00:00:00.359 --> 00:00:04.785
(wind blowing)
(typewriter clacking)

00:00:04.785 --> 00:00:07.368
(gentle music)

00:00:10.860 --> 00:00:13.620
- [Coach Mike] NEISD San
Antonio Special Olympics,

00:00:13.620 --> 00:00:16.800
and adapted PE students,
and their coaches,

00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:19.290
were followed by a
documentary crew and myself

00:00:19.290 --> 00:00:22.777
during the 2021-22 school year.

00:00:22.777 --> 00:00:26.370
(shoes squeaking)
- Come in.

00:00:26.370 --> 00:00:27.480
- [Coach Mike] This is their story.

00:00:27.480 --> 00:00:28.597
- [Student] Camera.

00:00:28.597 --> 00:00:29.430
- [Teacher] What do you have right there?

00:00:29.430 --> 00:00:32.290
- Letters.
- What do they, what letters?

00:00:32.290 --> 00:00:34.410
- A-B-C, one, two, three.
- A-B-C, one, two, three.

00:00:34.410 --> 00:00:39.410
There you go.
- S-H-O-T-U, S-H-U-T.

00:00:40.906 --> 00:00:43.743
- Did you do good at shot put?
- P-U-T, shot put.

00:00:47.070 --> 00:00:49.050
- Let me explain to you
before you freak out,

00:00:49.050 --> 00:00:51.780
yes, my kid might be standing
a little too close to you,

00:00:51.780 --> 00:00:55.515
or maybe his behavior's
a little bit different

00:00:55.515 --> 00:00:57.810
than what you're expecting
or what you know.

00:00:57.810 --> 00:00:59.493
And it makes people stare.

00:01:00.510 --> 00:01:02.310
But when you get around other places

00:01:02.310 --> 00:01:05.850
where the parents are all
going through the same thing,

00:01:05.850 --> 00:01:08.820
basically, it's just kind of
a collective sigh of relief.

00:01:08.820 --> 00:01:10.860
Like, okay, let my kid be my kid,

00:01:10.860 --> 00:01:14.010
and I don't have to
explain every little thing.

00:01:14.010 --> 00:01:18.870
- To me, our program is
really beneficial to our kids

00:01:18.870 --> 00:01:23.870
because they get the same, if
not more, than their peers do,

00:01:23.970 --> 00:01:26.700
which is exactly what
the federal law says,

00:01:26.700 --> 00:01:27.870
that it should be comparable

00:01:27.870 --> 00:01:30.270
to what their peers are getting.

00:01:30.270 --> 00:01:35.270
And so when we take our
knowledge and our equipment

00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:37.890
and apply it to the
skills they're learning,

00:01:37.890 --> 00:01:39.241
our students shine.

00:01:39.241 --> 00:01:43.740
- Oh, this is my mom holding
a cake, a happy birthday.

00:01:43.740 --> 00:01:45.630
- The doctor kept saying,
"Oh, he'll grow out of it,

00:01:45.630 --> 00:01:47.940
he'll grow out of it,"
but that never happened.

00:01:47.940 --> 00:01:52.770
And so she joined the
military, we moved up here,

00:01:52.770 --> 00:01:55.260
and she used the insurance
through the military

00:01:55.260 --> 00:01:58.710
to have an actual full
examination done and all that.

00:01:58.710 --> 00:02:00.413
And at that point is when they said

00:02:00.413 --> 00:02:02.283
that he was severely autistic.

00:02:03.240 --> 00:02:07.140
- [Erika] And we didn't know
as much then as we do now.

00:02:07.140 --> 00:02:10.643
But we learned that our
child was not broken.

00:02:10.643 --> 00:02:15.240
Just learning that, we
just kept moving forward.

00:02:15.240 --> 00:02:17.220
He's not broken, there's
nothing wrong with him.

00:02:17.220 --> 00:02:20.574
We have to be in his world, in his steps.

00:02:20.574 --> 00:02:23.802
(ethereal music)

00:02:23.802 --> 00:02:26.040
- [Interviewer] What's one of
the most challenging things

00:02:26.040 --> 00:02:28.560
that you've dealt with in the past year?

00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:32.130
- I would say just adapting
to literally the kids' needs

00:02:32.130 --> 00:02:34.020
and what their skill levels are.

00:02:34.020 --> 00:02:36.480
So you get, like we have a
range, a whole wide range

00:02:36.480 --> 00:02:39.120
of different skill levels
with all our children.

00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:41.580
So some kids are in wheelchairs,
some kids could do it all,

00:02:41.580 --> 00:02:43.620
they maybe just are hyperactive

00:02:43.620 --> 00:02:44.663
and they just can't pay attention

00:02:44.663 --> 00:02:46.263
for more than like two minutes.

00:02:47.100 --> 00:02:49.953
- When they're able to do
it and they get all excited,

00:02:50.934 --> 00:02:54.633
that's my accomplishment too.

00:02:58.140 --> 00:02:59.820
- People want to come to Northeast

00:02:59.820 --> 00:03:02.010
to be an adaptive PE teacher.

00:03:02.010 --> 00:03:04.140
People want to come and
be part of our program

00:03:04.140 --> 00:03:06.780
because of what we do for
our adaptive PE students

00:03:06.780 --> 00:03:08.680
and for our Special Olympics students.

00:03:10.843 --> 00:03:14.426
(ethereal music continues)

00:03:25.289 --> 00:03:28.539
(blinker clicking)

00:03:28.539 --> 00:03:31.954
(engine rumbling)

00:03:31.954 --> 00:03:34.290
- [Interviewer] What does
your day to day look like?

00:03:34.290 --> 00:03:38.880
- So day to day is I go
to five different schools.

00:03:38.880 --> 00:03:42.570
So just traveling, and then
going to different schools

00:03:42.570 --> 00:03:44.430
and teaching class for at least an hour

00:03:44.430 --> 00:03:46.170
outta the day every class period.

00:03:46.170 --> 00:03:49.080
So this period, I have
my high school students,

00:03:49.080 --> 00:03:52.080
and today we are gonna be
practicing some bowling

00:03:52.080 --> 00:03:54.450
since usually at this
time we're getting ready

00:03:54.450 --> 00:03:55.770
for Special Olympics bowling.

