Special Olympics: Not so Special After All: Raising A Son With Special Needs

Willie doesn't like to do any exercise, participate in any sports, or use his body much at all.  So when he perked up and said "Yes, please" to my suggestion that he try skiing though Special Olympics, my heart soared.  The back-story is that he has skied three times with an instructor at our local mountain, using adaptive tethers and hula hoops to get down the mountain.  He loved it.  Willie has always loved the snow and the cold doesn't seem to ever bother him.  As this Fall has been a tough time for Willie with real bouts of depression, I saw golden endorphins flashing through my head as he skied down the mountain.

Not so Fast! There was a true administrative error on the part of Willie's new program.  The person in charge had suddenly left to care for her sick mother on the other side of the country. Special Olympics had been alerted that Willie wanted to ski but their emails went unanswered. Willie needed to be fitted for skis and boots and his medical form was way past due.  I got involved as I was informed that Willie couldn't ski. I realized that deadlines are deadlines and Willie had failed them. But I wasn't about to let those happy hormones away without a fight. After all, I thought, Willie had already been dealt a harsh deck in life, couldn't there be an extension, an allowance, or an exception?

Many emails later, some unanswered to the Director of the local Special Olympics, I decided to use the old fashioned telephone. I am not wiring to complain about the unfriendliness of the Special Olympics Sports Director.  I am not even writing to express my dismay and disappointment that she bashed Willie's program at least 6 times for failing to follow the rules. And although I am not a rule follower, I can accept, with sadness, that Willie cannot be granted a reprieve from these rules.  Willie will not be allowed to ski with Special Olympics this season.

It was the comment this Special Olympics Director made when I explained that Willie needed assistance to get down the ski slope.  Her immediate response was shock, a long dead pause, and then immediately she said he won't be able to ski with us.  The implication was that how dare he sign up for this program and need that level of help, help they don't even offer or recognize. With further prodding, she told me in no uncertain terms, that she had never even heard of tethers to help people with disabilities down the mountain.  (I quickly checked with his former ski instructor who reassured me how common that type of assistance is. ) I even said to this Director "well, why is it called Special Olympics then?"  By then the conversation had turned sour and she didn't respond. But I am still baffled why someone in the field of disabilities would make me feel that there was something wrong with my child for needing assistance to ski down a mountain.  Her words are stuck in my head and combined with my sorrow and anger at their decision preventing Willie from skiing with their organization, I am left with a poisonous taste in my mouth.

I do not want to abandon or bash Special Olympics.  After all, Willie has participated happily and successfully with them in the past. But my gut is to turn away from them for I sense that they are too rigid for my son who needs extra special care.  I wonder if they are so married to the rules that they are unable to attend to his very unique and individual needs.  And although I hope I am wrong, I reject any organization that implies that my Willie is less for needing physical, emotional, or any type of extra assistance.  I am shocked that the organization of Special Olympics has left me feeling these terrible things. Perhaps they are not so Special after all?