Humans of New York covers Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi

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The opening ceremony for the Special Olympics World Games is currently being held in Abu Dhabi, UAE. For the next couple weeks, I’ll be sharing stories from a wide range of participants including athletes, coaches, and family members. The main theme of Special Olympics is inclusion, and that’s what these stories are all about. Having an intellectual disability can be isolating. Society might not be understanding of your needs. Classmates might be confused by your behavior. In some places you might literally be hidden away. Special Olympics is a refuge from all that. It’s a place where you can play and compete and succeed without being made to feel your difference. Thanks to the HONY Patreon community for funding this series. Thanks to @specialolympics and @worldgamesad for organizing everything and letting me hang around. And thanks to all the athletes who shared their stories. Hope you enjoy!

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 14, 2019 at 9:46am PDT

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“Sometimes my brain processes things difficult. I just need more time. And in school everything needs to be fast. You always have to know what’s going to happen next and it can be hard to make friends. My dad was always my biggest supporter. He’d come into my room at night and we would talk for hours. He’d tell me: ‘Your stories will make you famous one day.’ He’d show my writing to friends and family and I would get compliments. I didn’t know what to do after he died. I stayed in my room for six years. I wrote thirty-one stories. All I did was write. I only came out to eat. I wouldn’t speak to anyone. Last year my sister convinced me to visit an art studio for people with special needs. She asked me every single day, until one day she finally said: ‘I’m going to the studio and you’re coming with me.’ At first I stood in the corner. After so many years of doing nothing, it was hard for me to see people having fun. It was like a burning anger and then it came out in tears. I decided to join the group. The studio slowly opened me up to the world again. I began to make friends. I realized that so many things had happened while I was locked away. And while some things die, other things are being created. I understand now how beautiful that is. And I’ve started talking again. For the longest time my sister would beg me: ‘Please Asma, say something.’ Now she wishes I’d talk less.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 15, 2019 at 10:23am PDT

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“My name is Ariel and I’m from Costa Rica and my dream is to be a journalist. I have an Instagram page where I am going to put all my interviews. This week I would like to cover the feelings of the athletes and parents and coaches. I ask questions like: ‘Are you having fun?’ And ‘What is your favorite sport?’ And ‘Are you enjoying Abu Dhabi?’ My mom is helping me think of the questions to ask. I don’t know what I would do without her. She tells me to be patient and says that if someone is busy, we need to wait until they are finished before asking questions. She reminds me to talk slowly. And to say ‘yes sir’ and ‘no sir.’ And to love people. And not to say bad words. I want to thank her so much for all her help. I would also like to thank my job at the IBM infrastructure department for letting me come here. I would also like to thank my grandmother who has come to help us. It hurts for her to walk but I feel confident when she is here. Her job is to have fun. I would like to thank her so much. Thank you so much for this interview.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 15, 2019 at 8:22am PDT

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“For me I would describe myself as Asperger’s-- meaning not understanding of what’s happening around you and all that stuff. It can be hard to tell when people are being happy or being serious. You have to be very careful or they might get upset. It can make me anxious. I’m lucky because I’m good at arts and paintings so I found an art studio for special needs people called Mawaheb. Our teachers and parents push us sometimes, but that’s just because they want us to become adults inside ourselves. I learned to ride the metro. It takes a lot of time to learn because you are scared of getting lost but my brothers taught me. When I went to England to study painting I flew on an airplane by myself. Actually I was scared at first but I got my boarding pass and followed the signs to where my boarding pass said to go. Now I’m even working as a waiter in a hotel. It’s very hard and sometimes I get nervous but I’ve never had an accident before. Tonight I’m doing a poem for the opening ceremony about being the same as everyone else. It’s going to be live on the TV. I’m excited but also a little nervous to be honest. I’m going to pretend like the stadium is empty except for all my friends that I love. My parents are very proud of me. They said: ‘Look at Nazeer. Our shy boy is no longer shy.’” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 16, 2019 at 9:49am PDT