00:03:55.770 --> 00:03:58.080
So I kinda just wanna
keep with the groove.

00:03:58.080 --> 00:04:00.390
We're gonna do bowling again today okay.

00:04:00.390 --> 00:04:02.940
Keep practicing in case
we do Special Olympics.

00:04:02.940 --> 00:04:05.343
We gotta get ready, I
want y'all to do good.

00:04:06.310 --> 00:04:09.291
So let's just form a line.

00:04:09.291 --> 00:04:11.616
Let's start a line.

00:04:11.616 --> 00:04:12.809
- Woo hoo.
(ball bouncing)

00:04:12.809 --> 00:04:14.757
(pins clattering)
(students cheering)

00:04:14.757 --> 00:04:18.299
There you go, girl, woo. (claps)

00:04:18.299 --> 00:04:19.590
I knew you could do it.

00:04:19.590 --> 00:04:21.300
That's my biggest thing, I
always want them to be active.

00:04:21.300 --> 00:04:22.890
I always want them to be
participating in class,

00:04:22.890 --> 00:04:24.480
even if I know it's probably
not the funnest thing,

00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:26.100
or they could do it very well,

00:04:26.100 --> 00:04:28.500
I still want them to be motivated
to be there and do that.

00:04:28.500 --> 00:04:30.000
So that's why I do it.

00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:33.783
Once King's done, we have to clean up.

00:04:33.783 --> 00:04:34.890
- What about me?
- You are.

00:04:34.890 --> 00:04:37.353
You're gonna get a go, buddy,
I want you to get that turkey.

00:04:37.353 --> 00:04:39.943
♪ Turkey will be mine ♪
- That's right.

00:04:39.943 --> 00:04:40.776
♪ Turkey will be mine ♪

00:04:40.776 --> 00:04:41.797
- Not even Thanksgiving.

00:04:41.797 --> 00:04:42.647
♪ T-T-T-T-Turkey ♪

00:04:42.647 --> 00:04:45.125
♪ Turkey here I come come come ♪

00:04:45.125 --> 00:04:47.450
♪ The turkey will be mine ♪

00:04:47.450 --> 00:04:50.295
♪ I'll have this turkey edge ♪

00:04:50.295 --> 00:04:52.970
♪ My pack got dah-dah-dah-dah ♪

00:04:52.970 --> 00:04:55.387
- [King] Focus, focus, focus.

00:04:57.463 --> 00:04:58.800
(pins clattering)

00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:00.508
(students and coach cheering and clapping)

00:05:00.508 --> 00:05:01.820
- [Coach Gomez] You got the turkey.

00:05:01.820 --> 00:05:02.678
- High five.
(hands slap)

00:05:02.678 --> 00:05:04.740
- Nice, good job.
- Now to the real turkey.

00:05:04.740 --> 00:05:07.080
- Oh, well I can't have a
real turkey here at school.

00:05:07.080 --> 00:05:08.758
- You know I can win
(pins clattering)

00:05:08.758 --> 00:05:10.693
two times in a row.
- Good job.

00:05:10.693 --> 00:05:12.930
- Wait.
- Man, you did amazing today,

00:05:12.930 --> 00:05:14.583
bud, I like that.

00:05:17.160 --> 00:05:18.900
All right, we good, we
good? Everyone got water?

00:05:18.900 --> 00:05:20.940
So I guess challenges
we're seeing right now

00:05:20.940 --> 00:05:24.510
are getting back to everyday classes.

00:05:24.510 --> 00:05:28.020
So just having lessons
prepared, and on the go,

00:05:28.020 --> 00:05:30.300
and ready to fit our children's needs

00:05:30.300 --> 00:05:31.470
that we need to get done.

00:05:31.470 --> 00:05:33.810
Went away from the
virtual concept in a way

00:05:33.810 --> 00:05:36.930
since every kid has to be back in class.

00:05:36.930 --> 00:05:40.820
So I think, overall,
our challenge seeing now

00:05:40.820 --> 00:05:42.720
is just being back in the classroom,

00:05:42.720 --> 00:05:44.640
sanitizing what we need to sanitize,

00:05:44.640 --> 00:05:46.560
keeping the distance, and adapting to,

00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:49.260
I guess, the COVID regulations
right now at this time.

00:05:51.202 --> 00:05:52.035
(subdued music)

00:05:52.035 --> 00:05:55.027
- [Stephanie] That's amazing,
normally I'm sitting up there

00:05:55.027 --> 00:05:58.050
where we just came off of for 20 minutes.

00:05:58.050 --> 00:06:00.090
- [Interviewer] How long
have you been teaching?

00:06:00.090 --> 00:06:02.070
- This is year 30 for me.

00:06:02.070 --> 00:06:05.790
First classroom I stepped into
was a third grade classroom

00:06:05.790 --> 00:06:07.803
because that's what I was hired to do.

00:06:08.704 --> 00:06:12.000
But I specialized in physical education,

00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:14.700
so after setting up my
third grade classroom,

00:06:14.700 --> 00:06:17.010
two weeks before school
started, the principal called

00:06:17.010 --> 00:06:20.700
and asked if I would like
to be her PE teacher.

00:06:20.700 --> 00:06:24.030
And I said yes, because
it's harder to get a PE job.

00:06:24.030 --> 00:06:27.090
And so I did that for 21 years.

00:06:27.090 --> 00:06:31.707
And in the last five of
my general PE career,

00:06:31.707 --> 00:06:35.010
I became our adaptive PE facilitator

00:06:35.010 --> 00:06:37.530
for the school district I was in

00:06:37.530 --> 00:06:41.460
because they wouldn't hire
full-time adaptive PE teachers.

00:06:41.460 --> 00:06:44.640
So I trained all the general PE teachers

00:06:44.640 --> 00:06:47.163
to do the job of an adaptive PE teacher.

00:06:48.196 --> 00:06:50.910
And so currently I've been doing

00:06:50.910 --> 00:06:54.810
just exclusively adaptive
PE for nine years now.

00:06:54.810 --> 00:06:56.543
Let's go, guys.
(student vocalizing)

00:06:56.543 --> 00:06:57.903
Circle, circle.

00:06:59.285 --> 00:07:02.670
Circle, circle. Circle, circle, circle.

