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Special Olympics Education Tool (SOET) to Support Health Behaviours and Activities of Daily Living

PI’s: Sarah Finch and William Montelpare

Woman in a green tshirt shares information with a woman sitting across from her.

Project Summary

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) face various barriers in accessing health promotion programs including limited transportation, lack of self-confidence, lack of motivation, lack of social support, and cost. The goal of this project was to create a web-based application to help Special Olympics athletes gain confidence and independence in goals related to health behaviours and activities of daily living.

The Special Olympics Education Tool (SOET) is offered for free for individuals with IDD. It is offered through a virtual platform, and can be accessed at an individual’s home, addressing the barrier of transportation. The tool uses Behavioral Analysis and Video Modelling to promote individuals with IDD to become more independent in their activities of daily living and health behaviors.

Individuals create goals and set prompts for personalized skills and activities that they want to improve upon. Tasks can be personalized based on an individual’s learning style or abilities, allowing for greater flexibility and accessibility. The prompts are organized in a hierarchy: video modeling at the top, followed by pictures and audio, and ending with text. As individuals perform the task, prompts are reduced in the order of the hierarchy, with the goal of the individual gaining independence.

Conclusion
This tool addresses the various barriers that individuals with IDD face when accessing health promotion programs. It provides individuals with the opportunity to access a health promotion tool in their own home environment. The goal of the tool is to help individuals improve their self-confidence and independence in participating in activities of daily living. It also provides a blueprint for future health promotion strategies that can be created and accessible for individuals with IDD. The next steps will include testing the virtual platform to assess its impact on participants’ independence and confidence.

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