Kliewer

I have worked with the Special Olympics for many years now so I have encountered many people with Down syndrome.  Some people who have this can be very smart, you can have a normal conversation, can do every day work and so much more.  Others are not so advanced and need much assistance.  With my athletes at least, I know them on a personal level since I have been with them for so long, so I know what they can handle and what they cannot handle.  However, my athletes are much older so I did not know them in their youth and I did not know them when they were in school.  What I do know is what I have seen from the special education departments in the schools I attended growing up.  Some people complain that people with Down syndrome should not be subjected to special education, and from the schools I have been in they are not.  Yes that is where they are originally assigned but the parent can switch them out of special education and into other classrooms.  I do not know the process of going about this but it is possible.  In middle school and my freshman year of high school I had people in special education come to my class and learn with us (after freshman year I saw it still going on I just was never in one of the classes).  Yes there are some people who can succeed in these classes and belong; however there are others who do not since they need a more one on one approach.  In middle school three people from special education were in one of my class; two did fine the other was always behind.  Constant questions were asked and that person never understood material and we spent the whole class going over things everyone understood so when it came time for homework there were problems we did not understand because we spent so much time going over the things we knew but did not go over the rest.  With everything, everyone is different.  It all depends on that individual.  If they can succeed by all means let them, if they extremely struggle and hurt other’s learning maybe they may belong in a more one on one environment.  I do want to close this out by stating that people with Down syndrome are people too and must be treated as such.  We must talk to them like they are human beings and not like they are broken.  You must correct them too like you would anyone else.  If they do something wrong you must tell them and not just say well they did not know better, because they do understand.  They are people just like everyone else and they like being treated as such.  I love working with the Special Olympics and it is something I will do for a long time.  The athletes I work with like me but the big thing is we treat them as equals not like charity and that is the key. 

 
special olympics has been a big part of my life growing up.  It is something i have done for many years and will continue to do.  It is through this that i have learned how to treat people with down syndrome and etc. You treat them like a normal human being

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFp429nqQXc
it really warms my heart to see so many different organizations (like the NBA) getting involved with special olympics.  Things like this make the athletes so happy and a little of a person's time can clearly go a long way.