00:07:02.670 --> 00:07:05.460
Hey, get there quick, come in.

00:07:05.460 --> 00:07:06.860
Thank you.
(footsteps falling)

00:07:06.860 --> 00:07:09.420
All right, are we ready?
We're gonna stretch.

00:07:09.420 --> 00:07:10.530
Good job. Right here.

00:07:10.530 --> 00:07:12.780
All right, butterflies.

00:07:12.780 --> 00:07:14.640
One, look at me.

00:07:14.640 --> 00:07:18.450
Two, help me count, three, four.

00:07:18.450 --> 00:07:20.430
Do it again, five, I don't hear you.

00:07:20.430 --> 00:07:21.900
Six, seven.
- Seven.

00:07:21.900 --> 00:07:25.170
- Eight, nine, 10.
- 10.

00:07:25.170 --> 00:07:26.767
- You ready, guys?
- Ready!

00:07:27.780 --> 00:07:30.848
- Yeah, you ready? All right.

00:07:30.848 --> 00:07:35.848
One, two, three, go.
- Go, go, go!

00:07:35.941 --> 00:07:38.554
(pins clattering)
(people exclaiming)

00:07:38.554 --> 00:07:41.520
- Good job.
- Too late Texas took 'em all.

00:07:41.520 --> 00:07:45.720
- Our adaptive PE program
here in our district

00:07:45.720 --> 00:07:49.200
is really unique because
we are a pullout program.

00:07:49.200 --> 00:07:52.530
We take our students who have
qualified for direct service,

00:07:52.530 --> 00:07:54.660
and we put them into a small group

00:07:54.660 --> 00:07:57.930
and we teach PE as PE teachers.

00:07:57.930 --> 00:08:02.580
Other school districts around
the state either don't have,

00:08:02.580 --> 00:08:04.830
they have a non-existent program,

00:08:04.830 --> 00:08:08.455
which is really a disservice
to their students,

00:08:08.455 --> 00:08:12.450
or they have a program in
which the students are pushed

00:08:12.450 --> 00:08:15.270
into the general PE program

00:08:15.270 --> 00:08:18.690
and the adaptive PE teacher
comes and works alongside them,

00:08:18.690 --> 00:08:21.510
a few days a week, a few hours a month,

00:08:21.510 --> 00:08:23.550
whatever it is in the ARD.

00:08:23.550 --> 00:08:25.200
- [Interviewer] How do you
think that your leadership role

00:08:25.200 --> 00:08:29.100
impacts the adaptive PE and
the Special Olympics programs

00:08:29.100 --> 00:08:30.240
throughout the district,

00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:32.189
with dealing with coaches and children?

00:08:32.189 --> 00:08:34.950
- The one thing I can claim as a gift

00:08:34.950 --> 00:08:37.551
is my ability to think on my feet

00:08:37.551 --> 00:08:41.490
and also have the words
that need to be said.

00:08:41.490 --> 00:08:46.110
And so I think that's why, a lot of times,

00:08:46.110 --> 00:08:48.877
everybody on the team is
comfortable calling and saying,

00:08:48.877 --> 00:08:50.250
"Hey, I need help with this.

00:08:50.250 --> 00:08:51.960
What should I say about this?

00:08:51.960 --> 00:08:53.430
How do I handle this?"

00:08:53.430 --> 00:08:57.150
But I also think that being
in this leadership role,

00:08:57.150 --> 00:09:01.680
I have let people take what they can do

00:09:01.680 --> 00:09:03.973
with their abilities and run with it.

00:09:05.220 --> 00:09:07.350
- I'm so fortunate 'cause
I have a great staff.

00:09:07.350 --> 00:09:10.470
Those positions are hard to find and fill.

00:09:10.470 --> 00:09:12.960
Adaptive PE, we did have two openings,

00:09:12.960 --> 00:09:16.110
but I was able to secure
two adaptive PE teachers

00:09:16.110 --> 00:09:19.020
that have years of experience
that wanna come over.

00:09:19.020 --> 00:09:20.370
And so we're very fortunate,

00:09:20.370 --> 00:09:23.910
and that really is a testament
to y'all, the APE teachers.

00:09:23.910 --> 00:09:25.560
My highlight of the day
is when I have to come

00:09:25.560 --> 00:09:27.390
to the adaptive PE gym and watch y'all

00:09:27.390 --> 00:09:31.140
for your little observations
or for your walkthroughs.

00:09:31.140 --> 00:09:34.770
The smiles on the students'
faces, they're so excited.

00:09:34.770 --> 00:09:36.930
I mean, they're literally
jumping up and down

00:09:36.930 --> 00:09:38.940
when they see the
adaptive PE teacher come.

00:09:38.940 --> 00:09:42.446
Just seeing the kids enjoying
themselves and realizing,

00:09:42.446 --> 00:09:44.306
wow, you got them to do some stuff

00:09:44.306 --> 00:09:47.970
that general ed kids sometimes
find difficult to do,

00:09:47.970 --> 00:09:49.290
truly amazing.

00:09:49.290 --> 00:09:53.160
So when they leave feeling
that, it's contagious.

00:09:53.160 --> 00:09:55.380
I mean, you leave feeling
better about yourself,

00:09:55.380 --> 00:09:56.433
your day's better.

00:09:59.100 --> 00:10:00.960
- [Interviewer] So are you excited

00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:02.211
about being back in school?

00:10:02.211 --> 00:10:07.211
- Yeah, because my sickness,
nose cough, coughing. (coughs)

00:10:11.413 --> 00:10:16.413
And my voice sounds
funny and blah blah blah.

00:10:17.610 --> 00:10:22.110
I can't go to school when I'm
about to get everyone sick

00:10:22.110 --> 00:10:25.863
and get corona, oh no, jump.

00:10:26.730 --> 00:10:29.340
- [Coach Gomez] Remember,
when you get the noodle,

00:10:29.340 --> 00:10:30.960
tag the legs only.

00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:33.649
When you get tagged, take a flag.

00:10:33.649 --> 00:10:38.649
Once both flags are gone, 10
jumping jacks, that's right.

00:10:38.760 --> 00:10:40.752
10 jumping jacks.
- I don't want that.

00:10:40.752 --> 00:10:44.653
- [Coach Gomez] Got it,
got it? Got it, King?

