Kennedy Family
Click on any image to explore the virtual gallery.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver (1921-2009)e994935d_z
Eunice Kennedy Shriver was the founder of the Special Olympics. The 1st games were held at Soldier Field in Chicago in 1968

Winter Special Olympics
The first Special Olympics Winter games were held in 1977

Eunice Kennedy Shriver (1921-2009)
Eunice also wrote about Mental Retardation in books and magazine articles

Jean Kennedy Smith
In 1974 Jean Kennedy Smith (b.1928) founds Very Special Arts, which promotes the artistic talents of mentally and physically challenged children

Maria Shriver
Maria, Eunice's daughter, continues the Kennedy tradition of advocating for individuals with special needs

Maria Shriver
In 2002, Maria published "What's Wrong with Timmy?", a book about a child with special needs.

Anthony Kennedy Shriver
In 1989, Anthony Kennedy Shriver founds Best Buddies, which has grown into an international organization

John F. Kennedy Jr.
In 2000 Reaching Up, a non-profit organization founded in 1989 by John F. Kennedy, Jr., joined with The City University of New York (CUNY) to establish the John F. Kennedy, Jr. Institute for Worker Education.

The Kennedy Family
Many members of this family have been active in promoting awareness and support for individuals with intellectual disabilities

Rosemary Kennedy
Rosemary Kennedy (1918-2005) may have likely been the inspiration for the family's involvement in the field of mental retardation

Rosemary Kennedy
Rosemary could read write and do arithmetic, but was noticeably different from her siblings. In the Fall of 1941, her father arranged for Rosemary to have a lobotomy to address her "mood changes."

St Colletta's School
Rosemary was left incapacitated by the procedure, and would spend her remaining years at St. Colletta's School in Jefferson, Wisconsin

Joseph P.Kennedy Jr (1915-1944)
The Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation is established in 1946, with the goals of greater social acceptance of individuals with intellectual disabilities and prevention of mental retardation through research.

Joseph P.Kennedy Jr (1915-1944)
The Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation is established in 1946, with the goals of greater social acceptance of individuals with intellectual disabilities and prevention of mental retardation through research.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)6639147e9_z
JFK organized the President's Committee on Mental Retardation in 1961, which was formally established in 1966.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)cf8df5a_z
JFK organized the President's Committee on Mental Retardation in 1961, which was formally established in 1966.

Presidents Committee for Intellectual Disabilities
JFK organized the President's Committee on Mental Retardation in 1961, which was formally established in 1966.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)
JFK organized the President's Committee on Mental Retardation in 1961, which was formally established in 1966.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy (1932-2009)
Senator Edward M. Kennedy (1932-2009) at the dedication of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Laboratories in Madison Wisconsin, November 20, 1963.

Robert F. Kennedy (1925-1968)
Robert F. Kennedy (1925-1968) as New York State Senator, visited the Willowbrook State School in 1965, and commented "we have a situation that borders on a snake pit, and that the children live in filth, that many of our fellow citizens are suffering tremendously because lack of attention, lack of imagination, lack of adequate manpower."