Challenge

     Our daughter is really enjoying Challenger Baseball. The teams consist of a wide age range and a variety of  physical challenges and learning disorders. The point is that when all the kids get together, none of it matters. Our daughter has met some of the kindest and friendliest kids ever; they remember her name and cheer her on in a way that makes her feel great. There is no embarrassment or teasing when it takes a while to get a hit. Everybody gets to hit, everybody get to run around the bases, everybody gets to feel like a winner for once; there is no being the last one picked. It is noncompetitive but it is fully fun.
     Every kid deserves to play; it is the work of childhood after all. Our society makes winning a prerogative but fortunately these days it also makes play the right of every child, regardless of their developmental challenges. We never thought that we would see our daughter enjoy softball the way that she does; she loves it! And what could be better than that? Batter up!

Special O

     Our daughter recently joined the Special Olympics and the Challenger Baseball programs as ways of making new connections, learning new skills and making new friends. Although she has only been involved for a couple of months, it is a mission accomplished. We have met some very fine people and our daughter has had a lot of fun. I only wish that we had known about these programs years ago.
     I already can see that the success that our daughter has had on the ball field and in the gym have added to her confidence and sense of self. She feels like she can try hard, do well and enjoy time with peers who also have their own challenges. There is no explaining necessary, no embarrassment at all--- we are all on a level playing field and fun is the only goal.
     I want to thank the wonderful families that volunteer and support their siblings, children and others in the gym and on the ball field. They are truly an exceptional group of people whom I admire greatly and consider the true heroes of this world; those who selflessly and unconditionally serve others with respect, humility and love.

Swim

     Our eldest daughter and I went swimming with another mum and her son who is autistic. We met at Special O and I enjoyed her company immensely; her son is also a very nice person. Autism is quite similar to Nonverbal Learning Disorder in many ways but also dissimilar in so many other ways. I do not know a lot about autism but I have certainly met many kids on the spectrum and of course I know our daughter. What seemed most important to me when the four of us went swimming was that we were doing something we liked to do and we were doing it together. Our daughter talks a great deal about many things; her friend gave mostly one word answers except when talking about dinosaurs or art. My friend is a nurse, a working mother, from a country I know little about. But when four people get together, to get to know one another and to do something they enjoy, anything can happen. Even friendship.