Division for Early Childhood 2024 Conference

Through inclusive play interventions with peers, young children with intellectual and developmental disabilities experience significant gains in gross motor, social and emotional, and communication skills. This session will provide an overview of Special Olympics Young Athletes programming and highlight ways technology and digital media are being implemented to support families. Presenters will share an overview of the Young Athletes mobile app, a tool designed to provide families with personalized activities for their child, health education resources, and community connection opportunities. The session will include preliminary evaluation data about the utility and feasibility of the app based on an ongoing pilot with families in 5 countries, including the United States.