Special Olympics Canada is a national organization founded in 1969 to help people with intellectual disabilities develop self-confidence and social skills through sports training and competition.
Canadian athletes have the opportunity to participate along with more than 150 other countries in Special Olympics World Summer or Winter Games through selection in the national team program.
Williams travels around and shares his story with audiences amongst other International Ambassadors in order to educate the public about Special Olympics, but also to demonstrate the impact that the organization has on its athletes’ lives.
At this time, Eunice Kennedy Shriver was working on creating an organization with the same purpose as Dr. Hayden’s proposal, due to her experience with her sister’s intellectual disability.
Shriver reached out to Dr. Hayden and the two (amongst others) collaborated to host an event in Chicago, Illinois, which would be known as the first international Special Olympics Summer Games in 1968.
Led by Dr. Jonathan Weiss of York University, this project aims to understand what the motivating factors are behind retaining participation of intellectual disabled individuals in sport.
Also led by Dr. Jonathan Weiss and colleagues at York University, this project dives deeper into the study of youth with high functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASDs) and the way emotions are dealt with in their daily lives.
In October 2014, The Honourable Candice Bergen, Minister of State (Social Development) addressed Special Olympics Canada to publicly emphasize the benefits of a Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP).
Minister Bergen’s goal was to help more Canadians that are eligible for this plan be more proactive on seeking out the RDSP as a way to balance their finances and save money in the long run.