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“I worked on Wall Street for five years. I enjoyed the work-- but always had the feeling I could do something more meaningful. So I moved back to London and tried to set up a theater company. I wanted to find a way to help marginalized people tell their stories. But I didn’t get very far. Because after six months of planning, I got a call from an old classmate. I hadn’t spoken to him in sixteen years. He told me that his company had won a bid to produce the Special Olympics opening ceremony. His vision was to allow people with intellectual disabilities to design the ceremony themselves. And he asked me to be involved. It was a dream job. I went to work immediately. We reached out to special education centers around the UAE. We asked the teachers for advice. We led workshops with the students, asking them: ‘What excites you?’, ‘What are your challenges?’ , ‘What would you like to tell the world?’ Then we took those ideas to professional choreographers, and refined them into a performance. We brought the results back to the students, and asked: ‘Is this your vision? What would you change?’ When the students finally recognized the work as their own, we knew our job was finished.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

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“We are the first female athletes from Saudi Arabia. It makes us feel wow. It’s one of the nicest moments in our life. I have to be happy and positive because I am the basketball team captain. Whenever we make a shot, I clap. I also clap if we miss it. And I clap if the other team makes it. If somebody is sad I tell them don’t be upset my sweet heart. And then I rub their shoulder. This is my teammate Dahwia-- I am her friend and she is my friend. I love her so much. She loves food and we dance together. We blow each other kisses during the game. Yesterday we won. But it doesn’t matter if we lose because at the end we always dance.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 17, 2019 at 8:45am PDT

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“I have twenty superheroes that I keep in a folder on my phone and I take it out to look at them, and I pretend that I am the leader of an entire superhero team. The whole team is counting on me to get as strong as possible because I am the muscle of the team. Being the biggest is like a way to take charge. It doesn’t even matter if I have super powers because I can use my own true strength, and the barbell is like a type of weapon. It’s important as a leader to always listen to your team. Our whole team decided together that friendship is more important than winning. Nobody will be mad at me if I lose. They don’t care if I bring home a medal. My family and my friends and Coach John and everyone in the Philippines will be proud of me even just for lifting weights.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 17, 2019 at 10:34am PDT

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“On a unified team, each athlete is allowed a partner to support them on the court. We make sure every athlete gets a chance to participate and score. We control the tempo. Since basketball games can be chaotic, it can be helpful for athletes to have a teammate who can guide them and keep them calm. Unified sports are wonderful because they allow us to play together as brothers. Giles always used to watch us playing at the local club growing up. He wanted to join us but the level was too high for him. Giles can have problems reaching certain goals. So many times we have to tell him that his goals are not possible. It’s frustrating for all of us. But this time we got to say: ‘Yes Giles, it is possible.’ Every Friday we get in our car together, drive to the river, listen to our favorite songs, and then head to our game. It’s our favorite day of the week.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 18, 2019 at 9:09am PDT

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“I first met him when he was thirteen years old. He lives in one of the most remote regions of Brunei. You can only get there by river. There’s no running water, no electricity, no utilities. Certainly no special education facilities. He came alone to our city looking for assistance. When I first met him, his trousers were completely torn. He was so small for his age. I’m a special education teacher, so I said to myself: ‘I’m going to help this boy.’ He lived with me for four years. It was the only way he could get training. I coached him on the Special Olympics soccer team. I tried to give him structure. I told him: take a bath every day, go to sleep early, always go to school. The advice had to be continuous because he forgets very easily. But I did everything for him. He became like my son. But he never called me ‘father.’ Always ‘teacher.’ And I never forced him to stay. He’d leave home for a few nights at a time, but he’d always come back. I was really hoping he’d live with me until he got a job. It’s dangerous for him to be on his own because he needs guidance. His family has many bad habits. But last October he turned eighteen, and he chose to go home. He reaches out to me sometimes when his family runs out of food. Or when he needs money. He knows that I can never say ‘no.’ At first it was very difficult. I worried nonstop. I’d always ask his friends: ‘Where is Azril now?’ But I have to accept I’ve done all I can. He has become an adult. When we return from the games, I think it’s time for me to let go.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 19, 2019 at 9:00am PDT

