RA 4

The thing that really resonated with me over the course of this semester was the guest speakers Tom and Brian Lamkey. My first thought when told the story about how he found out his son had down syndrome was man that would suck. Over the course of his explanation and story of his life I came to totally do a one-eighty in my thought on having a child with downs. The story about taking a trip to Italy and getting off the plane and realizing your in Holland really resonated with me. A couple of lines that really stuck to me were how you will always wish you went to Italy but you are enjoying your time in Holland a lot. His son competed in the Special Olympics. The entire lecture was riveting and entertaining. The other part of it that stuck to me was the first time they went into the cafeteria with their fourth place ribbon. The tradition was that if you medaled during the day you could wear it to the dining hall and the entire hall would rise and give you a standing ovation for your accomplishments. I vividly remember him saying that he really wanted his son to experience that. He wanted him to be able to experience that feeling of recognition and pride for his accomplishments. Two days later they won gold in the individual bowling event. When they walked into the cafeteria that night he said he got goose bumps on his arms. He had never felt so proud of his son then he did in that moment when hundreds of people stopped eating and rose to give them a standing ovation for their great accomplishment.

Now, the need that I am identifying is that of providing athletes and special needs people with a way to feel a sense of pride and accomplishment that they can take home with them and use to boost their self esteem and moral. Most of us tend to overlook people with special needs or to baby them to the point of enabling. I think that it is crucial to allow them to work hard and earn something that will provide them with a sense of accomplishment and pride in what they have done. I am not even talking about something as huge as a Special Olympics. To use an example from the speaker, when Adam was younger he was socially not at the same place as his peers so they taught him general social guidelines such as opening the door for woman and such. They rewarded him with words and affirmation. Now, Adam is performing in areas of politeness at a level far beyond his peers, constantly looking for ways to open doors for people and to help any chance he can get.

Recreation and non profit programs for people with special needs can work hard to provide that affirmation and sense of accomplishment to their students. This could be accomplished through programs that could introduce them to the sports of the Special Olympics. Having recreation programs that can introduce children to these sports will open a whole new world of competition and excitement for them. I know there are Special Olympics chapters throughout the world, but there are very few recreation programs out there that introduce the children to the world of Special Olympics. I did some research and I also spoke to Adams’s father after class and I found the city of Phoenix has an Adaptive Recreation Program. This program provides people with disabilities an opportunity to river raft, camp and play golf among other things. They do not train or provide an opportunity to get involved in the Special Olympics but they do have a link to the Arizona chapter of the Special Olympics. There are other programs in the valley that help disabled people in sports and outdoor activities but I want to focus on a specific program that helps train interested athletes for the Special Olympics. Most people get into it by contacting their local chapter and getting involved in it with their parents. The place I am envisioning would be almost like a youth center that you could use as a jumping of point for access and learning about the Special Olympics. The activities that would be available there would be sports that are played in the Special Olympics such as bowling and gymnastics