Special Needs Kids Equal Amazing Moments!

This is a totally, unbiased post! ;)

Do you ever have moments where you’re sitting there and your thinking, something special just happened? (And you never get your camera out to tape it??) My daughter Samantha loves to play basketball. She has played since she was 10 years old. At the age of 22 she still plays basketball for Team Ghostbusters! This team is part of the Special Olympics of Idaho. Samy is not your typical kid; she has intellectual disabilities due to a genetic chromosome translocation disorder that affects her physically and mentally. Thank goodness for organizations such as the Special Olympics and Team’s like The Ghostbusters who give these individuals opportunities to play in organized sports.

When she was about 11 years old she played on a Y-Ball team for her grade level. What makes this story really cool is her teammates knew she had disabilities and regardless tried to help her out as much as they could. This did not deter them from playing with her. Her coach was also great with her. He would strategically put her in the game ensuring she would have the opportunity to have success. She learned so much playing with her typical peers at this time.

During one of their games I was sitting in the gym watching these 12 year old girls run back and forth playing basketball. The score was 0 – 0. There was about 4 minutes left in the half. I will say up until this time I had never watched a game where there had not at least been one basket. Both teams were trying really hard and focused on being competitive. It was at this point the coach put Samy in. Her team had the ball out of bounds underneath their basket. Samy was wide open on the baseline about 10 feet out, the girls started yelling at the inbound player to throw Samy the ball, so she did. Samy promptly shot the ball and made the basket. She scored the first 2 points of the game.

Her teammates went crazy! They were so excited for Samy, you would have thought Samy made the game winning basket. The girls on the other team were just as excited and for that moment nobody was playing basketball they were all cheering for Samy. Even spectators in the stands who didn’t know Samy stood up and gave her a standing ovation. The referee called a time out to gain control again and after a few moments, play resumed.

I sat there with tears in my eyes! (Just thinking about this moment I still get tears!) I was not expecting that. You see things like this happen in the news and the stories are always great and emotional but when it happens to you personally it takes on an entirely different meaning and perspective. This moment is still one of my greatest athletic moments ever! (And I have had many of those!) I have learned the following raising two children with disabilities:

Kids become amazing if given the opportunity to help their peers with disabilities!

It has been my experience that if kids (typical kids who are developing inside the bell curve) are placed in a situation to help out those who need guidance, friendship and mentoring; they will and do step up to the plate. In fact, these kids who take the time to serve those with these types of needs go on to become leaders in their prospective environments, I have seen it happen! There are amazing individuals who do amazing things for and with those who have disabilities. As a mom, raising two girls with diagnosed disabilities I have witnessed and experienced 100s of moments where I get to witness these acts of kindness. It literally brings me to my knees! I am beyond grateful. What I have found is these same people were given the opportunity as children to be around and apart of the lives of those with disabilities.

This world has amazing people in it!

I will never forget that moment I was sitting there watching Samy’s teammates celebrate her basket and then observing the entire group of parents sitting in the bleachers standup and celebrate with them. It’s a moment that still takes my breath away. This was a turning point for me! An entire gym, full of strangers, was beyond excited to watch my daughter make a basket. I try and remember this moment during my times of worry and anxiety I have for her wellbeing. For the most part people are genuinely caring. I pray every day that my path and my daughters path’s cross people like this! I think every mom who is tasked with the opportunity to raise children like this pray in this way! I will be the first mom to tell you that raising children with disabilities (Samy and Abby) is one the greatest blessings ever! What makes it great is I get to witness amazing people do their thing with my daughters and it overwhelms me every time! There are great things happening that are out of my control. I am blessed!!

Amazing Mom’s raising children!

Whether your child is considered typical, (inside the bell curve) or otherwise the fact is raising children is never easy. (I have grown to hate that bell curve because if you have ever had to talk to a psychologist about where your child fits in that bell curve, you would hate it to!) You are doing something really hard! What makes it hard is how invested you are. There are so many things that go into it. Try not to think about all of that. Enjoy those moments where your child shines or you have the opportunity to witness others be amazed at what your child can and will do. It will make all of these hard moments doable because you will know the impact you are making on a life! That right there makes it all worth it and makes you incredibly amazing!

What amazing moments have you had with your Special Needs Child? If you would like, share this moment with us by signing up in our Forum Section (Your Turn!) or emailing me at jennhalladay@mothersareamazing.com

There is so much more! To help you remember how amazing you are go to this website and join us! All the Amazing Mom’s!

MothersAreAmazing.com

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