WEBVTT

00:00:01.400 --> 00:00:02.616
Hello.

00:00:02.640 --> 00:00:04.576
My name is Matthew Williams,

00:00:04.600 --> 00:00:06.520
and I am a champion.

00:00:07.520 --> 00:00:10.376
I have won medals
in three different sports

00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:13.136
and national games in Canada,

00:00:13.160 --> 00:00:16.656
competed at the international
level in basketball

00:00:16.680 --> 00:00:19.736
and was proud to represent Canada

00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:21.376
on the world stage.

NOTE Paragraph

00:00:21.400 --> 00:00:25.680
(Applause)

NOTE Paragraph

00:00:27.040 --> 00:00:31.256
I train five days a week
for basketball and speed skating,

00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:33.656
work with top quality coaches

00:00:33.680 --> 00:00:36.176
and mental performance consultants

00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:39.240
to be at my best in my sport.

00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:44.576
By the way, all that
is through Special Olympics.

00:00:44.600 --> 00:00:46.896
Does that change the way you think of me

00:00:46.920 --> 00:00:48.600
and my accomplishments?

NOTE Paragraph

00:00:51.240 --> 00:00:54.840
The world does not see
all people like me as champions.

00:00:55.720 --> 00:01:00.920
Not long ago, people like me
were shunned and hidden away.

00:01:02.240 --> 00:01:07.376
There has been lots of change
since Special Olympics began in 1968,

00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:09.536
but in too many cases,

00:01:09.560 --> 00:01:12.376
people with intellectual disabilities

00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:15.640
are invisible to the wider population.

00:01:17.880 --> 00:01:22.080
People use the r-word in front of me,
and they think it doesn't matter.

00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:26.176
That's the word "retard" or "retarded"

00:01:26.200 --> 00:01:28.480
used in a derogatory manner.

00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:34.160
They're not thinking about how much
it hurts me and my friends.

NOTE Paragraph

00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:39.856
I don't want you to think
I'm here because I'm a charity case.

00:01:39.880 --> 00:01:43.896
I am here because there is still
a big problem with the way

00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:49.000
many people see individuals
with intellectual disabilities,

00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:51.256
or, too often,

00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:53.200
how they don't see them at all.

NOTE Paragraph

00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:57.120
Did you know the World Games
happened this year?

00:01:58.200 --> 00:02:04.096
I was one of over 6,500 athletes
with intellectual disabilities

00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:08.936
from 165 countries who competed in LA.

00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:14.256
There was over 62,000 spectators
watching opening ceremonies,

00:02:14.280 --> 00:02:18.680
and there was live coverage
on TSN and ESPN.

00:02:19.200 --> 00:02:21.160
Did you even know that happened?

NOTE Paragraph

00:02:23.600 --> 00:02:26.320
What do you think of
when you see someone like me?

00:02:27.760 --> 00:02:30.536
I am here today to challenge you

00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:33.040
to look at us as equals.

NOTE Paragraph

00:02:35.160 --> 00:02:39.336
Special Olympics transforms
the self-identity of athletes

00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:41.736
with intellectual disabilities

00:02:41.760 --> 00:02:44.560
and the perceptions of everyone watching.

00:02:46.200 --> 00:02:48.296
For those of you who aren't familiar,

00:02:48.320 --> 00:02:52.920
Special Olympics is for athletes
with intellectual disabilities.

00:02:54.800 --> 00:02:59.280
Special Olympics is separate
from the Paralympics and Olympics.

00:03:00.320 --> 00:03:04.056
We offer high-quality,
year round sports programs

00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:07.256
for people with intellectual disabilities

00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:10.360
that changes lives and perceptions.

00:03:12.440 --> 00:03:15.056
This movement has changed my life

00:03:15.080 --> 00:03:17.776
and those of so many others.

00:03:17.800 --> 00:03:19.696
And it has changed the way

00:03:19.720 --> 00:03:23.840
the world sees people
with intellectual disabilities.

NOTE Paragraph

00:03:25.480 --> 00:03:29.920
I was born with epilepsy
and an intellectual disability.

00:03:31.280 --> 00:03:35.400
Growing up, I played hockey
until I was 12 years old.