00:10:44.653 --> 00:10:47.760
- Yep.
- Where are we tagging, King?

00:10:47.760 --> 00:10:49.680
Where are we tagging? Foam, got it.

00:10:50.659 --> 00:10:52.242
Ready, come behind.

00:10:53.266 --> 00:10:54.516
Ready, set, go.

00:10:56.581 --> 00:11:01.581
(footsteps falling)
(students laughing)

00:11:02.515 --> 00:11:04.393
- Yeah, come on, Bryce, you got it.

00:11:04.393 --> 00:11:07.095
Come on, come on, get over here.

00:11:07.095 --> 00:11:10.512
Hey, hey, legs only, remember. Legs only.

00:11:11.937 --> 00:11:14.580
Oh, you both got got, give Coach a flag,

00:11:14.580 --> 00:11:16.140
both of you.
- I did.

00:11:16.140 --> 00:11:17.875
- All right, I'll come here in three,

00:11:17.875 --> 00:11:21.440
four, five, six, seven.
- Can't come back to mine.

00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:23.943
- Eight, nine, 10, all right. Grab one.

00:11:26.743 --> 00:11:30.243
(people speaking faintly)

00:11:36.864 --> 00:11:39.837
- Hey, hi.
(door shutting)

00:11:39.837 --> 00:11:44.837
(intercom beeping)
(person coughing)

00:11:44.861 --> 00:11:48.031
(hand tapping)

00:11:48.031 --> 00:11:49.710
- Well, it'll start.

00:11:49.710 --> 00:11:52.113
Hi, Miss Winter.
- Hello.

00:11:56.789 --> 00:11:59.008
(zipper buzzing)

00:11:59.008 --> 00:12:03.054
- I will get out my pencil or pen.

00:12:03.054 --> 00:12:06.067
And these are my computer account

00:12:06.067 --> 00:12:09.735
so I could enter in anything where I go.

00:12:09.735 --> 00:12:14.735
This is my mouse pad. Oh.

00:12:17.250 --> 00:12:21.960
Play-Doh. (mask muffling King's speech)

00:12:21.960 --> 00:12:25.570
Strings, oh my lucky
penny, the one I found

00:12:27.047 --> 00:12:30.370
on a phone during recess.

00:12:30.370 --> 00:12:33.683
I just pick up a penny,
and I was so lucky.

00:12:35.223 --> 00:12:38.040
- [Teacher] You did a
great job today in class,

00:12:38.040 --> 00:12:39.990
and I miss being your teacher.

00:12:39.990 --> 00:12:42.503
- Yeah, but I don't know why you gave up.

00:12:42.503 --> 00:12:44.940
- [Teacher] I didn't give
up, it's just you graduated.

00:12:44.940 --> 00:12:47.130
You're not in eighth grade anymore.

00:12:47.130 --> 00:12:48.810
- I'm a ninth grader.
- You're a ninth grader.

00:12:48.810 --> 00:12:50.370
I'm not a ninth grade teacher at Mac.

00:12:50.370 --> 00:12:52.320
I'm an eighth grade teacher at Bradley.

00:12:53.250 --> 00:12:54.930
I didn't give up on you, I promise.

00:12:54.930 --> 00:12:55.763
I'm here right now, right?

00:12:55.763 --> 00:12:56.596
- Awesome.
- Yeah.

00:12:57.630 --> 00:12:59.580
- But I'll see you next time, right?

00:12:59.580 --> 00:13:01.594
- [Teacher] Yeah, you will, dude.

00:13:01.594 --> 00:13:03.202
(lock clicking)

00:13:03.202 --> 00:13:06.115
(door squeaking)
- Hi.

00:13:06.115 --> 00:13:08.068
- Hey, King.
- Hi, buddy.

00:13:08.068 --> 00:13:10.204
- Hi, Mom.
- How was school today, baby?

00:13:10.204 --> 00:13:11.506
- It was good.
- Oh, look,

00:13:11.506 --> 00:13:14.936
Pickle's saying hi.
- Hi, Pickle. Hi, Coach Mike.

00:13:14.936 --> 00:13:16.290
- Found him? Where'd we find him?

00:13:16.290 --> 00:13:17.880
Where'd we find the kittens?

00:13:17.880 --> 00:13:22.233
- Ah, there, it was April 26, right here.

00:13:23.712 --> 00:13:26.580
- [Coach Mike] And you
found all those kitties?

00:13:26.580 --> 00:13:27.870
- Only four of them.

00:13:27.870 --> 00:13:31.500
Tiny always, the reason why
Tiny always keep meowing

00:13:31.500 --> 00:13:34.440
because she always wants attention.

00:13:34.440 --> 00:13:35.490
- [King's Mom] Yeah.

00:13:35.490 --> 00:13:37.713
- Having a pet is big responsibility.

00:13:38.910 --> 00:13:41.220
- February 13th, 2007,

00:13:41.220 --> 00:13:44.796
like almost nine-pound baby
with a huge, oh my gosh.

00:13:44.796 --> 00:13:46.050
he was hitting all his milestones.

00:13:46.050 --> 00:13:49.140
He was actually over
the percentage for his,

00:13:49.140 --> 00:13:50.943
at that particular age group,

00:13:52.140 --> 00:13:53.850
so we just couldn't understand it.

00:13:53.850 --> 00:13:56.910
Then after joining the
military here in Fort Sam,

00:13:56.910 --> 00:13:57.990
we went through the pediatrician,

00:13:57.990 --> 00:14:01.260
and then a team of doctors decided

00:14:01.260 --> 00:14:03.930
to observe him and interact

00:14:03.930 --> 00:14:06.240
to see how he would
interact and play with toys.

00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:08.520
And they would notice
that he was very distant

00:14:08.520 --> 00:14:10.650
and he had all the characteristics.

00:14:10.650 --> 00:14:12.390
So when he finally did get diagnosed,

00:14:12.390 --> 00:14:14.790
it was severe autism with regression,

00:14:14.790 --> 00:14:17.310
which we had already seen, you know,

00:14:17.310 --> 00:14:20.400
but it takes time to get that diagnosis.

00:14:20.400 --> 00:14:23.400
At that point, not one
person could diagnose.

