Special Olympics

[riflearm2]

Due to rain/lightning, i am stuck on the treadmill today. Instead of watching wheel of fortune, I decided to check out ESPN, right when they began their telecast of the special Olympics. And I thought watching women's sports was bad. But, that's not the point of my post.

What are the limitations of being "special" for these athletes? They interviewed a U.S. basketball player, and he seemed fairly normal mentally. A guy who just won a swimming event didn't seem too challenged. So, does anyone know what the level of . . . "special" (we still can't use "retarded," right?) is to qualify?

I mean, I would think herd fever has a decent shot at qualifying, both mentally and physically. Same with another one or two people who have posted on here. Corky Thatcher had Down Syndrome, but was able to remember lines and act on a major network show for many years. There have to be quite a few people right on the cusp of being allowed in, right?

 

[i am herdman]

I wonder how many D1 football and basketball players are legally or borderline retarded? I bet there are plenty in the NFL and NBA. Back in the day before all the 2.0 GPA requirements, we had plenty of retarded kids that played sports.

Honestly, I never have understood all this stuff of having to make good grades and being a football player. You have to be smart to go in there and hit that other guy across from you? What is the correlation between making a good grade in history and knocking someone's dick stiff on the football field?

We want entertainment. I don't need Terrell Owens to be a chemistry major.Boy, go run real fast that way and the one smart guy who has good teeth will throw you the ball. Hey, Leroy see that guy with a blue jersey and yours is red? When he runs with the ball you hit that son of bitch hard. He probably did it with your mother. OK coach. I don't care if he can't read.

As for your question, ESPN is politically correct. They don't want the real super challenged people. They mix it up.

Back in they day, they put slower people in their own special classes. Now they mix them in. I don't know why they do that.

 

[GK4Herd]

I have a degree in special education, but it's been 30 years since I was involved with it so my answer might be dated. It use to be that a student qualified for special eduction with sub average intelligence of 70 or below (two standard deviations below the means). An IQ of 70-50 was considered "Educable". And IQ of 50-25 was "Severe" and an IQ below 25 was "Profound". Many students with IQs around 70 exhibited no physical limitations or displayed any classic characteristics of mentally handicapped that you might envision when you think Special Olympics (like Downs Syndrome). Some kids were even placed with IQs slightly above 70 if they displayed significant deficits in adaptive behavior.

In other words, kids that fell in the educable range often looked no different physically than anyone else. They just did poorly in school. Many of my students who were 12 to 13 years old could read, but were several grade levels behind. These are the types of kids you were watching. In a sport like basketball, they might be limited to basic offensive and defensive schemes, but wouldn't be limited greatly from an athletic point of view. Running doesn't take a high degree of intelligence to perform. Many kids, especially those who fall in the severe or profound category had an underlying problem (Downs, etc) that limited them physically. These are the kids we generally think of when we think Special Olympics. That's why this can be confusing to some when they watch SO.

 

[big_country90]

I know a former 1st team all state basketball player that was in LD classes all through high school. Literally one of the dumbest people I have ever met. He was a physical freak, a ladies man, drove a nice car, and participated in special olympics.

 

[riflearm2]

Murox was 1st team all state? I thought you said you were better than him.

Thanks for the info, GK. I imagine it is a pretty fluid line depending on a lot of factors how these kids are classified.

 

[ThunderCat98]

I know a former 1st team all state basketball player that was in LD classes all through high school. Literally one of the dumbest people I have ever met. He was a physical freak, a ladies man, drove a nice car, and participated in special olympics.

Omg! I was thinking of the same dude as I was reading this thread - right before I got to your post. That is hilarious.

Wasn't he like honorable mention all-state in football too?

 

[GK4Herd]

By the way...there's a distinction between Learning Disabled (LD) and Mentally Impaired (MI). (These terms are dated and I'm sure there are different terminology today) To be MI (what used to be called retarded) you have to have significant sub-average intelligence like I noted above (below 70 IQ).

But you are NOT considered LD when you have low intelligence. In fact, to qualify as LD your IQ has to fall in the average to above average range (90 IQ or better), with below average performance in reading or math. So LD isn't an intelligence issue, it's a performance issue. Let's say that a kid takes an IQ test and it comes in at 114, but his standard scores (a score that allows you to compare performance with IQ) in reading or math are in the 70s. This means that there is a discrepancy between ability and performance. So the guy you knew that was LD had to have at least an average IQ just to qualify. He just didn't do so well in the performance side of it.

And I believe that only mentally retarded (MI) students qualify for SO. So therefore your All-Stater couldn't dunk on the kid with CP or Downs Syndrome.

 

[GK4Herd]

Murox was 1st team all state? I thought you said you were better than him.

Funny...and also brings up the point...where has Rox been?

By the way Rox, if you're still hanging around, I spent a week in Orlando with your Russian buddy. We had an extra room in the house we rented and invited him and my daughter down for the week. I'm really starting to like him. He treats my daughter like gold and she's as happy as I've ever seen her.

 

[riflearm2]

Funny...and also brings up the point...where has Rox been?
.

He is on a cross-country drive in the Porsche.

spent a week in Orlando with your Russian buddy. We had an extra room in the house we rented and invited him and my daughter down for the week.

I live 45 minutes from downtown Orlando. I have two extra bedrooms for you and the Russian (the daughter could have stayed with me). And she wouldn't even have to put up with me wearing a ushanka.

 

[GK4Herd]

I swear I had to google ushanka. Lord I'm uncultured.

 

[big_country90]

Murox just got back from another bi-monthly, 2 week long vacation. I'm sure he will pop in.

 

[herdfan06]

And I believe that only mentally retarded (MI) students qualify for SO. So therefore your All-Stater couldn't dunk on the kid with CP or Downs Syndrome.

In high school, I knew a guy with a "run of the mill LD" that played soccer in the Special Olympics.

 

[GK4Herd]

In high school, I knew a guy with a "run of the mill LD" that played soccer in the Special Olympics.

That seems to violate the spirit of SO. I wonder if there are rules governing it nationally or if that kind of stuff is decided locally.

 

[Raoul Duke MU]

GK pretty much summed it up. And it is one of big complaints about Special Olympics. Yes it does violate the spirit of it.

 

[murox]

What a great thread.

The LD guy from Williamson truly was a gifted athlete. Good-looking guy, too. I saw him on fb a few weeks ago and it looked like he packed on some lbs.

I'm hanging around, GK. Been pretty busy lately, but I still drop by. Our Russian buddy is a good dude. I saw him and Jen Monday when I was running in the park.