As the Special Olympics take place in L.A, it's time to celebrate everyone for who they are.

Previous Special Olympics Medalists.    Image courtesy of nameplace.com. 

Three Thinking - Edition 020 - Thursday 30 July 2015

The Special Olympics are currently underway in Los Angeles, with over 6,500 athletes with intellectual disabilities competing on behalf of 165 countries. According to the website of the Games, the Special Olympics is a global movement of people "where every single person is accepted and welcomed, regardless of ability or disability".

A competitor in the 2010 Europe-Eurasia games.
Image - specialolympicsblog.wordpress.com 

We all have different, strengths, weaknesses, talents and gifts. Some of us are born naturally clever, and seem to have all the odds in our favour as we go through life. We succeed in getting the exam results, jobs and opportunities we want, and we manage to fulfill our dreams and aspirations single-handedly. Others need a little more help and support; a helping, steady hand is often needed to ensure they can cope with the pressures and challenges of life. 

Inevitably, it's the successful and very capable high-flyers who garner the most attention and public exposure, and the main Olympics are among the most watched events ever to have taken place. Those who perhaps struggle a little more and need a little more support in order to flourish are often, not intentionally, forgotten or left behind by society. 

A beaming competitor
in a recent games
Image - ct.gov

This is why the Special Olympics are so fantastic. They are shining the spotlight on the most wonderful, inspiring and praise-deserving people on the planet. The Special Olympic athletes have overcome huge barriers to get to where they are today, and their strength, bravery and determination to live life to the full, despite their intellectual disability, is both incredibly inspiring and breath-taking. 

Back in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the founder of the Special Olympics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, saw how those with intellectual disabilities were often ignored and neglected - despite the many talents and gifts they had to offer - and routinely placed in custodial institutions. Fortunately, we have come a long way since then, but there is still more to do.

THINK & REFLECT - So please, show your support for the athletes competing in this week's Special Olympics in LA, and champion a belief that the gifts and talents of each and every individual deserve to be celebrated, irrespective of disability, race, gender or ethnicity.