Baudhuin Preschool Students Graduate from Special Olympics Young Athletes Program

Nearly 160 students from the Mailman Segal Institute’s Baudhuin Preschool at NSU recently graduated from the Special Olympics Young Athletes program.

The Baudhuin Preschool is an internationally recognized model program for children with autism spectrum disorders. The participating students, who range in age from three to five years old, were the first group of Broward County students to participate in the program.

Organized by Special Olympics Broward County (SOBC), the Young Athletes program is designed to incorporate innovative play as an introduction into sports. The program is also designed to introduce the students to SOBC, which provides FREE athletic programs to enrich the lives and improve the confidence of more than 800 children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Through sports training and competition, Special Olympics athletes develop physically, socially, and psychologically.

The Young Athletes graduation ceremonies on May 25 and 26 included an obstacle course students used to demonstrate all the sports skills the participants learned throughout the year. The students were then presented with ribbons and certificates as parents, family and friends cheered them on.

It was also fitting that the pilot Young Athletes program in Broward took place at NSU’s Baudhuin Preschool, as the university is now the permanent home of SOBC – the only chapter of Special Olympics in the nation that is housed on a college campus.

For more information about the Young Athletes program, please call (954) 262-2150.