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“I’m here to support my older brother. You’d never know he has special needs by looking at him. But what you can learn in one hour, it might take him three or four years. Even though I’m younger, he’s always looked up to me. He writes on my Facebook wall all the time. He’s so proud of my accomplishments. On this trip he’s been sleeping in the bed next to me, but he still texts me that he loves me so much. My mom says he was so happy when I was born. He saw me as an example. Anything that I did—he wanted to do. He learned to feed himself after seeing me eat. He stopped using diapers once I did. It’s getting harder for him to copy me now that we’re adults, but the desire is still there. He wants to drive like me. He wants a girlfriend like me. He wanted a job at the grocery store so badly that he cried during the interview. He wants a family. And a house. And a car. And I want him to get there too. But I’m not sure he realizes how difficult those things will be. There’s another level he has to get past. Cooking is still difficult. And washing clothes. And counting money. We’re just not there yet. So I have to be ready for him to live with me for the rest of my life. And I have to hope that my future family will be OK with that. My brother wants to be independent so badly. And all of us want him to get there. But if he doesn’t, I’m here.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 20, 2019 at 9:21am PDT

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“We’re from the small island country of Vanuatu. I don’t know anything about sports, but nobody else wanted to coach the team. So I volunteered. Special Olympics gave me a list of sports and I chose the long jump. But two of my athletes couldn’t jump. So we moved to the javelin throw. But that was too hard to throw, so now we’re competing in the shot put competition. When I first met Monick, she’d never really left her house before. She couldn’t look me in the eye. And she was afraid of the shot put. She’d drop it on the ground every time I handed it to her. She’d hide her hands behind her back. But I invited her whole family out to train with us. Everyone participated. And that gave her confidence. On days we weren’t training, her mother gave her coconuts and rocks to throw. When it was time to compete, nobody knew if she’d be able to get on the plane. She was so scared. She was crying and clinging to me the entire flight. Once we arrived, we had to drive straight to the stadium for qualifications. Everything was so new for her. She’d never left her island before. The stadium was so big and she had to go out on the field all by herself. On her first throw she forgot everything she learned. She dropped the shot put immediately and the referee raised a red flag for disqualification. But then she looked back at us. She calmed down. She remembered being back on the island with all her family. And she threw it so far on the second throw. When the white flag was raised, we all went crazy. And she won the silver medal.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 20, 2019 at 12:12pm PDT

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“I tried to make friends as a child but it never worked out. Every day I’d get bullied. My teachers were nice, but the only kids who would spend time with me were my cousins-- and they were in a higher class. People would call me ‘idiot’ and ‘stupid.’ They’d push me over. I tried to just stare at the floor and not look at people. I felt like jumping out the window. I didn’t want to eat. I became so weak that my mom would feed me with her own hands. I’d talk to the walls of my bedroom. I’d talk to my paintings. I had an imaginary friend named Amanda. She was a fairy. After school I’d close the curtains and sit on the floor and hug my bear and wait for Amanda to come. She was very pretty. She had a beautiful crown. She’d make me laugh, and encourage me, and tell me not to be sad. She’d say ‘good things will happen to you.’ Then one day when I was fourteen, I went to a swim meet with my mother. I was scared of the pool so I just stood along the edge. A woman walked up to me and asked if I was special. Her name was Ronak. She had a beautiful smile. She gave me a hug. I never thought anyone would ever hug me like she did. It felt really good. She looked at me in the eyes, grabbed my hands, and said: ‘Please, please, please join Special Olympics. It will change your life.’ She gave me her phone number. After that day, Amanda never came back.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 22, 2019 at 11:26am PDT

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“It was a problem with my memory. I couldn’t remember things. Everyone else my age was moving forward, and I kept staying behind. My heart was very sore. I loved school. I wanted to be a doctor and a lawyer just like everyone else. I kept asking God: ‘Why is this happening to me?’ I tried my best. I even went to night school. But eventually my teachers said they didn’t want to waste my time. They sent me to a school to learn handwork. That’s where I learned about Special Olympics. I was an angry young man back then. I could not accept my situation. But one day I met Arnold Schwarzenegger when he came to South Africa for an event. I told him my entire story, and he said: ‘Look here, I am the Terminator, but today I am your friend. Listen to me. You are not strong in academics, but that is just one thing. It’s nothing to worry about. You are a very strong man. You can’t hate yourself for the rest of your life. It is time for you to move on.’ From that moment I began to accept myself. I now have everything in life except for academics. I work hard. I have a house. I have a family. I have a career as a soccer coach. My son attends the same school where I work—and he’s very smart. I make sure he does all his assignments. When he struggles, I bring him to his teachers so they can lift him up. I tell him: ‘Tumi, I never finished school. But God is amazing. He has made you strong where I am weak.’” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 23, 2019 at 2:25pm PDT

