Special Olympics International (SOI) is partnering with The Ohio State University (OSU) Nisonger Center to support the work of our Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Health and Function called Can You Hear Us Now?.

The goal of this project is to conduct research to improve the health and quality of life for adults with intellectual disability (ID). Starting in 2024, SOI recruited six state Special Olympics (SO) programs to engage their athletes with the Count Study, a national study designed to count how many adults with ID have mental health concerns. Understanding how common mental health concerns are among adults with ID is a key step in providing services to those who need them most.

In previous announcements, we acknowledged SO Indiana, SO Ohio, and SO Tennessee for their study recruitment efforts to date.

On the heels of these other states, SO Wisconsin has made significant progress in study recruitment as of August 2026!

Brittany Hoegh, Senior Director of Health Program from SO Wisconsin (SOWI), shared which study recruitment strategy proved most successful. At SOWI’s State Spring Games in April 2026, SOWI interns shared Count Study details with families. Interested families signed up at the table using paper copies of the official study intake survey. Every family that signed up was able to choose from select incentive items at the table. Afterwards, SO staff used these recorded responses to complete the official intake survey online. This strategy streamlined getting athlete’s information to the OSU researchers. 

The OSU researchers are grateful to the six state SO programs for their ongoing efforts to educate others about the study so that more athletes with ID will have their voices heard about their health and quality of life.