International Awards Program to Honor Achievements of Children With Disabilities

"The Yes I Can! Foundation for Exceptional Children designs and implements programs that help improve the quality of life for children and youth with disabilities and/or gifts and talents.

The Foundation for Exceptional Children established the Yes I Can! International Awards Program in 1981 to acknowledge the achievements of children and youth with disabilities; to overcome barriers caused by public misconceptions; to encourage children and youth with disabilities to seek their highest potential; and to increase public awareness of the abilities, aspirations, and personal qualities of people with disabilities.

Each year children and youth with disabilities are recognized for their accomplishments through the Yes I Can! International Awards Program.

Three Yes I Can! International Awards Nominees will be recognized in each of the following nine categories: academics; arts; athletics; community service; employment; extracurricular activities; independent living skills; self-advocacy; and technology.

Each individual nominated for the awards program will receive a certificate of achievement. Twenty-seven international award winners will receive a bronze statue and other recognition at the Council for Exceptional Children Annual Convention in April 2005 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Nominees must be between two and twenty-one years of age."