Adrianna Vanos
Adrianna Vanos grew up in Guelph, Ontario before moving to Halifax, Nova Scotia to attend the University of King’s College and Dalhousie as an undergraduate student. As a Loran Scholar and combined honours student, she studied social anthropology and contemporary studies. She loves to learn and is passionate about accessible education, writing, and youth theatre. Adrianna has a goal to attend a Master of Human Rights programme and apply her education to the NGO sector. Moreover, one day she hopes to start a not-for-profit youth- based theatre company to promote financial accessibility in the arts.
Adrianna worked with Special Olympics International and conducted research on how athletes with an intellectual disability and their families (partners, siblings, other family members) have been able to maintain their health and wellbeing together during COVID-19 when in-person programming was paused.
Community Engagement Initiative
Adrianna co-organized a summer initiative for interested athletes and their families. They were asked to learn and play a new lawn game together during July. Athletes and family members practiced their games between July 1st -July 25th. To help foster motivation, they were also asked to film their first and last turn playing their lawn game. To recreate the pride and self-esteem that accompanies in-person events, Adrianna used these clips to create the Athletes at Home Live Showcase. The showcase premiered on July 31st and was an opportunity for athletes to show off their new skills to their families and friends. In total, seven participants completed the challenge in full and were featured. Read the report: The Athletes at Home Challenge.
Report
As a vital health resource to individuals with an Intellectual disability, the loss of in-person Special Olympics programming due to the COVID-19 pandemic was felt throughout the Special Olympics community. In response to this loss, Special Olympics International (SOI) launched a series of online resources for athletes and their families. This study conducted open-ended interviews with five athletes and five parents to assess online resources and gain insight into the way that household dynamics can positively and negatively influence an athlete’s health journey. This report draws conclusions on the needs of athletes and their families in the home, and during the return to in-person play. Moreover, it lays out recommendations for how SOI can support athletes off the field. Adrianna also created an infographic to accompany this report. You can view it here: Self-Determination, Social Connectedness & Health at Home
Keywords
Special Olympics, COVID-19, athletes, intellectual disabilities, disability rights, pandemic adaptations.