Iowa teen's nonprofit changes lives of disabled cheerleaders

Dressed to the nines in a black and gold University of Iowa cheerleading uniform and clutching a Hawkeye-emblazoned backpack, Kelly focused with rapt attention on the nondescript dance studio's door, The Des Moines Register (http://dmreg.co/1T6XOoR ) reported.

The Sparkle Effect, a nonprofit founded in 2008 by 15-year-old Iowa resident Sarah Cronk, helps high schools and universities start inclusive "Sparkle" squads, cheer or dance teams that combine typically developing students and students with disabilities.

The idea for the Sparkle Effect came to Cronk, now 23, when she noticed systemic exclusion of students with disabilities from activities in her high school.

Which is why the word "inclusive" comes up over and over when you talk to Cronk or Linda Mullen, her mother and the Sparkle Effect's executive director.

A Sparkle squad is not a team of solely disabled teens, it is a team that very purposely mixes kids of all abilities, they emphasize.

Cronk's older brother Charlie, who is on the autism spectrum, had a hard time when he started at Pleasant Valley High School just before Sarah.

[...] a member of the school's swim team asked Charlie to sit with him at lunch and, eventually, to join the team.

What if we had students with physical and intellectual disabilities join us for practice and perform for part of every game?

[...] their daughter has a place to just have fun, to not feel so different.

[...] she's quick to add that both groups of students, typically developing and those with disabilities, are "learning and growing in equal measure."

"[...] as the team grew and grew, the atmosphere in the hallways changed," she added.

Because of Sparkles, people went out of their way to reach out to students who were different than themselves.

Lauren Grace, 21, who has fetal alcohol syndrome, had stuck all the routine's moves and even been lifted up by her fellow teammates at the end of their routine — her favorite part, she said.

The Sparkle Effect is one of those activities that grabs your heart and holds on, said Mara Mapes, the captain of the Cyclone Sparkles, and it's helped her discover her life's passion.

[...] really, the goal of the Sparkle Effect is to eventually not need the Sparkle Effect, Mullen said, to get to the point where "inclusion is the norm."