Introduction by Paul Dempsey, Andrews Dad
Andrew has written 100 words of what the swimming Gala means to him.
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Andrew is 12 and has autism. He has a number of sensory issues, displays typical autistic traits in dealing with people and up until recently we did not believe that Andrew would ever read or write. For someone like Andrew Special Olympics is the only club where he can participate as an equal and it is a very important part of his social life as he considers the other athletes his best friends. As parents we have seen Andrew develop from a non-swimmer and afraid of water to a competent swimmer who takes great pride in his achievements. |
Below is Andrew's story. He mentions a boy who was sick - the background to this was that one boy in one of his races (50 metre freestyle) was so nervous he vomited in the changing room. The other athletes reassured him it was all OK and Andrew stayed by his side, sat with him in the waiting area on the poolside talking to him. I do not know the boys name but he won the race.
'100 Words', by Andrew Dempsey
I was asked to write and I will do it.
When I won my medals I felt wonderful.
You see we had a gala recently and
I wouldn't have the opportunity to do
anything like a gala. I am in the SO (Special Olympics)
because I am autistic. My best
friend in SO is called Katey. The SO is just
great. I can be with my friends and when
we go to a gala we get over some
fears you can by nerves. One boy was
nervous and he was sick but he won
second place. When we do a gala
we also get very excited about it.
We won medals, some of us got ribbons.
I won three medals, 1st, 3rd, 1st
