Being able to walk down a street without getting stares or socialize in a group without being treated differently, is something many people take for granted.

But the right to be accepted by the community is what Issaquah-based special needs advocacy nonprofit Life Enrichment Options has been fighting for on behalf of individuals with developmental disabilities for the past 30 years.

And according to executive director Fred Nystrom, an annual event that has gone a long way towards integrating children with special needs with other children in Issaquah is the day of the Challenge Races.

Saturday, July 16, will mark the 19th consecutive year of the Challenge Races in Issaquah. The Challenge Races, put on by Life Enrichment Options in partnership with the Issaquah Rotary, are a chance for children (or anyone under 5-foot-5) with special needs get to ride alongside children without special needs in soapbox cars, competing in downhill races on Second Avenue.

The cars are built with two steering wheels. Even though the child with developmental disabilities does not have control, he or she still gets the feel of driving.

“It has changed the perspective of kids with special needs in the school district,” Nystrom said. “And it’s changed the dynamic of how kids with and without special needs relate to one another. We want [seeing people with disabilities] to be a natural part of everyday life.”

Rose and Leo Finnegan started the races after their son Tim, who has developmental disabilities, was disappointed that he couldn’t compete in races with his brothers. Now 49, Tim still takes part every year.

Rose Finnegan said that she loves the races because they’re a chance for both the kids driving and the adult Rotary members volunteering who have perhaps never been around people with special needs to “get to know people with disabilities.”

“To see [the drivers] go from, in the morning at the beginning of the races, nervous, not sure what to say, then by the end of the day they’re interacting with their co-driver … is wonderful,” said Becky Gordon, a board member of Life Enrichment Options and mother of one of the most avid racers in the group.

Gordon has watched her 13-year-old son, John, who has autism, take part every year for the past several years. Despite nearly outgrowing the cars, he excitedly awaits his chance to speed down the hill again.

Every participant with special needs receives a trophy at the end of the day. Finnegan said that many parents have told her that the first thing their children do upon getting up in the morning is go and admire their trophies.

Life Enrichment Options has spent the past three decades helping people with developmental disabilities “feel comfortable in the community, get out in the community and experience being part of the community,” according to Gordon. “We want people with developmental disorders to live as full a life as possible.”

“If you go back 45 years, [people with special needs] were all in institutions and their life expectancy was 23 years … and if they weren’t institutionalized, they were shunned,” Nystrom said.

Now that society has become more compassionate, he said that people with developmental disabilities are “blossoming,” and living almost as long as people without disabilities.

When it started out, Finnegan said, Life Enrichment Options focused on helping people with special needs get jobs — a feat that, according to Nystrom, was much more challenging 30 years ago. Over the years, the nonprofit has also worked to organize social groups and outings for people of all ages with special needs, such as drama groups or bowling events, with the aim of encouraging them to get out and enjoy what the community has to offer.

More recently, Life Enrichment Options has worked to create long-term housing options for people with disabilities. Finnegan said that thousands of people with special needs in King County live with aging parents who struggle to provide their children with care.

Besides lobbying for this cause in Olympia, Life Enrichment Options has built three adult family homes. Each home has room for five to six individuals and a full-time caregiver.

“We endeavor to create a homelike environment, where this is a part of your extended family,” Nystrom said.

Advertising proceeds from the Challenge Races will go to the adult family homes. Nystrom encourages people to sign up for the races, which are free, and encourages the entire community to come watch.

For the kids with special needs, said Nystrom, Challenge Races “say you’re a winner … Everybody likes to feel like a winner at some point in their lives.”

As for the rest of the town, the races “let community members see that special needs kids are not that different from their own.”