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“Papa left El Salvador eight years ago to come work in Dubai. It’s very difficult without him but I understand the reasons why he is gone. He said he was very sorry but he needed to find a way for us to live. He is an excellent worker. I was so very sad in the beginning. I missed his hugs so much and also the times he would sing to me. I was crying almost every day. But he calls me so much, and sometimes he sings to me on the phone, and every year he gets to come home for one whole month. I was so excited when I found out that the Special Olympics are in the same country where my Dad works. I feel so lucky. He is with me all the time this week. He gets to watch me do my gymnastics. He gets to watch me do my jumps and hang on the bars. He was so happy and clapping so much. I am hugging him all the time. And telling him how much I love him. And he is always telling me that he is so proud of me.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 24, 2019 at 12:04pm PDT

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“This is the first time in my whole life that I got a gold medal in the World Games. I was very calm and controlled my emotions. When I left home, my mom said to focus hard on my trainings and make Egypt proud of you. Sometimes when I’m on my horse I pretend like my mom is right beside me and not all the way back in Cairo. I want to thank her so much. She does everything for me. My dad is in heaven and I want him to know that I miss him and that I love him so much. All the time I hear him saying ‘do a good job’ and ‘take care of yourself.’ I want to thank God for helping me win a gold medal. I want to thank my brother Islam for calling me yesterday and saying: ‘I hope you win the gold medal.’ That helped so much. I also want to thank my Coach Dahlia because she is a person that I love. She is almost like my little sister. Right now I feel like life is so beautiful. I feel a smile all over my face. I love everyone. And I am feeling very much like everyone loves me because I’m beautiful.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 25, 2019 at 9:23am PDT

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“We come from Palestine, and both of these athletes live in refugee camps. The camp has a special needs program provided by the Red Crescent, but that ends at the age of sixteen. And there’s nowhere to go after that. No programs. No jobs. So right now Special Olympics is the only thing keeping them off the streets. When we are competing, there’s a sense of focus and determination. There’s a feeling of representing Palestine. There’s a feeling of being someone who has value and contributes to society. But when we go back home—that’s all gone. They’re seen as not having skills. There’s no respect. They're basically ignored. It’s like going between two extremes, and it can be hard for them to go home. Last night Saeed heard us making arrangements for the flight home-- and he tried to hide.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 25, 2019 at 12:39pm PDT

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(1/2) “In those days there was a blue book in the library with all the faces of children who needed homes. She was eight years old. Her foster parents should have been thrown in jail. No immunization records. She’d never been to school. No language skills. She couldn’t even describe the abuse she’d been through. But she was a little ball of fire. Very hyperactive and very cute. All we saw was this little kid who had nobody. And we’re looking at her thinking: ‘What’s going to happen if we walk away?’ We had no clue how difficult it was going to be. You never do. But there was no time to be scared. If you’re getting a child with no home and nobody-- you’ve got to get over ‘scared.’ You have to pray. You need to have the heart for it. Because there’s no way you’re going to give them back. Those first few days I spent so much time with her in a rocking chair: back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. I kept telling her: ‘This is what I do with my babies. I rock you in a chair.’ (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 26, 2019 at 9:46am PDT