00:03:36.880 --> 00:03:39.576
The older I got, the more I felt

00:03:39.600 --> 00:03:42.976
it was harder to keep up
with everyone else,

00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:46.040
and I was angry and frustrated.

00:03:47.800 --> 00:03:51.296
For a while, I did not play any sports,

00:03:51.320 --> 00:03:53.216
didn't have many friends

00:03:53.240 --> 00:03:56.000
and felt left out and sad.

NOTE Paragraph

00:03:58.080 --> 00:04:02.496
There was a time when people
with intellectual disabilities

00:04:02.520 --> 00:04:05.440
were hidden away from society.

00:04:06.880 --> 00:04:10.056
No one thought they could
participate in sports,

00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:13.280
let alone be a valued member of society.

00:04:14.880 --> 00:04:18.616
In the 1960s, Dr. Frank Hayden,

00:04:18.640 --> 00:04:21.935
a scientist at the University of Toronto,

00:04:21.959 --> 00:04:25.616
was studying the effects
of regular exercise

00:04:25.640 --> 00:04:30.640
on the fitness levels of children
with intellectual disabilities.

00:04:31.840 --> 00:04:35.096
Using rigorous scientific research,

00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:37.856
Dr. Hayden and other researchers

00:04:37.880 --> 00:04:39.776
came to the conclusion

00:04:39.800 --> 00:04:43.816
that it was simply the lack
of opportunity to participate

00:04:43.840 --> 00:04:46.440
that caused their fitness
levels to suffer.

NOTE Paragraph

00:04:48.400 --> 00:04:52.776
Lots of people doubted
that people with intellectual disabilities

00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:55.736
could benefit from fitness programs

00:04:55.760 --> 00:04:58.600
and sports competition opportunities.

00:04:59.880 --> 00:05:04.856
But pioneers like Dr. Hayden
and Eunice Kennedy Shriver,

00:05:04.880 --> 00:05:07.176
the founder of Special Olympics,

00:05:07.200 --> 00:05:08.656
persevered,

00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:12.096
and Special Olympics athletes
have proved them right

00:05:12.120 --> 00:05:14.680
four and a half million times over.

NOTE Paragraph

00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:21.336
(Applause)

NOTE Paragraph

00:05:21.360 --> 00:05:23.576
Before I joined Special Olympics,

00:05:23.600 --> 00:05:25.096
I was nervous

00:05:25.120 --> 00:05:29.336
because I was young, shy, not confident

00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:31.040
and didn't have many friends.

00:05:32.600 --> 00:05:36.296
When I got there, though,
everyone was very encouraging,

00:05:36.320 --> 00:05:39.616
supportive, and let me be myself

00:05:39.640 --> 00:05:41.320
without being judged.

00:05:42.880 --> 00:05:47.096
Now, I am a basketball player
and speed skater

00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:50.936
who has competed
at provincial, national games,

00:05:50.960 --> 00:05:55.656
and this year made it all the way
to the World Summer Games in LA,

00:05:55.680 --> 00:05:59.496
where I was part of the first ever
Canadian basketball team

00:05:59.520 --> 00:06:01.936
to compete at World Games.

NOTE Paragraph

00:06:01.960 --> 00:06:05.800
(Applause)

NOTE Paragraph

00:06:09.760 --> 00:06:14.176
I am one of more than four and a half
million athletes around the globe,

00:06:14.200 --> 00:06:16.880
and I've heard so many similar stories.

00:06:17.840 --> 00:06:20.096
Being Special Olympics athletes

00:06:20.120 --> 00:06:23.000
restores our pride and dignity.

NOTE Paragraph

00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:28.960
Special Olympics also addresses
critical health needs.

00:06:30.400 --> 00:06:33.416
Studies have shown that, on average,

00:06:33.440 --> 00:06:36.096
men with intellectual disabilities

00:06:36.120 --> 00:06:39.616
die 13 years younger than men without,

00:06:39.640 --> 00:06:42.576
and women with intellectual disabilities

00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:45.480
die 20 years younger than women without.