00:14:23.400 --> 00:14:26.829
It was a team of doctors
that needed to see him.

00:14:26.829 --> 00:14:30.840
- It is nice to have
the designation sooner

00:14:30.840 --> 00:14:33.300
because we could have
gotten help a lot earlier.

00:14:33.300 --> 00:14:35.760
There was no reason to
have gone that long,

00:14:35.760 --> 00:14:38.520
a year and a half or so, before he was,

00:14:38.520 --> 00:14:41.221
before we could get any
kind of help for him.

00:14:41.221 --> 00:14:45.660
But I mean, luckily now,
he's gone from nonverbal

00:14:45.660 --> 00:14:48.240
to verbal and speaks very, very well

00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:50.103
for his age and everything.

00:14:51.240 --> 00:14:53.370
But yeah, it was definitely
very tough at the beginning.

00:14:53.370 --> 00:14:55.050
- We looked through the internet,

00:14:55.050 --> 00:14:56.490
we're like, well, where can we take him?

00:14:56.490 --> 00:14:59.994
And I was like, I want a school that does,

00:14:59.994 --> 00:15:03.210
that gives him everything
on top of the education.

00:15:03.210 --> 00:15:06.030
So we did find one for autism,

00:15:06.030 --> 00:15:08.580
which was about 30, 40
minutes from where we lived.

00:15:08.580 --> 00:15:10.620
And Greg would take him every day.

00:15:10.620 --> 00:15:13.530
- Yeah, they did a really
good job while he was there.

00:15:13.530 --> 00:15:17.910
They did, I mean, he went from
being completely nonverbal

00:15:17.910 --> 00:15:21.600
to speaking in a very
short period of time too.

00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:24.180
- We started to find out later
on that it's a huge spectrum.

00:15:24.180 --> 00:15:27.517
Now you have high
functioning, low functioning,

00:15:27.517 --> 00:15:29.430
then you have as Asperger.
- Asperger's.

00:15:29.430 --> 00:15:32.430
- So as time went on,
we're like, okay now,

00:15:32.430 --> 00:15:33.720
we're having more and more.

00:15:33.720 --> 00:15:36.240
And we went to a lot of parenting classes

00:15:36.240 --> 00:15:38.040
with Any Baby Can program,

00:15:38.040 --> 00:15:41.520
and that was really a
great program for us.

00:15:41.520 --> 00:15:43.770
We needed to understand that, for him,

00:15:43.770 --> 00:15:47.460
everything is so high sensory,
the noise, the people,

00:15:47.460 --> 00:15:50.670
getting overwhelmed, and it was tough.

00:15:50.670 --> 00:15:52.530
We just had to see the world

00:15:52.530 --> 00:15:54.840
through his eyes and understand him.

00:15:54.840 --> 00:15:59.100
And once we did that, it
became a lot easier for us.

00:15:59.100 --> 00:16:02.220
- Really, I mean, it takes way more,

00:16:02.220 --> 00:16:06.450
way more than Medicaid or
anything else can offer.

00:16:06.450 --> 00:16:08.820
I mean, to get King to where he is,

00:16:08.820 --> 00:16:12.480
it took way more than any
kind of state-run program

00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:13.950
and what most people can afford.

00:16:13.950 --> 00:16:17.040
And that's, in fact, that's
why he is where he's at now,

00:16:17.040 --> 00:16:18.030
back in the public school,

00:16:18.030 --> 00:16:20.850
is because it got to a point
we couldn't keep up anymore.

00:16:20.850 --> 00:16:23.370
When they stopped taking
the military insurance,

00:16:23.370 --> 00:16:26.820
they were like, "No, we're
going to cash only to go here,"

00:16:26.820 --> 00:16:29.250
we're like, "Oh, okay, all right.

00:16:29.250 --> 00:16:30.960
We're gonna have to look
for something else."

00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:35.130
That's the thing, is that
it takes a lot of work,

00:16:35.130 --> 00:16:37.533
a lot of work, like a lot of work

00:16:37.533 --> 00:16:40.560
that a lot of kids don't have
access to, unfortunately.

00:16:40.560 --> 00:16:44.040
So the more, I guess the more people,

00:16:44.040 --> 00:16:46.530
the more it gets out there,
and the more people know,

00:16:46.530 --> 00:16:48.990
the state-run agencies just
don't have what it takes.

00:16:48.990 --> 00:16:53.790
I mean, it literally took
one-on-one with him with teachers

00:16:53.790 --> 00:16:57.090
at multiple hours a day for years

00:16:57.090 --> 00:16:58.650
before he got to a speaking point.

00:16:58.650 --> 00:17:01.920
And where are you gonna get
that in a state-run agency,

00:17:01.920 --> 00:17:04.050
like three separate
teachers that are one-on-one

00:17:04.050 --> 00:17:05.700
with your child for years at a time?

00:17:05.700 --> 00:17:09.481
So that's really what you're, what people,

00:17:09.481 --> 00:17:12.750
what's gonna be necessary
to help a lot of people,

00:17:12.750 --> 00:17:16.893
is a lot more money and a lot
more access to a lot of stuff.

00:17:19.950 --> 00:17:21.360
- [Coach Mike] COVID
cases were going down,

00:17:21.360 --> 00:17:22.620
people were starting to see the light

00:17:22.620 --> 00:17:24.870
at the end of the tunnel
and getting excited.

00:17:24.870 --> 00:17:26.820
We might actually have
Special Olympics bowling.

00:17:26.820 --> 00:17:28.350
But then the Delta variant popped up,

00:17:28.350 --> 00:17:30.480
cases across the district
started to spike again.

00:17:30.480 --> 00:17:32.760
And Cynthia Parks, our head of delegation

00:17:32.760 --> 00:17:35.310
for the Special Olympics
in our district, got word.

00:17:37.200 --> 00:17:41.040
- I contacted Jaylen at the
beginning of the week this week

00:17:41.040 --> 00:17:42.693
to see what was going on.

00:17:44.670 --> 00:17:47.730
In regards to bowling,
they've already decided

00:17:47.730 --> 00:17:49.533
to push it to January.

00:17:51.030 --> 00:17:54.817
So my next question was,

00:17:54.817 --> 00:17:59.817
"Okay, how will that affect
basketball and track and field?"