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(2/2) “Her history came out slowly once she learned to talk. She’d been abused in every possible way. She’d never had a Christmas. She’d never been to school. She’d never even slept in a dry bed. All she’d ever known was deprivation. But once we got her, we left that all in the past. We said: ‘This is what we have now. Let’s start here.’ Her life has been so full since we got her. It hasn’t been easy. She was diagnosed with Autism. She needs lots of attention. Puberty was tough. My husband passed away so I had to do it alone. School was a herculean effort. Colors, numbers, and shapes were nearly impossible. And we still can’t tell time or do math. But she is a master of everything physical. And we did it all. She took ten years of dancing lessons. She played on a travel soccer team. She’s an amazing artist. We’re here this week to compete in powerlifting. Now the one last thing I want for her is to get a job. To earn a living. To come home tired from a good day’s work and say: ‘Mom, I can take you for dinner tonight.’ It’s not going to be easy, but that’s how I’d love the story to end. If I had known twenty years ago how difficult it was going to be-- would I have made the decision? There’s no way of knowing. And there’s no way of summing up the experience. Because it’s not an experience. It’s my child.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 26, 2019 at 2:17pm PDT

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“My parents were shot when I was ten years old. My mother was a lawyer and my dad was an engineer. They’d been working in South Africa, and they resisted a robbery attempt. At least that’s what my grandfather told me. I thought everyone was fooling me until their bodies came home to Zimbabwe. Thankfully my aunt and uncle raised me and I kept going. But I was never able to graduate from school. I have dyslexia. I’m not good at reading or writing. The teachers couldn’t understand my problem, and I was expected to keep up with the rest of the class. Other students would laugh at me. And I just couldn’t do it. Now I feel lost. I keep to myself. I have nothing to do and I’m just sitting on my talent. I have a mechanical mind. I can understand any machine. But no engineering program will consider you unless you’re good with books. And there are no facilities for dyslexia in our country. I see dyslexic people from other countries who have achieved their dreams. And it’s painful to see. Because there is no path for me. I’m thankful for Special Olympics. They keep me from being idle, but I can’t spend all day on a golf course. I need a job. A few years ago I discovered my father’s diary. There was a section where he wrote a page about each of his children. He wrote that I was the smart one. I was the one who could fix anything. I was the future engineer.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 27, 2019 at 9:49am PDT

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“There was a small river near our village, and my father taught me to swim while we bathed. Before long I was sneaking to the river after school. I’d swim for hours every day. My father would physically pull me out of the water at dinnertime. But my village was very traditional and conservative. Adult women weren’t allowed to swim. So I had to quit when I turned fifteen. I didn’t begin again until my twenties. By that time I’d moved to the city, and there was no female instructor at our public pool. So I volunteered. During my lessons, I kept noticing an autistic boy who would stand along the edge and watch. Nobody wanted to teach him. The male coaches were afraid of being bitten and scratched. But I could tell that he was so curious, so I began to play with him. I splashed him. Slowly I touched him. I’d hold his leg and pull him through the water, teaching him how to breathe in and breathe out. He’d climb on my back and hold my neck while I did the strokes. He did bite me. And hit me. And sometimes he’d squeeze my neck too hard. But it was never malicious. In his mind he thought he was doing the right thing. It took a long time—but slowly he learned how to swim. Now he comes running to me whenever he sees me. That experience gave me a weakness for kids with disabilities. I’ve taught over two hundred so far. There is no government support. Nobody comes to see these children. So I go to the villages and seek them out. I teach them to swim in ponds and rivers. When they feel happy, I feel happy. Recently I’ve started my own academy—just for them.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

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(1/3) “I was the easy one to pick on. I was born blind. I didn’t walk until the age of four. I repeated kindergarten, first, second. They just called it mental retardation back then. They tried to place me in hospitals. And the other kids in the housing projects would torment me. They’d call me Bozo and Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion. They’d chase me with broken bottles. I felt worthless. I felt like a thing. My only protector was my older brother Hank. He had learning problems too but he was a male so he had power. He was state champion in running and cross-country. Whenever he practiced, he’d let me follow behind him and carry his towels. Eventually I got to where I could keep up with him. No other girls were running back then. There weren’t any female sports teams. So people would look at me like I was crazy. They’d say: ‘That’s Rita’s daughter. She runs.’ A lap around the projects was one mile. I’d run it three times every night. It gave me solace and peace. None of the punks who picked on me could keep up. I grew really strong. I had rough edges on me. Word got around: ‘Put your hands on Loretta, and she’s gonna eat you up.’” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 28, 2019 at 10:07am PDT

