Custom Interactive Training Solution for a Non-Profit Organization

Special Olympics is a global movement that unleashes the human spirit through the transformative power and joy of sports, every day around the world. It empowers people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to become accepted and valued members of their communities, which leads to a more respectful and inclusive society for all.  

Established in 1968, Special Olympics helps people with intellectual and developmental disabilities discover new strengths and abilities, skills and success, through the power of sports. With nearly 4 million athletes and Unified partners (athletes without intellectual disability), 46,000 competitions and nearly 16,000 Unified competitions, Special Olympics is active in 227 national and state programs held in 177 countries and jurisdictions.  

Despite severe need and higher health risks, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are often denied health services and die on average 16-20 years earlier than the general population. Special Olympics Health, made possible by the Golisano Foundation, and in the United States, in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is creating a world where people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have every opportunity to be healthy. Ensuring that the health workforce, both those currently practicing and soon-to-be healthcare professionals, are adequately trained and equipped to care for patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities is an important step in realizing high-quality, equitable care for this population.  

Healthcare providers and professionals are the key to ensuring that people with intellectual and developmental disability can access quality health care. A strategic priority of the organization is to educate health professionals and students who likely have not had any prior experience caring for or working with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities or even with Special Olympics.  This priority is fueled by the commitment to increase knowledge of best practices in caring for and communicating with people with IDD.   

To meet this priority, in 2022, Special Olympics worked with a group of interprofessional faculty subject matter experts to develop a 5-module curriculum on inclusive health fundamentals. In their initial format, the five modules did not have any interactive learning opportunities, and had a simple voice-over on PowerPoint presentations, thus limiting student engagement in the learning process. 

Rebekah Fettkether, Director, Clinical Education & Training at Special Olympics, directed the revision of the modules to include: 

• An immersive eLearning environment that engages students to help them retain knowledge. 
• Videos, engaging activities, and other learning mediums that appeal to learners while featuring individuals with IDD to share their powerful lived experiences with learners. 

All the existing modules were shared with ELB Learning, along with feedback received from students for those modules. This paved the way for creating better learning experiences for learners while achieving the outcomes as desired by the Clinical Education and Training team.  

The learning solution team collaborated with subject matter experts from Special Olympics to maintain technical accuracy, and periodically provided storyboards of the final project. The salient features of the solution delivered include:
 

• Self-paced asynchronous learning modules of 30 to 45 minutes each in duration. 
• Custom level 2 interactivity, containing creative activities, visually compelling scenarios, simple gamified interactions, personal stories, and learner roles.   
• An immersive learning experience with enhanced interactions, media (video and audio files), screen animations, and assessment windows. 
• Inclusive and accessible learning environments 

“The modules are polished and engaging; exactly the way we wanted them to be! We are excited about our partnership with ELB Learning as we continue to transform additional modules and build out clinical curricula. The training has had such a positive impact that we have new universities inquiring how to become involved regularly, which will positively impact the life and health of people with intellectual disabilities!”

- Rebekah Fettkether

The new-look modules were launched in the fall semester of 2023. Over 15 universities in the United States will use these modules to train health professional students in the 2023/24 academic year.  

Further, the training modules are posted on a learning management system (LMS) platform used by over 4,000 healthcare organizations to train healthcare providers, students, and staff in the United States and Canada. The modules are available as voluntary training for health professionals, and in one month, over 1000 people have completed the modules.  

‍“The feedback from students has been phenomenal! They always let us know how engaging the training program has been, and how the knowledge checks add value to the whole learning experience. We’ve also received requests from additional universities and employer groups about potentially using the 5-module curriculum to train audiences at large.”

- Rebekah Fettkether 

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Universities in the Middle East and Latin America have also expressed interest in using the training curricula. Through translation capabilities, the modules will be disseminated to an international audience.