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Special Olympics Young Athletes in the Library. What is Special Olympics? World’s largest sports organization for people with intellectual disabilities.

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Presentation on theme: "Special Olympics Young Athletes in the Library. What is Special Olympics? World’s largest sports organization for people with intellectual disabilities."— Presentation transcript:

1 Special Olympics Young Athletes in the Library

2 What is Special Olympics? World’s largest sports organization for people with intellectual disabilities World’s largest health organization for people with intellectual disabilities Global Impact 7 Global regions 170+ Countries 1,482,126 Coaches and Volunteers 4,532,339 Athletes 854,090 Unified Sports Athletes & Partners 94,339 Competitions World Games Every 2 Years

3 Special Olympics New Jersey Year-round sports training for athletes 2 through 7 Year –round sports training and competition for athletes 8 and older 24 seasonal team and individual sports Qualifying competition for advancement to state, national and international competitions Over 25,000 coaches and volunteers 25,000 athletes School programs in all 21 counties in over 100 school districts JOY DETERMINATION COURAGE STRENGTH INSPIRATION

4 Young Athletes Program Unique sports and play program designed for athletes ages 2 through 7 Began in New Jersey in 2004 Create family connections in a non-clinical atmosphere Celebrating what children CAN do! FREE Home Free kit of equipment and guide Family oriented Non Clinical School 7 skill areas DAP Pre K & K Foundational sport skills Communit y 30 minutes guided play Trained coach Unified Support network

5 Special Olympics Young Athletes™ Community Model Making Connections Goals:  Introduce parents and families to the Special Olympics community  Create a network of support for families and caregivers  Create opportunities for social development and team building  Develop future programs for training and competition

6 Home, Community and School Models as Partners  Home and Community Young Athletes models share the common goal of engaging families and parents  Similar resources for Home and Community models  Your community programs can grow through your home and school models (schools – Unified partners)  Utilizing all three models can help ensure that young athletes are practicing 3 times per week (best practice) aka the “trifecta”

7 The Basics Equipment Colorful and fun set of equipment provided! Bars and bricks to create hurdles and balance activities Balls – all sizes, types Scarves Hoops Cones Domes Floor markersSkills  Foundational Skills  Walking & Running  Balance & Jumping  Trapping & Catching  Throwing  Striking  Kicking  Advanced Skills

8 More Than Just Gross Motor Skills Social Skills: Taking turns Waiting Making eye contact Appropriate responses Sharing Empathy Cognitive Skills: Depth perception Spatial planning Strategic Planning Vocabulary Language Skills Math Skills Abstract Concepts: Over/Under Between Through

9 Why Libraries?  Bringing underserved populations into the library.  Encourage parents to view the library as part of their child’s community support network.  Provide opportunities to make friends and break down barriers.  Another way to encourage learning and school readiness beyond more traditional library programming. We’ve got Storytime and STEM – Why not Sports?

10 What is provided?  Equipment and training resources  Certificate of Insurance  Fliers/brochures  Promotion on social media  Assistance finding volunteers  Online registration and record-keeping  Q & A

11 What do we do?  Ages 2-7 (2-5 option; good for very small spaces)  Skills follow the provided guide – many of which are familiar to us from Storytime!  Easy planning using the activity guide  Parents participate too!  All athletes register as Special Olympics Young Athlete and receive a free equipment kit with activity guide at home – encourages skill building  Three programming seasons: Fall (Sept. – Dec.), Winter (Jan. – Mar.), Spring (April – June).

12 How does my library get started?  Secure a location - your library!  Secure coaches – preferably three who can rotate. One serves as ‘Head Coach and liason to SONJ, volunteers and parents.  Establish dates and times  Contact Andrea Moore (avm@sonj.org) with above informationavm@sonj.org  Create flier, publicize program  Order equipment and arrange new coach training  Begin your session!

13 Small Space? No problem!

14 Creating a Network of Support for Families  The library as a “safe” place for lifelong learning  Moving from fear, trepidation and grief to joy, potential and celebration - Changing “can’t” to “can”  Parents connecting with each other (Facebook, playdates) inside and outside the library  Parents band together to assist one another in the challenges they are facing  Parents of children with and without disabilities begin conversations and break down barriers

15 Special Olympics Young Athletes™ Home Model Goals:  Introduce families and caregivers to Special Olympics  Introduce new schema of parenting  Help parents and caregivers create positive relationships with their children through sports  Encourage new athlete, coach and program growth Fostering relationships with families and caregivers

16 Developmentally Appropriate Practice DAP is an approach to teaching that is centered on the research of how young children develop and learn and what is effective. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) highlights 3 core considerations of DAP in quality early childhood education:  Knowing about child development and learning  Knowing what is individually appropriate  Knowing what is culturally important

17 Changing the Schema of Parenting  Let’s Play to Grow – inspired by the advocacy of parents  Schema of parenting – moving from fear, trepidation and grief to joy, potential and celebration - Changing “can’t” to “can”  Non-clinical  Siblings and friends  Building relationships through sports - Unified family/Unified partners/Unified Sports®  Network of support with community programming


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