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(2/3) “School was hell. There were just a few of us in special education and they taught us in the basement. They offered to let me stay until I was twenty-one, but I wanted out. So I went to a workshop for people with intellectual and physical disabilities. Vietnam was going on back then, so we were making lots of bomb stuff. And we made it for cheap. I got a six dollar check for two weeks of work. I was still very rough back then. I was angry. And one morning I took a hammer to a guy for picking on me. The bosses called me to the office. I thought for sure they’d throw me out. But my counselor said: ‘I’ve seen you running to work every day. And think I have something you’re going to like.’ He handed me a piece of paper and told me to take it home. My mom didn’t like it. She didn’t want me joining anything that cost money. But when she noticed the line that said ‘free to participate,’ she crumpled up the piece of paper and put it in her pocket. I thought she’d forgotten about it. But early Saturday morning she started knocking on my door, and said: ‘You need to wake up and go to that damn Special Olympics!’” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

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(3/3) “I wanted to quit Special Olympics after the very first day. It took me two hours to get there. It was raining the whole time. But my mom forced me to keep going, and I learned to enjoy it. We’d go run in the park once a week. I was around people who didn’t tease me. Nobody called me names. I wasn’t made to feel stupid. After a few months our coach convinced my mom to let me go to an overnight event. It was at Westchester State University Teachers College. I did three events: the long jump, the softball throw, and the 50-yard dash. I won all three. And I’ve been competing ever since. It’s changed my life so much I can’t explain. I’m more confident. I speak at schools and colleges. I own a house. I pay property taxes. If there’s something not going right in my town, I’ll go down to city council and complain. And I’m still competing. I’m sixty-five and this year I tried out for the tennis team. I picked weeds off a public court and spent hundreds of hours hitting the ball against a wall. But I didn’t make the team. And I’ll tell you what-- I went back to my dorm and cried. And it takes a lot to make me cry. But I wanted compete so badly, because this is where I feel important. I think the feeling I get when I win a medal is the same feeling a President gets when they’re getting elected. It’s the feeling of achieving something that you dreamed about. And people with intellectual disabilities don’t get to feel that enough.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

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“You know that feeling when you walk up to somebody, and they don’t really give you eye contact, because they don’t want to talk to you? Well a few of the kids in school started treating me that way. Other people saw it happening and it spread so fast. Because everyone learned that it was the normal way to behave. And everyone wanted to be normal. It jumped from grade to grade until the whole school was avoiding me. I’d get cyber bullied. My phone would vibrate all night with mean messages. I had such a negative view of myself. I was self-harming. I felt so trapped in the moment. It was so hard for me to realize that eventually it was going to stop. Then one day I was out on the playground and the usual group of kids were picking on me. And an older boy walked over. He knew me from cycling. He had a bit of power because he was from a higher grade. He said: ‘Stop this now. Don’t you understand what you’re doing to her?’ The whole playground saw him do that. And after that things began to turn around. Because people learned that was the normal way to behave.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 29, 2019 at 1:04pm PDT

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“When I was little I’d have like five seizures a day. It was horrible and I was always scared. But one week after my eleventh birthday, my mom and dad decided to get me brain surgery. Now I don’t have to worry about seizures and falling all the time. But I can only use one arm now. And because of the surgery there’s a lot of stuff I don’t know if I can do-- like living on my own and stuff. I met Katie at the Special Olympics office. We’re part of a program where you team up with someone who doesn’t have a disability and become like best buds and stuff. At first I didn’t know what to do because, you know, new people. But then it was like OK-- I’m making a new friend. A real friend. We only see each other every couple weeks, but we’ve watched so much Brooklyn Nine-Nine. And we have so many inside jokes. And we even have our own hashtag. And without Katie, I don’t know man. It would be just like it was before, but I wouldn’t have somebody to do this stuff with. I’m having a really hard time right now. My brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and he’s going through so much and it’s so, so hard. And sometimes he calls me names but I know he doesn’t mean it. And it’s just so hard. But whenever I feel down and stuff, I can just go in my room and think about all the fun memories I have with Katie.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 30, 2019 at 12:13pm PDT

