Special Olympic Holds a Special Place in My Heart

“When I first met her, I didn’t understand her speech. Then, she graduated from speech therapy, and now I do.” -anonymous

After listening to a story on how speech therapy supported a Special Olympic athlete to communicate her wants and needs, I decided I wanted to be part of one’s life-changing events. This family’s story inspired me, and that’s when I decided to study to become a licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP).

I learned about the speech-language pathology (SLP) profession through various events coordinated by the Southern California Special Olympic (SOSC) organization. As a SOSC volunteer and a certified coach, I had the opportunity to meet athletes from various age groups, backgrounds, and abilities. Depending on the season, the type of sport offered to the athletes varied. Still, my favorite thing about the Special Olympic organization was that exercise was available to the athletes all year-along.

How I became a volunteer:

• I contacted the Special Olympic office closest to me, and that was the City of Lakewood office, which is part of the SOSC organization. Here’s the direct link to those living in the LA/ San Gabriel or Orange County that offer Special Olympics in your area (scroll to the bottom in the link).

As a Volunteer and a Certified Coach:

• I had the opportunity to enter training and become a certified coach for various sports, including, but not limited to, basketball, softball, bocce, soccer, and tennis.

• Other coaches and I led weekly sports practices, rode fun bus trips to and from tournament locations, and socialized with the energetic athletes at all of the events!

• I met dedicated and creative volunteers, referees, and administrators.

• Importantly, I enjoyed spending time with athletes with various personalities who came together to have a fun time.

• I participated in annual events such as the Summer and Fall games! (Fun fact! The SLP students at Chapman University help run the Healthy Hearing booths for athletes at the Summer and Fall games).

After volunteering for a couple of years for the Special Olympic team at the City of Lakewood was when I applied for a position to be a part of the Park and Recreation team. Fortunately, I was assigned to the same facility that offered Special Olympics, and my job entailed similar responsibilities as a volunteer coach. This facility also provided the Adaptive Recreation Program that specialized in offering leisure opportunities with arts and crafts as well as mini-trips to local communities. Through this job, I met committed individuals who were studying to be certified nurses, teachers, occupational therapists/ assistants, zoologists. I loved that I had a supportive network of caring supervisors and an energetic manager.

I highly recommend being a part of the Special Olympic team! Talking to the athletes always made my day, and the Special Olympics was a gratifying experience that I will never forget!

#education #inspiration #leadership #speechlangaugepathology #slp #student #blog