Perspectives Inaugural Issue (Winter 2013)

PERSPECTIVES • WINTER/SPRING 2013 31 OT • FORT LAUDERDALE Young Athletes is a relatively new sport-and-play program offered by the Special Olympics and lo- cated at Nova Southeastern University. The pro- gram focuses on the core skills future Special Olympics participants will need in order to partici- pate in the games. The athletes participating are be- tween the ages of two-and-a half and seven years old and have developmental disabilities, so the pro- gram requires plenty of dedicated volunteers to or- ganize and guide the participating athletes. Pi Theta Epsilon, NSU’s occupational therapy honor society, focuses on academic excellence as well as service to the community. Involvement with the Young Athletes’ program was a perfect match for the group’s summer semester service project. Pi Theta Epsilon took the lead in organizing the vol- unteers, which included both first- and second-year OT students. The OT students worked with the Young Athletes twice a week for nine weeks throughout their summer semester before the final commencement on August 4, 2012. At commence- ment, the children were able to showcase the skills they acquired over the course of the program, which included throwing, kicking, jumping, and walking on a balance beam. Second-year OT students Kaitlin Brooks and Reina Miranda agreed that the best part of working with the program was watching participants’ various skills improve every week and seeing many of the more-resistant athletes begin to participate as well. “The students did such a fantastic job working with the athletes. It means so much to be able to give these children the opportunity to play with their typically developing peers and for them to get such a great introduction to sports in general,” said Michelle Leonard, Broward County Special Olympics program coordinator. Pi Theta Epsilon plans to continue its involvement with the program in 2013. OT-Fort Lauderdale Campus Life By Nicole Hoag Class of 2014 Master of Occupational Therapy Program Student Young Athletes Photos by Reina Miranda