00:17:59.820 --> 00:18:03.150
And he says they really want '22

00:18:03.150 --> 00:18:05.043
to be as normal as possible,

00:18:06.360 --> 00:18:10.470
which basketball tends to happen in March

00:18:10.470 --> 00:18:13.353
and track and field in May.

00:18:14.340 --> 00:18:18.090
So what that would mean
is basketball in January,

00:18:18.090 --> 00:18:20.160
not basketball, bowling in January,

00:18:20.160 --> 00:18:23.310
basketball in March, track
and field in April, May.

00:18:23.310 --> 00:18:26.340
I'm going to contact the
venues today and let them know.

00:18:26.340 --> 00:18:28.563
I think the next question should be,

00:18:29.970 --> 00:18:31.290
the next decision should be,

00:18:31.290 --> 00:18:35.400
do we even wanna do bowling
if they decide in January.

00:18:35.400 --> 00:18:37.470
- There's no way, when I
looked at y'all's schedule

00:18:37.470 --> 00:18:40.470
back in 2019 when I first came on board,

00:18:40.470 --> 00:18:42.570
January 28th is when part,

00:18:42.570 --> 00:18:45.360
I mean is when Kathy
White had her tournament

00:18:45.360 --> 00:18:46.800
at Encino Park for basketball.

00:18:46.800 --> 00:18:48.780
Y'all are already in
basketball in January.

00:18:48.780 --> 00:18:50.100
I don't wanna push that back.
- Yeah.

00:18:50.100 --> 00:18:53.880
- Just think that we do something else

00:18:53.880 --> 00:18:57.630
as an APE team this semester,
and then we just continue on

00:18:57.630 --> 00:18:59.100
the second semester with bowling,

00:18:59.100 --> 00:19:01.590
I mean with basketball
and with track and field.

00:19:01.590 --> 00:19:04.697
I love your thing, Stephanie,
about backyard lawn games,

00:19:04.697 --> 00:19:08.040
'cause to me those are
lifelong recreational skills

00:19:08.040 --> 00:19:09.480
that they can have.

00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:13.237
And we do, I don't know, we say okay,

00:19:13.237 --> 00:19:16.020
"We're gonna do two weeks of washers,

00:19:16.020 --> 00:19:17.520
we're gonna do two weeks of bocce,"

00:19:17.520 --> 00:19:22.520
or whatever the out, whatever
kind of outdoor lawn games.

00:19:23.280 --> 00:19:25.530
Then I would love for
us to be able to have

00:19:25.530 --> 00:19:30.060
like a fall festival where
families just all come,

00:19:30.060 --> 00:19:33.170
and we just all have
different lawn game stations,

00:19:33.170 --> 00:19:35.580
and they're coming around
and actually being able

00:19:35.580 --> 00:19:37.710
to play those with their
students, 'cause their students

00:19:37.710 --> 00:19:40.500
have learned the games in y'all's classes.

00:19:40.500 --> 00:19:42.330
What about something like that?

00:19:42.330 --> 00:19:44.850
- The only thing is that still hinges on

00:19:44.850 --> 00:19:47.670
where are we at with COVID.
- Right, like if

00:19:47.670 --> 00:19:50.640
we can actually all gather.
- Right.

00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:51.630
- You know, that's-
- But if it's outside,

00:19:51.630 --> 00:19:54.360
we should be able to, if it's outside.

00:19:54.360 --> 00:19:57.315
- All right, guys, well
y'all have a great Friday.

00:19:57.315 --> 00:19:59.070
- You too.
- Thank y'all

00:19:59.070 --> 00:20:00.900
for the info and your time.

00:20:00.900 --> 00:20:03.210
I'm gonna email the powers to be

00:20:03.210 --> 00:20:05.060
and let them know what we've decided.

00:20:06.544 --> 00:20:10.816
- [Coach Gomez] There we
go again, one, two, three,

00:20:10.816 --> 00:20:15.816
four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10.

00:20:17.310 --> 00:20:20.998
Last one, reach for
the moon and the stars.

00:20:20.998 --> 00:20:23.332
(students laughing)
- Nine, 10.

00:20:23.332 --> 00:20:27.252
All right, good job.
(class clapping)

00:20:27.252 --> 00:20:29.181
All right, let's get back to class.

00:20:29.181 --> 00:20:30.014
Go, go, go, go, go.

00:20:30.014 --> 00:20:32.647
Come on, Aaron, go, go, Aaron!

00:20:32.647 --> 00:20:34.589
There you go! Go, Clinton!

00:20:34.589 --> 00:20:36.239
(ball bouncing)
Fredo, go Fredo!

00:20:37.860 --> 00:20:39.153
Keep going, keep going.

00:20:41.190 --> 00:20:44.062
Ah, ah, ah, there's one. Jed, one.

00:20:44.062 --> 00:20:47.106
- Alfredo, one at a time.
- One only, one only.

00:20:47.106 --> 00:20:48.457
No cheating, no cheating.

00:20:48.457 --> 00:20:49.290
Come on, Aaron, grab one.

00:20:49.290 --> 00:20:50.533
Go go, grab one, grab one, grab one.

00:20:50.533 --> 00:20:51.855
Go, go, go.
- Take one, Fredo, one.

00:20:51.855 --> 00:20:54.336
- Go, go, one, one.
- Fredo, go pick one.

00:20:54.336 --> 00:20:55.613
- Go, Aaron, get it.
- Get me favor.

00:20:55.613 --> 00:20:57.913
- Oh, you going backwards,
you walk backwards.

00:20:59.160 --> 00:21:00.453
Run, go, go, go, go.

00:21:01.290 --> 00:21:02.253
Fredo, keep going.

00:21:03.750 --> 00:21:05.323
Let's count, here we go.

00:21:06.331 --> 00:21:07.183
Can you count with me?

00:21:07.183 --> 00:21:10.530
- [Student] One, two, three, four, five,

00:21:10.530 --> 00:21:14.580
six, seven, eight, nine, 10, you have 12.

00:21:14.580 --> 00:21:16.800
- [Coach Gomez] Good
job, good counting, 12.

00:21:16.800 --> 00:21:18.750
All right, Quentin, let's see how many.

00:21:18.750 --> 00:21:20.070
- [Coach Mike] After Coach Gomez was done

00:21:20.070 --> 00:21:22.560
dropping off his class, we
broke the news about bowling.

