Special Olympics

We are venturing into new territory for V. In a couple of weeks, we will try cycling with the Special Olympics of Montgomery County, Maryland. I happened to be looking for a psychiatrist closer to home than Baltimore and had called the ARC of Montgomery County to find out who their clients use. Haydee De Paula called me back and, in the course of a lengthy conversation, recommended that I call the coach of the cycling group and gave me his name and number. Since V's adapted aquatics coach had already mentioned Special Olympics to me for V, I gave him a call. He was very helpful and friendly. The group meets Saturday mornings from 9:00-10:30 for practice,starting in late June. He suggested that I fill out the medical registration forms and send them in to the Maryland Special Olympics office, and I shared my email address with him so that he could inform me of schedule information. The coach said that participants are required to wear helmets and to have a dedicated partner to ride/walk with them. He said that he had a spare adult tricycle that V could try at first and if she liked it then she would need to provide her own bike. The group meets at Bohrer Park or the Maryland Great Falls trail at the end of Falls Rd. So, we will try it out and see. It is the activity most likely to appeal to V since she has been learning to use the stationary bike the past few months. If it works out, it could provide some social opportunities for her with peers. Look for a link to the Special Olympics website and further updates on this.