A doting dad has bought an ice cream truck for his kids with Down syndrome to inspire others with special needs.

Joel Wegener explained that as the father of two children with Down syndrome, he wanted to come up with an effective way for them to work, which is why he bought the truck in April.

In an interview with NBC affiliate WLWT, Wegener, who is from Ohio, said that he knew his children; Josh, 18, and Mary Kate, 21, could struggle to find work because of their condition if he didn't take action.

Watch the ice cream truck in action below:

[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R59RnXyR3Eo]]

"It started out as an idea to sell ice cream, now it's so much bigger than that," Joel, who has eight other biological children with his wife Freida, said.

"[Mary Kate said] I wanna work with Papa,'" he added to the outlet. "But then when we started talking about this ice cream business, it was just a natural [thing] to bring her in and also bring Josh in."

Wegener explained that he was able to buy the truck from another special needs family in Indiana and that, coupled with his children's conditions, helped his wife coin the business name: Special Neat Treats.

The doting dad told WLWT that the ice cream truck has given him the opportunity to teach his son and daughter important financial and social skills.

Josh said that his dad told him he could "make [the customers] smile, and he's told me about waving at them."

"Because they love ice cream and they scream for ice cream when asking for ice cream," the teen added.

An ice cream van. [[imagecaption|| Credit: Alamy / Clarence Holmes Photography]]

Wegener is now hoping that the success of the business will show employers the hiring potential in people with varying abilities.

"It's much more than selling ice cream," the dad of 10 told WLWT. "It's about an experience for everybody, but to give my kids something to do and show other parents maybe there is something creative, out of the box that we can come up for our family and for our kids to do."

"No matter what your abilities are, there's something that you can do and you can spread joy and interact with other people," he added.

Featured image credit: Alamy / Peter Cripps

Dad buys ice cream truck for his kids with Down syndrome to inspire others with special needs