Special Olympics Makes a Difference for Alistair

Recently I received the following letter from a mother of a Special Olympic athlete.  This athlete, Alistair, represented NSW in the softball at the recent National Games in Adelaide.

‘Alistair had the best time in Adelaide at the 2010 Special Olympics National Games.  Alistair came home a different young man.  He is much more confident and his language has improved as he is concentrating on trying to be understood.  Alistair is now saying his sentences much more clearly and they are sentences, not just one word answers.

Every time Alistair attends a Special Olympics camp he comes home a changed young man.  His self esteem is way up there, he is so much more confident in himself and he looks people in the eyes when he is talking to them.   Even just this morning when Alistair said goodbye to me there was no slouching of the shoulders and eyes to the floor.  He looked me in the eyes and said goodbye.  He gave me a lovely kiss and told me to have a good day.  Just wonderful!

Bring on more experiences like that for Alistair!

The softball team he played in were just that, a real team.  They looked after each other, looked out for each other and rose way above the level they had trained at.  They were all so excited to be there and when on the field, they listened intently to all instructions given to them by their coaches and carers.  Their concentration was just wonderful to watch.

The team came 4th and there were a few disappointed faces but the majority of the team didn’t seem to be too upset that they didn’t win a medal.  In fact some didn’t understand that they hadn’t won, they just loved the game!  They had played their best and were cheered on at various occasions by the other three teams who they had played against.  There was such comraderie; smiles galore; high fives happening; and ‘go blues’ being yelled that they were all consumed with the experience of attending the National Games.  They were all such good sports and were having so much fun that several members of other teams wanted to join the NSW Softball team.’