Eunice Kennedy Shriver 1921-2009
Today is a sad day in the Special Education community. Please take a moment to remember Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who passed away today at age 88. Eunice Kennedy Shriver was the founder of The Special Olympics. The Special Olympics gave people with disabilities the ability to compete and enjoy sports just like everyone else. She started The Special Olympics to honor her older sister Rosemary who was left mentally disabled after a lobotomy. Eunice Kennedy Shriver was the first celebrity advocate for those with a mental disability.
The Special Olympics started as a small summer camp for the mentally disabled at her home in Maryland. Today the Special Olympics are a worldwide event, much in the spirit of the regular Olympics, with games being held at locations all over the world. Eunice Kennedy was also responsible for promoting acceptance of those with mental disabilities. When she started the Special Olympics in the 1960’s the common practice was to institutionalize those with mental disabilities and forget about them. Eunice Kennedy Shriver made sure that we did not forget, and that we saw that mentally disabled citizens were indeed able.
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