North American parents can be overly invested in their children’s lives. Especially when it comes to sports. And, as they over invest in their child’s extracurricular activities, they sometimes unwittingly reinforce the stereotypes that go along with being a “soccer mom” or a “hockey dad”.

Parents of children with intellectual disabilities miss out on some of the things that other parents take for granted. For some, that includes having a child that plays sports and getting to do all the things – good and bad - that go along with it. The Special Olympics Active Start program let’s children with intellectual disabilities – and their parents – get to experience everything sports has to offer.