Newfoundland Family Grows their Community through Special Olympics School Sports
“It was so many smiles, high fives, good energy,” Lisa said, about the first time she got her son Zachary enrolled in Special Olympics Newfoundland and Labrador. “It's still like that today, you have no choice but to leave happy.”
While Zachary does show a slight preference for basketball, Lisa said her son does not seem very particular about which sports he plays, as long as he gets to interact with and meet new people. Both her children agreed with this.
“It makes me feel like I’m part of a team,” Zachary said about his school’s Unified Sports program. His fellow classmates on the team make him feel included. “It’s a smaller group, everyone works together. We all got the same goal to do our best and have fun! “
Turning 21 in September, Zachary and his family are preparing him to start his new journey in college. Like many high school students with special needs, he stayed in high school a couple years after the age of 18, as part of his accommodations.
“[The school’s Unified Sports team] was one of the biggest convincing factors,” Madison said, when explaining why her brother Zach is happy with staying in high school a little longer. Throughout the interview, all three members of the Healey family talked about how much Zachary’s social life and confidence improved within high school, largely due to the Special Olympics Unified Sports programs.
However, Special Olympics has also brought their family closer together as well.
“We’re a team of four,” Lisa said, “usually my mom [Florence, Zachary’s grandmother] will attend all the activities with him as well. When we show up to activities, some of the other parents would joke Zachary has his own entourage.”
Me being mom, Zachary being the athlete, and Madison with her studies, our schedules can get busy, but we’ve always been close and [Special Olympics] is something that brings us together in a fun and meaningful way.
Wanting to get other people like him involved in these sports, Zachary partnered with Special Olympics Newfoundland & Labrador employee Brent Foote to introduce their programs to Zach’s own workplace. Alongside his sister Madison, Zach works at the Vera Perlin Society’s Summer Camp for people with intellectual disabilities. Zach bas been a participant of the summer camp since 2019, and Madison said he was given the opportunity to be a “client staff” member of the summer camp for the past 2 summers. He is now one of their camp counsellors and supports campers that are also now his friends.
In his role, Zachary helps lead morning exercises and assists in preparing games and daily activities, taking an active role in creating a positive and engaging environment.
“Zach’s a great calmer-downer,” Madison said, describing how he helps campers through moments of emotional overwhelm.
He definitely resonates with the participants, in a way that none of the other staff could.
After reaching out to Brent for help, Zachary played a part to organize an in-camp floor curling exhibition, so his participants could get a chance to experience Special Olympics sports, with the hopes that they would benefit from them as much as Zach himself. Brent said that the Healeys have been great advocates for the programs, counting no less than five local Special Olympics athletes who joined after Zach told them how great of an organization Special Olympics truly is!
“It’s a privilege to work with the Unified Program,” Brent said,“ and meet families like these.”