Photo credit: Special Olympics Mecklenburg County Charlotte Country Day School (CCDS) hosts the Special Olympics Mecklenburg County Spring Games each year. Abigail Ilfeld, a CCDS student, wrote this story for her journalism class: Swimming in the Spirit of Special Olympics By Abigail Ilfeld Special Olympics is a rite of passage for Charlotte Country Day students; every freshman, sophomore, and junior participates as a buddy, helping the athletes and encouraging them at events. Seniors are given special tasks to entertain athletes. Some students; however, get involved with the special needs community outside of school. Anna Hawkins Dulaney is a senior at CCDS and has been coaching a special needs swim team for 2 years; getting involved after a recommendation from Kinga Zay that Anna Hawkins’ swimming skills could be helpful in another setting. “I love helping kids discover things they could be passionate about,” she said. Swimming is Anna Hawkins passion and eve
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.