What a Week!

It’s the start of July and I am melting in the heat inside the tent. Its only 8.30am and there are 6 people here. It can only get worse as the day gets hotter and more people arrive. It would be magic if I could go outside and see the sunshine, but I cannot.

This is no holiday. I am here to work. I have volunteered to examine eyes at the Special Olympics in Glasgow. This is part of the healthy Athletes programme that allows the athlete’s access to Opticians, Dentists, Audiologists, Podiatrists and general health promotion experts.

It is a fact that people with intellectual difficulties, including Downs Syndrome, Autism, and cerebral palsy are less likely to have been examined by these specialities.

The Special Olympics Health Athlete programme is designed to address this. There were 2750 athletes in Glasgow and 950 came through the health screenings. In our area about 35 people, opticians and optical students were examining visual standards, interior and exterior eye health, muscle balances and lots more. We had all been for extra training to learn and relearn some of the different techniques for examing those with intellectual difficulties as well as learning basic Makaton, a sign language used to enhance communication.

It was at 10.00am the doors opened and athletes starting coming through the doors accompanied by coaches and carers. Some in ones and two and others arriving as a team, the Welsh team appeared massive. The age range of the athletes was from 7 to 40+ and the range of disability was vast. Some of the athletes were easy to test and others presented significant challenges, but our team of opticians etc rose to the challenge. Sometimes we were on our knees testing, at other times standing holding an athletes head into an examination machine, occasionally bend double to accomplish a certain test. Through this the athletes were full of humour and excitement. Some wanted to chat, others were more withdrawn, and some were very hyper. They were all examined. At 5.30pm the doors closed on a days work, we were shattered. Only five more days to go.

The pattern of work never changed, always someone to see, always an athlete with a smile. There were loads of characters and I have enough stories to last me a lifetime. I learned more about testing eyes of intellectually disabled people in one week than in 20yrs of work.

I hope I can use the experience in Glasgow to improve the work that Hughes Macdonald & Davidson do locally. Our opticians have been to training sessions based on the teaching I received in Glasgow and this can only make the examination of those with intellectual disabilities more accurate and more pleasurable for all concerned.

It was a brilliant week, and I loved every minute of it. I would do it again, in fact the next world games are in Shanghi 2007, wonder if I can go.

Alan Macdonald 2005.

Update: After working at the games in 2009 in Leicester I will still recommend this experience to anyone. If your a parent or friend of someone young or old who has a intellectual disabillity go to the next one and offer your support. If you want to offer your services why not check out the webpages of Special Olympics GB. They will give you all the information about the local groups in your area.

No one is too disabaled to have an eye examination, we use many resources and different methods to give All people, disables or not the best vision we can.

Check out:  Lookup:                               www.lookupinfo.org

                      special Olympics Uk:      www.specialolympicsgb.org.uk