Impact of Special Olympics Programming Special Olympics commissioned research concluded that Special Olympics programs are highly valued and have numerous and positive effects upon those who participate in them. Dalin Phillips, left, traveled to the 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Nagano, Japan from his home in Utah (USA) to watch his son Patrick win two gold medals competing in cross country skiing. In addition ot Patrick, Dalin Phillips is the father of seven other children, all of whom are involved in the movement. His message to all parents from around the world is that the times have changed and now there are so many opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities. [Photo courtesy of the Phillips family] Special Olympics has established through large-scale objective studies that it is having a large and positive impact on the lives of people with intellectual disabilities, their families, and communities and society at large. Special Olympics has never been more relevant to families and society because it promotes attitude changes and encourages enlightenment as the standard in society instead of the exception. Available Research on the Impact of Special Olympics A Comprehensive Study of Special Olympics Programs in Latin America: Findings from Argentina, Brazil, and Peru This study was designed to provide a comprehensive look at Special Olympics athletes and their families in Latin America with emphasis on their experiences in sports, education, employment, healthcare, and community involvement and integration. A Comprehensive National Study of Special Olympics Programs in China This research was designed to provide a comprehensive look at Special Olympics athletes, families, and coaches in China with emphasis on their experiences in sports, education, employment, healthcare, and community involvement and integration. An Evaluation of a Unified Sports® Football Pilot Project (An evaluation of the Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia Unified Football Pilot Project as a mechanism for promoting social inclusion through sport – preliminary report published October 2006; final report to be available in early 2007) Changing Lives through Sport — A Report Card on the Impact of Special Olympics (the results of a multi-legged study of the impact of Special Olympics programs on the lives of its athletes in the United States — published 2005) Health Promotion Pilot Programs Evaluation: Improving Athletes' Health (Six pilot programs in the U.S. and one in Latin America were initiated to test different Health Promotion strategies aimed at improving physical fitness and lifestyle choices/habits and to determine if there could be effective predictors of program success — results published December 2005) National Evaluation of the Special Olympics Unified Sports® Program (Final Report, by the Center for Social Development and Education, University of Massachusetts Boston and Department of Special Education, University of Utah — published December 2001)