Special Olympics Launches a Program for Young Children

The mission of Special Olympics seeks to provide year-round training and athletic competition to children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Special Olympics aims to engage people with intellectual disabilities through developmentally appropriate sport activities designed to foster cognitive, social and physical development. Also it is a benefit to family members of athletes with intellectual disabilities as Special Olympics often serves as a network of support. Over the years, families of children too young to take part looked for avenues to join the movement, and to this end SONL is currently developing and Active Start program to address these needs.

Active Start introduces children with intellectual disabilities and their families to the world of Special Olympics. An Active Start program aims at finding developmentally appropriate play program for children with intellectual disabilities ages 5 to 10. Active Start is a versatile program that can work in various learning situations. The program is designed for families to play with their young athletes in a fun atmosphere. It is also appropriate for preschools, schools, and playgroups to use with small groups of young children with and without intellectual disabilities. The flexibility of Active Start ensures the opportunity to welcome families and their young children into the Special Olympics family.

An Active Start pilot program was launched in November in Gander and a second will be launched in January at Memorial University. For more information on this program contact Program Director, Nelson White.