Helping children with and without Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) thrive through active play and physical activity.
Young Athletes is an eight-week program from Special Olympics that uses physical play as a pathway for children with and without disabilities to build more successful lives. The program introduces children, ages two to seven, with and without Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) to foundational sports skills such as spatial awareness, walking, running, balancing, jumping, catching, throwing, and striking movements.
Young Athletes uses a wide variety of age-appropriate games and activities to help develop the skills that are at the foundation of sports success.
Participants learn how to manipulate different types of objects in order to achieve goals important to sport and everyday life.
Participants learn how to make sense of change and work through challenges by assessing and formulating new plans.
Participants learn interpersonal skills like teamwork, sharing, and self-confidence in order to accomplish a common goal.
Participants learn how to make sense of change and work through challenges by assessing and formulating new plans.
Young Athletes is changing lives for participants, families, and their communities by helping children with and without intellectual disabilities gain the skills they need to thrive.
Young Athletes is changing lives for participants, families, and their communities by helping children with and without intellectual disabilities gain the skills they need to thrive..
Young Athletes is changing lives for participants, families, and their communities by helping children with and without intellectual disabilities gain the skills they need to thrive..
By 2026, our goal is to make inclusive education opportunities in Washington State the norm. This includes investments in programs like Young Athletes that support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities earlier in over 500 Washington State early education facilities.
Schools
Schools
Schools
Search our library of Young Athletes resources and documentation explaining what you’ll need to start a program and how to get going.
Hear from educators, administrators, and parents that have started their own Young program.
Discover the collaborative efforts of Special Olympics Washington and our educational partners as we make inclusion a part of the school curriculum throughout Washington.