00:21:22.560 --> 00:21:23.850
- Are we gonna do anything ourselves then,

00:21:23.850 --> 00:21:25.830
like outside of Special Olympics, like us?

00:21:25.830 --> 00:21:27.497
- [Coach Mike] That's what
we're gonna discuss, yeah.

00:21:27.497 --> 00:21:30.510
The plan is yes, but it's still like-

00:21:30.510 --> 00:21:31.343
- Up in the air.

00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:36.780
Well, great. (laughs)

00:21:36.780 --> 00:21:37.650
- [Coach Mike] How does
it make you feel though?

00:21:37.650 --> 00:21:39.361
- No, I really don't, I mean, like I said,

00:21:39.361 --> 00:21:40.500
it's like the best part of our job

00:21:40.500 --> 00:21:41.700
is doing the Special Olympics.

00:21:41.700 --> 00:21:43.350
So I mean, once again it's another year

00:21:43.350 --> 00:21:45.030
where it's just a wash

00:21:45.030 --> 00:21:47.520
and we can't get these
kids to do something fun

00:21:47.520 --> 00:21:52.470
outside of just PE class and
to get out to regular society

00:21:52.470 --> 00:21:54.870
and have a good time, like
just have a good old time.

00:21:54.870 --> 00:21:58.173
So yeah, it stinks, it's
not the greatest feeling.

00:21:59.359 --> 00:22:02.190
But I don't know,
hopefully it gets better,

00:22:02.190 --> 00:22:04.800
I'm just, wow, I didn't
think that was gonna happen.

00:22:04.800 --> 00:22:06.840
Even like today, like
being at the high school,

00:22:06.840 --> 00:22:08.190
I saw like a couple of the old athletes,

00:22:08.190 --> 00:22:09.750
and they're asking when's
it gonna be practice

00:22:09.750 --> 00:22:12.573
and when are they gonna be
able to get into games again.

00:22:14.340 --> 00:22:15.900
I told 'em, "Hopefully
we are gonna do it,"

00:22:15.900 --> 00:22:18.163
but now hearing this, it's
just like man, it's another,

00:22:18.163 --> 00:22:19.260
it's crushing 'em again.

00:22:19.260 --> 00:22:21.933
It's what they look
forward to all the time.

00:22:27.510 --> 00:22:29.250
- [Coach Mike] When bowling
was canceled for the year,

00:22:29.250 --> 00:22:32.220
the adaptive physical education
team sprung into action.

00:22:32.220 --> 00:22:35.238
Christine and Coach Allen
went to the Johnson PALS,

00:22:35.238 --> 00:22:38.010
who have helped with Special
Olympics events in the past

00:22:38.010 --> 00:22:39.870
to see if they could help

00:22:39.870 --> 00:22:41.620
and get some fresh ideas from them.

00:22:43.074 --> 00:22:44.670
- If y'all have your-
- I don't know.

00:22:44.670 --> 00:22:47.490
- I worked at that high
school further down 281,

00:22:47.490 --> 00:22:49.227
called Smithson Valley, I
was their assistant principal

00:22:49.227 --> 00:22:51.510
and their lead counselor for years.

00:22:51.510 --> 00:22:52.980
And then I jumped over to Northeast,

00:22:52.980 --> 00:22:56.160
and so a year and a half
ago was my very first year.

00:22:56.160 --> 00:22:59.580
My very first day on the
job, I go to Main Event,

00:22:59.580 --> 00:23:02.130
and I see these awesome teenagers

00:23:02.130 --> 00:23:03.930
helping these Special Olympic athletes

00:23:03.930 --> 00:23:05.820
doing all this bowling stuff.

00:23:05.820 --> 00:23:07.770
And I was like, "My
gosh, who is this group?"

00:23:07.770 --> 00:23:09.060
And it was Johnson.

00:23:09.060 --> 00:23:10.620
And then we had this big tournament,

00:23:10.620 --> 00:23:13.117
and Kristen Allen was
like, Coach Allen was like,

00:23:13.117 --> 00:23:15.090
"Hey I'm just gonna go over all the rules

00:23:15.090 --> 00:23:16.110
and stuff with my PALS.

00:23:16.110 --> 00:23:18.390
They're gonna get here early,
they're gonna help set up,

00:23:18.390 --> 00:23:19.890
the bowling, they're
gonna get the ramps out,

00:23:19.890 --> 00:23:21.900
they're gonna get all the
cards all set up for the kids."

00:23:21.900 --> 00:23:22.740
And I'm like, "What?

00:23:22.740 --> 00:23:24.420
They're not even supposed to be here yet."

00:23:24.420 --> 00:23:27.090
Oh my gosh, every single
Johnson PAL was there, on time,

00:23:27.090 --> 00:23:31.020
alert, and did everything that
Mrs. Allen asked her to do.

00:23:31.020 --> 00:23:34.590
And when I saw the look
on the athletes' faces

00:23:34.590 --> 00:23:36.960
whenever the PALs would
come and like help them

00:23:36.960 --> 00:23:39.617
and talk to them and cheer them
on, I mean it was priceless.

00:23:39.617 --> 00:23:42.420
It was so priceless just
to see that engagement

00:23:42.420 --> 00:23:44.730
and that relationship being formed.

00:23:44.730 --> 00:23:47.047
And so when Coach Roth
came up and was like,

00:23:47.047 --> 00:23:49.020
"Hey, I really wanna do this documentary

00:23:49.020 --> 00:23:51.690
about Special Olympics and adaptive PE,"

00:23:51.690 --> 00:23:54.037
I went to Coach Allen
and I told her, I go,

00:23:54.037 --> 00:23:58.290
"Okay, if we do this, one
highlight that I really wanna show

00:23:58.290 --> 00:24:00.660
is the PALS program and
just how the relationships

00:24:00.660 --> 00:24:03.660
that have created between
y'all and our athletes,

00:24:03.660 --> 00:24:04.800
how meaningful it is,

00:24:04.800 --> 00:24:07.080
and how it not only changes their lives

00:24:07.080 --> 00:24:08.460
but what it does for y'all,"

00:24:08.460 --> 00:24:11.160
'cause I even see it in y'all's faces.