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(1/3) “It was obvious from the very beginning. Abnormal wrist and ankle movements. No eye contact. Poor eating patterns. She didn’t sleep until she was 2.5 years old. And she never liked to be rocked or snuggled. There’s a groove you get into with a child-- and we just never got there. The bonding didn’t happen: not for her, and not for me. Those first couple years were so dark. Every day I thought it was going to get better. I’d tell myself: ‘I’ll get it right today.’ But I never did. Our pediatrician didn’t have any experience with this stuff. I never even heard the word ‘autism’ until she was two years old. And I’ll tell you what: it was a relief to finally hear that word. To finally learn there was something wrong… but let’s not say ‘wrong’--- something different about her. It wasn’t just that she didn’t like baby food. Or that she didn’t want her mom. It was something else. It was something different. When I walked out of the doctor’s office that day, it was the first time I felt like I wanted to defend her. It was the first time I felt like we were on the same team.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 31, 2019 at 9:46am PDT

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(2/3) “My passion is movies and I can talk about those nonstop. Some people with autism have a keen interest in things like birds and how fast they can soar. But for me it’s movies. I’ve memorized Land Before Time. And a lot of Disney movies. And most of Star Wars. Sometimes when I was younger I’d quote entire movies word-for-word because it was my way of calming down. Like rocking in a chair. Or swinging on a swing. But I kept getting in trouble at school. Even though school was hard at least I had stuff to do. Because when I turned nineteen, I just lived at home with my family and I was pretty much left alone. I would just swing on our outside swing and daydream, and while that was great and stuff-- it was pretty much like my life had ended. When I first joined Special Olympics I was nervous because whenever we played tetherball at school, kids would sigh and say: ‘Renee!’ And that never helped. But Special Olympics was different. It showed me—well actually God showed me that there are people just like me. My teammates don’t even mind my movie quotes because almost everyone has something they love. Duncan loves sports and talks like a broadcaster. And Nicole loves to write in her diary. It’s great to be around people like me. I’m not even sure where I’d be without Special Olympics. I’d probably still be on the swing.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 31, 2019 at 12:10pm PDT

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(3/3) “I remember saying these horrible things. Just shut up. Just please stop crying for a second. I even had these thoughts about putting her outside. These aren’t good memories to have. But those first years were so dark. There was no respite. No days with grandma. Nobody to tell me: ‘She has a problem and here’s how you get through it.’ We were all on our own. And I acted pretty ugly. There were times when I hated her. There was a lot of yelling. I’d get mad when we didn’t know math today that we knew yesterday. We’d spend hours on every assignment. And then there was the movie thing. I’m not sure if she told you about the movie thing. But every time she felt overwhelmed she’d recite movies word-for-word. And she’d come home with tears on her glasses because the other kids would make fun of her. And I just wanted her to stop. It’s not difficult. Just stop talking to yourself. Everything was so hard, and I wanted it to hurry up. It was so much work. I couldn’t relax. I couldn’t get out of my own head. I was never able to say: ‘Fuck it. We’re not doing this today. You don’t have to improve today. It’s OK for you to be who you are.’ I never got there. But I know I’m forgiven. The Bible doesn’t say that you have to forgive yourself. I know I’m forgiven. And Renee forgives me of course. I’ve apologized so many times. She doesn’t like to see me cry, so she just pats me on the back and says: ‘I know, Mom. I know.’ I just wish I could have known that we’d get here one day. I never thought she’d find her way out. That she’d find her voice. That one day she’d be able to tell me how lonely she felt. And that I could tell her how sorry I am.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 31, 2019 at 2:45pm PDT

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“Ms. Purevsuren is everything to me. She’s the best special education teacher in all of Mongolia. She loves all of her students. When my mother died two years ago, my school wanted to send me to an orphanage. But Ms. Purevsuren volunteered to take care of me. She has children of her own and her salary is low— but still she takes care of me. She lifts me up. She pays for all my expenses. She cooks me food every night. She even gathered a collection to buy me this judo uniform. It’s the first time I’ve ever worn new clothes. My mother would be so happy if she could see me right now. She’d be so thankful. I want so badly to win a medal, but I know that’s just a small thing. One day I will truly pay Ms. Purevsuren back. I will become an adult. I will make her proud. And I will take care of her when she’s old-- just like she took care of me.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Apr 1, 2019 at 11:00am PDT