00:06:46.960 --> 00:06:49.416
Special Olympics keeps us healthy

00:06:49.440 --> 00:06:51.216
by getting us active

00:06:51.240 --> 00:06:53.080
and participating in sport.

00:06:53.920 --> 00:06:59.080
Also, our coaches teach us
about nutrition and health.

00:07:00.840 --> 00:07:04.336
Special Olympics also provides
free health screening

00:07:04.360 --> 00:07:08.856
for athletes who have difficulty
communicating with their doctor

00:07:08.880 --> 00:07:10.800
or accessing health care.

NOTE Paragraph

00:07:13.480 --> 00:07:16.216
At the 2015 World Summer Games,

00:07:16.240 --> 00:07:20.600
my Team Canada teammates and I
played the Nigerian basketball team.

00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:23.816
The day before our game,

00:07:23.840 --> 00:07:29.496
the Nigerian basketball team went to
the World Games Healthy Athlete screening,

00:07:29.520 --> 00:07:31.856
where seven of 10 members

00:07:31.880 --> 00:07:34.376
were given hearing aids for free

00:07:34.400 --> 00:07:37.880
and got to hear clearly
for the first time.

NOTE Paragraph

00:07:38.400 --> 00:07:42.200
(Applause)

NOTE Paragraph

00:07:47.160 --> 00:07:49.440
The change in them was amazing.

00:07:50.040 --> 00:07:54.216
They were more excited,
happy and confident,

00:07:54.240 --> 00:07:56.920
because their coach could
vocally communicate with them.

00:07:57.640 --> 00:07:59.416
And they were emotional

00:07:59.440 --> 00:08:02.296
because they could hear
the sounds of the basketball,

00:08:02.320 --> 00:08:04.296
the sounds of the whistle

00:08:04.320 --> 00:08:07.096
and the cheering fans in the stands --

00:08:07.120 --> 00:08:09.800
sounds that we take for granted.

00:08:11.640 --> 00:08:16.360
Special Olympics is transforming more
than just the athlete in their sport.

00:08:16.960 --> 00:08:20.880
Special Olympics is transforming
their lives off the field.

00:08:22.680 --> 00:08:25.616
This year, research findings showed

00:08:25.640 --> 00:08:28.576
that nearly half of the adults in the US

00:08:28.600 --> 00:08:32.679
don't know a single person
with an intellectual disability,

00:08:33.520 --> 00:08:36.056
and the 44 percent of Americans

00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:40.496
who don't have personal contact
with intellectual disabilities

00:08:40.520 --> 00:08:44.960
are significantly
less accepting and positive.

NOTE Paragraph

00:08:46.040 --> 00:08:48.176
Then there's the r-word,

00:08:48.200 --> 00:08:51.456
proving that people
with intellectual disabilities

00:08:51.480 --> 00:08:53.296
are still invisible

00:08:53.320 --> 00:08:55.200
to far too many people.

00:08:57.000 --> 00:09:00.080
People use it as a casual
term or an insult.

00:09:00.560 --> 00:09:03.760
It was tweeted more than
nine million times last year,

00:09:04.280 --> 00:09:06.296
and it is deeply hurtful

00:09:06.320 --> 00:09:11.320
to me and my four and a half million
fellow athletes around the planet.

00:09:12.640 --> 00:09:14.976
People don't think it's insulting,

00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:16.200
but it is.

00:09:17.680 --> 00:09:23.056
As my fellow athlete and global messenger
John Franklin Stephens wrote

00:09:23.080 --> 00:09:26.496
in an open letter to a political pundit

00:09:26.520 --> 00:09:28.800
who used the r-word as an insult,

00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:32.520
"Come join us someday at Special Olympics.

00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:36.760
See if you walk away
with your heart unchanged."

NOTE Paragraph

00:09:38.160 --> 00:09:44.920
(Applause)

NOTE Paragraph

00:09:47.720 --> 00:09:51.936
This year, at the 2015 World Summer Games,

00:09:51.960 --> 00:09:53.896
people lined up for hours

00:09:53.920 --> 00:09:57.120
to get into the final night
of powerlifting competition.

