A mothers wish to be with her son.
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This will be a once in a lifetime opportunity and a dream come true for our family. Our hope is to be able to accompany and honor our son as he represents the USA in the Special Olympics World Games in Austria. However, this will only be possible with the help of GoFund Donations. Thank you for your support for helping our dreams come true!
This fairy tale story began 20 years ago when Jeremy came into this world a beautiful 9 lb., 20-inch baby boy! It wasn't very long before we realized that he wasn't developing like normal children his age. Over time, I painfully watched my child try to produce sounds necessary to form words and speak. Instead, there would be a blank look that would wash over his face as he was unable to coordinate his muscles, lips, tongue and throat to accomplish this. In addition to his speech delay, I noticed that his motor skills were impaired, creating another significant difference between him and other children his age.
At Jeremy's 18-month checkup, his Pediatrician gave us a referral recommending Early Intervention Services due to his symptoms. Jeremy underwent rigorous evaluations through Early Intervention to be qualified for needed services. After six months of Early Intervention Services, they assessed the severity of his condition, recommending intensive Speech Therapy. During this time, his private Speech Therapist discovered a Neurological Disorder impairing his oral motor functions as well as Sensory Integration Disorder and referred him to Occupational Therapy. After years of these rigorous efforts, therapies, and personal sacrifices, Jeremy's disability came to be correctly diagnosed as Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS).
Jeremy's transition into the Public School system revealed he has significant Learning Disabilities. From the beginning, he had several struggles and emotional battles to face and overcome. In school, his difficulties of not being verbally intelligible by most people caused a level of frustration within him. Whenever he attempted to communicate his thoughts and feelings, it created an isolation from his classmates. His deep-seated disabilities played into daily life, not just at school, but also in extracurricular activities as well by separating him socially from his peers. With each passing year, this visibly noticeable gap grew larger and more pronounced. It wasn't until our friends the McLeod family introduced us to Special Olympics (SO) that Jeremy started to find his place and develop a new sense of self. Between 2009 to 2013 Jeremy competed in Yamhill County SO Basketball and Golf tournaments, winning awards in both. In 2014 our family moved to a different county leaving Jeremy emotionally torn, his not wanting to compete against his former teammates. This dilemma pushed Jeremy out of his comfort zone to try snowboarding for the first time. Unbeknownst to us at the time, this decision would seem to be divine intervention, a spiritual moment, that would alter his life forever.
By his second year of Snowboarding, our family had moved to Vancouver, Washington. Here he qualified for the Washington State Special Olympics Snowboarding Competition, winning a silver medal. His silver medal placed his name in a lottery for a chance to be selected as an athlete representing the USA for the Special Olympics World Games. A week later that divine intervention we spoke of made itself known when we received a call that he was chosen to compete in the World Games in Austria in 2017.
This great news was received first with pride, excitement, and delight but then obviously with great apprehension. While this would mean the world to Jeremy and us to accompany him to Austria and support his efforts there, my family and I are not financially able to do so. We would need to raise funds no later than March 13, 2017, and the estimated cost of travel, food, and lodging will amount to $11,500.
This fairy tale story began 20 years ago when Jeremy came into this world a beautiful 9 lb., 20-inch baby boy! It wasn't very long before we realized that he wasn't developing like normal children his age. Over time, I painfully watched my child try to produce sounds necessary to form words and speak. Instead, there would be a blank look that would wash over his face as he was unable to coordinate his muscles, lips, tongue and throat to accomplish this. In addition to his speech delay, I noticed that his motor skills were impaired, creating another significant difference between him and other children his age.
At Jeremy's 18-month checkup, his Pediatrician gave us a referral recommending Early Intervention Services due to his symptoms. Jeremy underwent rigorous evaluations through Early Intervention to be qualified for needed services. After six months of Early Intervention Services, they assessed the severity of his condition, recommending intensive Speech Therapy. During this time, his private Speech Therapist discovered a Neurological Disorder impairing his oral motor functions as well as Sensory Integration Disorder and referred him to Occupational Therapy. After years of these rigorous efforts, therapies, and personal sacrifices, Jeremy's disability came to be correctly diagnosed as Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS).
Jeremy's transition into the Public School system revealed he has significant Learning Disabilities. From the beginning, he had several struggles and emotional battles to face and overcome. In school, his difficulties of not being verbally intelligible by most people caused a level of frustration within him. Whenever he attempted to communicate his thoughts and feelings, it created an isolation from his classmates. His deep-seated disabilities played into daily life, not just at school, but also in extracurricular activities as well by separating him socially from his peers. With each passing year, this visibly noticeable gap grew larger and more pronounced. It wasn't until our friends the McLeod family introduced us to Special Olympics (SO) that Jeremy started to find his place and develop a new sense of self. Between 2009 to 2013 Jeremy competed in Yamhill County SO Basketball and Golf tournaments, winning awards in both. In 2014 our family moved to a different county leaving Jeremy emotionally torn, his not wanting to compete against his former teammates. This dilemma pushed Jeremy out of his comfort zone to try snowboarding for the first time. Unbeknownst to us at the time, this decision would seem to be divine intervention, a spiritual moment, that would alter his life forever.
By his second year of Snowboarding, our family had moved to Vancouver, Washington. Here he qualified for the Washington State Special Olympics Snowboarding Competition, winning a silver medal. His silver medal placed his name in a lottery for a chance to be selected as an athlete representing the USA for the Special Olympics World Games. A week later that divine intervention we spoke of made itself known when we received a call that he was chosen to compete in the World Games in Austria in 2017.
This great news was received first with pride, excitement, and delight but then obviously with great apprehension. While this would mean the world to Jeremy and us to accompany him to Austria and support his efforts there, my family and I are not financially able to do so. We would need to raise funds no later than March 13, 2017, and the estimated cost of travel, food, and lodging will amount to $11,500.
Organizer
Debbie Smith
Organizer
Vancouver, WA