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(1/4) “My wife had been pushing to expand our family for eight years—but I kept resisting. I kept saying: ‘What’s wrong with you? We’re almost done.’ We were nearly forty years old. It was the second marriage for both of us. Our teenagers were about to graduate from high school. But she couldn’t have children naturally, and there was always a deep yearning to adopt. She subscribed to a website called ‘Rainbow Kids,’ which featured children with special needs. She’d show me a profile from time to time. But I just couldn’t do it. It seemed like too much work. Then one day in 2015 we had an outside speaker visit our office. He talked about his child with Down syndrome. And my heart was completely changed. I went home and told my wife the story. I was crying. She was crying. And I think both of us knew what was going to happen. A few days later she forwarded me an email from Rainbow Kids. The title was ‘Magnificent Miles.’ He was living in a Taiwanese orphanage. Just a beautiful little boy. Fifteen months old. Fluffy hair. And all alone. We knew it was our son.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Apr 2, 2019 at 8:49am PDT

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(2/4) “The application process was a nightmare. It’s like a messy divorce where they examine every little detail of your life. People try to scare the crap out of you about how emotionally damaged the kid will be. The agency made us sign a contract acknowledging fourteen ways the adoption could fall through—and there weren’t any refunds. They warned it could take two years. And it’s so expensive-- $32,000. But at that point Miles’ picture was hanging all over our house. We talked about him all the time. He was already our son, but he was sitting in an orphanage. We needed to get him home as quickly as possible. I took out a loan against my retirement. I racked up so much credit card debt. I planned on using the reward points to buy his plane ticket home. Miles spent his second birthday at the orphanage. We filled a box with $300 worth of presents. It cost even more to ship. Inside we put his very first pair of walking shoes. Hip-hugger pants to help with his posture. A t-shirt that said: ‘Someone in Fairfax, VA loves me.’ And Mickey Mouse party favors for all the kids at the orphanage. Then we ordered him a cake from a local bakery. A few weeks later, the orphanage sent us a picture from the party.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Apr 2, 2019 at 10:51am PDT

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(3/4) “We were extremely lucky. We completed the entire process in fourteen months and travelled to Taiwan on January 21st of 2017. The next morning we went straight to the orphanage. We sat in a waiting room on the ground floor, and after ten minutes they brought Miles around the corner. My wife dropped to her knees and hugged him like she’d never let him go. And of course that broke me down. I’m thinking ‘Oh my God, this is my boy.’ But when I went to pick him up, he started crying. I’m telling him: ‘No, no, no! I’m Baba, I’m Baba.’ But he didn’t want me touching him. I went from the top of the world to the darkest valley. I tried playing with him. I tried getting him a Happy Meal. But he didn’t want any of it. Nothing was going right. I felt so rejected. This went on for two days. Then on the third day we were sitting in our hotel room, and my wife left us alone while she took a shower. And all of the sudden this little boy started looking at me. And he had the biggest smile on his face.” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Apr 2, 2019 at 1:25pm PDT

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(4/4) “It feels like Miles has been home forever. He’s four years old now. He runs to me every time I open the door. He wants to play non-stop. He’s the master of high-fives. He’s the master of hugging the dog. He’s also the master of needing attention while you’re on the phone. Or when you just want to relax and watch TV for a second. But it always goes from frustrating to heartwarming in a second. Even though he can’t express himself, he’s amazingly empathetic. He’s drawn to people who look alone. There are meltdowns. And there are days when I feel like I’m not qualified for any of this. But on the days you don’t think you can get through it— you don’t realize that you’re getting through it. And in the end, you’re getting more than you ever give. Recently my wife started sending me pictures of other children, but I always said ‘no.’ Until I saw Mile’s little sister for the first time. She’s from the same orphanage. Her name is Maddie. We submitted our papers three weeks ago.” (Photo courtesy of Snyder family.)

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Apr 2, 2019 at 2:43pm PDT