00:09:57.960 --> 00:10:02.336
So it was standing room only
when my teammate Jackie Barrett,

00:10:02.360 --> 00:10:04.136
the Newfoundland Moose,

00:10:04.160 --> 00:10:07.656
deadlifted 655 pounds

00:10:07.680 --> 00:10:11.320
and lifted 611 pounds in the squat --

NOTE Paragraph

00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:14.840
(Applause)

NOTE Paragraph

00:10:19.280 --> 00:10:23.000
setting huge new records
for Special Olympics.

00:10:24.120 --> 00:10:28.896
Jackie is a record holder
among all powerlifters in Newfoundland --

00:10:28.920 --> 00:10:32.360
not just Special Olympics,
all powerlifters.

00:10:33.920 --> 00:10:36.736
Jackie was a huge star in LA,

00:10:36.760 --> 00:10:41.336
and ESPN live-tweeted
his record-breaking lifts

00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:44.160
and were wowed by his performance.

NOTE Paragraph

00:10:45.480 --> 00:10:51.296
Fifty years ago, few imagined
individuals with intellectual disabilities

00:10:51.320 --> 00:10:53.160
could do anything like that.

00:10:54.880 --> 00:11:01.440
This year, 60,000 spectators filled
the famous LA Memorial Coliseum

00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:05.656
to watch the opening
ceremonies of World Games

00:11:05.680 --> 00:11:09.456
and cheer athletes from 165 countries

00:11:09.480 --> 00:11:10.760
around the world.

00:11:11.840 --> 00:11:14.056
Far from being hidden away,

00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:16.640
we were cheered and celebrated.

00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:21.736
Special Olympics teaches athletes

00:11:21.760 --> 00:11:24.440
to be confident and proud of themselves.

00:11:25.760 --> 00:11:28.176
Special Olympics teaches the world

00:11:28.200 --> 00:11:31.016
that people with intellectual disabilities

00:11:31.040 --> 00:11:33.920
deserve respect and inclusion.

NOTE Paragraph

00:11:34.360 --> 00:11:38.680
(Applause)

NOTE Paragraph

00:11:42.520 --> 00:11:46.896
Now, I have dreams
and achievements in my sport,

00:11:46.920 --> 00:11:48.536
great coaches,

00:11:48.560 --> 00:11:50.360
respect and dignity,

00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:52.216
better health,

00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:55.640
and I am pursuing a career
as a personal trainer.

NOTE Paragraph

00:11:56.200 --> 00:11:59.760
(Applause)

NOTE Paragraph

00:12:03.320 --> 00:12:06.296
I am no longer hidden, bullied

00:12:06.320 --> 00:12:09.016
and I am here doing a TED Talk.

NOTE Paragraph

00:12:09.040 --> 00:12:14.120
(Applause)

NOTE Paragraph

00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:48.240
The world is a different place
because of Special Olympics,

00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:51.520
but there is still farther to go.

00:12:52.320 --> 00:12:56.416
So the next time you see someone
with an intellectual disability,

00:12:56.440 --> 00:12:58.520
I hope you will see their ability.

00:12:59.480 --> 00:13:02.616
The next time someone uses
the r-word near you,

00:13:02.640 --> 00:13:05.240
I hope you will tell them
how much it hurts.

00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:10.800
I hope you will think about getting
involved with Special Olympics.

NOTE Paragraph

00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:15.216
(Applause)

NOTE Paragraph

00:13:15.240 --> 00:13:17.920
I would like to leave you
with one final thought.

00:13:19.320 --> 00:13:20.976
Nelson Mandela said,

00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:23.800
"Sports has the power
to change the world."

00:13:25.040 --> 00:13:27.896
Special Olympics is changing the world

00:13:27.920 --> 00:13:31.496
by transforming
four and a half million athletes

00:13:31.520 --> 00:13:34.296
and giving us a place to be confident,

00:13:34.320 --> 00:13:35.896
meet friends,

00:13:35.920 --> 00:13:37.576
not be judged

00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:41.376
and get to feel like and be champions.

NOTE Paragraph

00:13:41.400 --> 00:13:42.776
Thank you very much.

NOTE Paragraph

00:13:42.800 --> 00:13:46.840
(Applause)