On the same day Ben received the Principal's Award, he also brought home the Silver in Basketball at the Special Olympics. Frankly, I was skeptical about how this was going to transpire, but I left impressed with the program. The focus was on skill building. Ben had two events - catching (photo above) and dribbling. He was given a minute in each event to catch the ball (catching) and then push the ball down (dribbling) as many times as he could. My biggest surprise was that he seemed to enjoy himself. After witnessing baseball, bowling and boccie ball, I was sure another "B" sport would bomb. He was engaged and happy - two factors that are high on my list for success for anyone. If you have concerns about how Ben may be handling receiving so many awards in just one day, you can see in this video how he gave up the Silver quicker than almost humanly possible: Medal Ceremony
These stories describe our journey with Ben, our oldest son. Ben is a sweet and energetic redhead, born with Rett Syndrome, a rare genetic mutation. My husband, Ryan, and I try to keep up with Ben and his two younger brothers. I intend to shed insight into raising a child with disabilities and pass on the wisdom we’ve earned over the past two decades.