including: visual acuity, refractive status, eye health, and by prescribing and dispensing appropriate prescription and safety eyewear. Other important components of the SOLCIOE program is educating the athletes, parents, coaches and doctors about the importance of the visual system for sports, education and vocational performance, along with gathering, presenting and publishing statistics regarding vision, visual skills and eye health of the Special Olympics population.
Background:
SOLCIOE was conceived in 1989 by the Sports Vision Section (SVS) of the American Optometric Association (AOA). The Sports Vision Section of the AOA is a group of over 500 optometrists throughout the USA interested in Sports Vision. The SVS is involved with the vision screenings of athletes at events such as the US Olympics Festival, Olympics Sports Festival and the Junior Olympics. The AOA is one of the leading organizations in optometry and through its support and funding, SOLCIOE was formed.
The first screening conducted in association with Special Olympics International (SOI) was at the 1991World Summer Games in Minneapolis. At that event 370 athletes were screened. Athletes who failed the evaluation or needed follow-up were referred to their local eye care practitioners. This initial experience highlighted the large unmet need for quality vision and eye health care for Special Olympics athletes.
The 1995 World Summer Games in Connecticut marked a turning point in the SOLCIOE program. Instead of the athlete merely receiving only a summary sheet recommending further care; direct clinical care was provided on site. The program was expanded to include not only screening tests, but also refractions (tests to determine eyeglass prescriptions) and the fabrication of prescription glasses. Connecticut based companies, Precision Optical, New England Ophthalmic Instruments, and Welling provided equipment, frames and lenses. Nine hundred five athletes were evaluated and 400 pairs of prescription eyeglasses were distributed free of charge.
The experience at the 1995 World Games significantly improved the clinical care and transformed attitudes of the doctors and student clinicians who volunteered at the SOLCIOE screening. We were rewarded with countless smiles as the athletes put on their new glasses. Knowing that our efforts helped improve the vision of the athletes' was gratifying for the doctors, families, as well as other people associated with SOI.
At the end of 1997, Special Olympics Incorporated, assimilated this vision program into its corporate structure. The program was then known as the Special Olympics Opening Eyes (SOOE) Vision Health Program. It became an integral component of the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes Initiative.
In the fall of 2000 a major global partnership was formed between the Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF), the largest service club in the world, and Special Olympics. LCIF has donated a 3.28 million-dollar grant to fund the financial needs of our program for a three year period. In addition, they agreed to provide volunteers to work with Opening Eyes to provide much needed vision care to the Special Olympics athletes. To recognize this global partnership the name of our program has been changed to reflect the new partnership, Special Olympics Lions Clubs International Opening Eyes (SOLCIOE).
SOLCIOE has used this grant to fund training opportunities for eye care providers worldwide, thus providing Special Olympics athletes increased access to vision care. In addition to training, data gathered from SOLCIOE events has been used for research purposes to help better understand the visual needs of patients with intellectual disability and developmental delay. LCIF has renewed this grant through 2007 bringing its total commitment to over $9 million.
The goal of SOLCIOE is to have continuing programs in every state and country in which there is a Special Olympics chapter. This will create a legacy of Special Olympics Opening Eyes – a program that promotes improved access to quality vision and eye health care for people with intellectual disability. To further that goal SOI is requesting all doctors from North America to enroll in the Special Olympics Provider Directory. This will identify the practitioner as someone willing to see patients with intellectual disability in their practices.
The Special Olympics Lions Clubs International Opening Eyes Vision Health Program is the largest and most successful clinical and research program undertaken with respect to vision care for people with intellectual disability. By fulfilling the program objectives in the areas of research, improving access to care, and training eye care professionals; it is our hope to improve the quality of life for people with intellectual disability through better vision.
Since 1999, optometrists volunteering in the Connecticut chapter of SOLCIOE have evaluated over 925 athletes and provided the athletes with 576 pairs of prescription or protective eyewear at no cost.
To quote Tim Shriver, Chairman of Special Olympics Inc., “Special Olympics is not only in the business of sport, it is in the business of changing lives”.
