Check out our Families FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) guide here.  And don't forget to fill out the Family Registration Form.  Your local Special Olympics Texas area staff will contact you after you fill out the Family Registration Form.  

SOTX Families has resources, opportunities and support to keep you and any athletes in your family healthy, well-cared for and safe.

Families are a fundamental component to the Special Olympics Texas program. Family involvement is important because:

• Family members care about their athlete and are proud of them when they participate.

• We are looking for suggestions and input from you on how to improve SOTX! 

• Many times it is the family that encourages and assists the athlete in being able to participate.

• Family members are often our most dedicated coaches and volunteers - they get things done!

• Families see first hand what involvement in Special Olympics Texas can do to benefit their athlete; they believe in the mission.

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Family Handbook

 Dealing with Abuse Against Children With Disabilities

 Visit the Families Community Liaison Team Description

 Realizing the Bright Future of Your Child with An Intellectual Disability 

Getting Started & Additional Resources

We have additional resources for our SOTX families below, including how to get started. 

• This document will walk a new family with starting up a team in their community.  Click here to follow the steps while you reach out to your Area Office. 

• Learn more about becoming a Families Community Liaison here. 

• A Guide for Sibling Youth Engagement: This guidebook outlines opportunities for youth-age siblings of people with intellectual disabilities to become involved in Special Olympics - English | Arabic | Chinese | French | Portuguese | Russian | Spanish | Swahili

• Sibling Engagement One-Pager: This one-page resource provides a brief overview of sibling engagement in Special Olympics, including its definition, opportunities for siblings to get involved, and the benefits it offers to siblings -  English | Arabic | Chinese | French | Portuguese | Russian | Spanish | Swahili 

• Introduction to Sibling Engagement in Special Olympics (video): This 3-minute cartoon video follows Sarah, a sibling of a person with an intellectual disability, as she learns how to be involved in Special Olympics and the importance of doing so - No Captions | English | Arabic | Chinese | French | Portuguese | Russian | Spanish | Swahili

• A Parent’s Guide for Supporting Siblings: Siblings of people with intellectual disabilities may face a number of challenges as they grow up. This guidebook provides parents with strategies for supporting their children without disabilities - English | French | Spanish 

• Sibling Engagement Unified Sports Video: This video explains what Unified Sports are and the different types of Unified Sports programs Special Olympics offers. Unified Sports partners can be siblings or other athletes - No Captions | English | Spanish | French

• Self-Care Strategies for Siblings: Five strategies for siblings of people with intellectual disabilities to practice self care - English | Spanish

• Sibling Relationships: The Current Literature: An overview of the experiences of siblings of people with intellectual disabilities based on findings from a literature review of the current research. - English

• Find  the Young Athletes in Motion music video here.