Montana’s small but mighty Special Olympics team

Town Crier “Briefs from the Region” (2) – 5/4/21

Alyssa Dubois is 17 years old and has been competing solo for the Box Elder, Montana Special Olympics until this year. She’s also the only member of the community with Down Syndrome. That all changed in 2020 however, when 9-year-old Angel LaRocca, who was born with developmental disabilities, joined her and together they’ve been the small but mighty Special Olympics representatives for the northern Montana town. LaRocca recently won a gold metal in bowling, an event that brought his parents to tears. The Special Olympics has given the two a sense of confidence and independence, their parents say. “It just changed his whole attitude, his whole demeanor towards the world in general,” LaRocca’s mother, Denise, told Montana Sports. “We didn’t know that there was that many special needs kids in the area. But it was cool. It was loving, it changed his whole life and the way he looks at life now.”