00:24:11.160 --> 00:24:12.900
Y'all leave just a little bit happier,

00:24:12.900 --> 00:24:14.634
y'all smile just a little bit bigger

00:24:14.634 --> 00:24:17.730
when you leave your
experiences with our athletes.

00:24:17.730 --> 00:24:20.430
And so be able to show
that and to share that,

00:24:20.430 --> 00:24:22.043
I think could be very, very valuable.

00:24:22.043 --> 00:24:24.180
- Some of y'all need the jags.

00:24:24.180 --> 00:24:27.480
We're in a holding pattern
to see what are we gonna do,

00:24:27.480 --> 00:24:30.450
like are they gonna let us,
'cause you guys probably,

00:24:30.450 --> 00:24:32.640
you may not pay total
attention to the news,

00:24:32.640 --> 00:24:34.206
but you see your parents,

00:24:34.206 --> 00:24:35.730
and you probably see it on social media,

00:24:35.730 --> 00:24:38.889
the COVID numbers have just been going up.

00:24:38.889 --> 00:24:41.883
And a lot of our athletes have,

00:24:41.883 --> 00:24:44.760
besides disabilities,
they have health issues,

00:24:44.760 --> 00:24:48.270
and some are immunocompromised
and that kind of thing.

00:24:48.270 --> 00:24:53.270
So Special Olympics Texas
has like a whole guidelines

00:24:53.460 --> 00:24:55.665
that they follow, like a flow chart to say

00:24:55.665 --> 00:24:58.290
whether or not they're
gonna allow in-person

00:24:58.290 --> 00:25:00.810
or only outdoor activities,

00:25:00.810 --> 00:25:03.330
or if they're gonna halt
all activities together.

00:25:03.330 --> 00:25:04.980
So we've been kind of
in a holding pattern.

00:25:04.980 --> 00:25:08.730
I think they made a decision for right now

00:25:08.730 --> 00:25:10.950
that we will not have bowling.

00:25:10.950 --> 00:25:13.430
- Their highlight is Special Olympics.

00:25:13.430 --> 00:25:16.668
And so when that is taken away
from them or it's suspended,

00:25:16.668 --> 00:25:19.320
they really struggle
with trying to fulfill

00:25:19.320 --> 00:25:21.540
or find something very
similar to match that.

00:25:21.540 --> 00:25:24.480
So we're trying to, with your help maybe,

00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:26.820
bounce off some ideas on what we can do

00:25:26.820 --> 00:25:29.280
to maybe still do something
at a smaller scale,

00:25:29.280 --> 00:25:31.200
not sponsored by Special Olympics,

00:25:31.200 --> 00:25:32.073
but something for our athletes

00:25:32.073 --> 00:25:33.510
that would incorporate you guys,

00:25:33.510 --> 00:25:35.640
is kind of like what we're thinking.

00:25:35.640 --> 00:25:38.130
- [PAL] Would this be
just for Johnson athletes,

00:25:38.130 --> 00:25:41.167
or like all like the
district, like high school?

00:25:41.167 --> 00:25:42.660
- [Coach Allen] All, like high school,

00:25:42.660 --> 00:25:44.340
middle school, elementary school,

00:25:44.340 --> 00:25:46.470
something to get all of the kids in, yes.

00:25:46.470 --> 00:25:48.720
- So last year when things were shut down,

00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:50.853
and there was no Special
Olympics all year,

00:25:50.853 --> 00:25:54.060
what we did to adapt is that we created

00:25:54.060 --> 00:25:58.500
like our own Special Olympics
Northeast Facebook page,

00:25:58.500 --> 00:26:00.690
and we had like a monthly challenge.

00:26:00.690 --> 00:26:04.050
So, like for the month of
October, we had a big walkathon,

00:26:04.050 --> 00:26:06.990
for November we did a big dance party,

00:26:06.990 --> 00:26:09.260
and then we had a big
live Zoom dance party

00:26:09.260 --> 00:26:11.100
at the very end as a finale.

00:26:11.100 --> 00:26:14.250
We all did videos to
put on our Facebook page

00:26:14.250 --> 00:26:16.080
so the kids could see us.

00:26:16.080 --> 00:26:17.550
And so we don't know if we're to that,

00:26:17.550 --> 00:26:19.860
we're still offering that
on our Facebook page.

00:26:19.860 --> 00:26:21.630
But I also kind of like the idea

00:26:21.630 --> 00:26:25.230
of maybe doing like a
big backyard lawn games,

00:26:25.230 --> 00:26:28.890
'cause I know that y'all kind
of just take it for granted

00:26:28.890 --> 00:26:30.004
that y'all can go in the backyard

00:26:30.004 --> 00:26:31.260
and y'all continue to play washers

00:26:31.260 --> 00:26:32.850
when y'all have friends come over.

00:26:32.850 --> 00:26:35.498
Well, our kids don't do
stuff like that all the time.

00:26:35.498 --> 00:26:37.770
And so if we can teach them
a skill that they can do

00:26:37.770 --> 00:26:39.544
for the rest of their life,

00:26:39.544 --> 00:26:41.220
it would be so much
more meaningful to them.

00:26:41.220 --> 00:26:44.040
And so we were thinking even
if did something like that,

00:26:44.040 --> 00:26:46.740
did a big backyard lawn game tournament,

00:26:46.740 --> 00:26:48.270
high school versus high school,

00:26:48.270 --> 00:26:50.700
just tried to get some kind of tournament,

00:26:50.700 --> 00:26:54.870
some kind of spirit, something
together for our athletes.

00:26:54.870 --> 00:26:56.730
- Farthest to be.
- Maybe like a medicine ball.

00:26:56.730 --> 00:26:59.850
- Yes, or even, how she was
saying about hula hoops,

00:26:59.850 --> 00:27:02.400
they could have like a large
whole and there can be cones,

00:27:02.400 --> 00:27:04.530
and they have to toss the
hula hoop onto the cones.

00:27:04.530 --> 00:27:05.890
- Oo, there you go.
- Love it, yes.

00:27:05.890 --> 00:27:08.850
- Are there lawn activities
at their own house,

00:27:08.850 --> 00:27:11.391
so that way they can still be there.

00:27:11.391 --> 00:27:14.160
- We'll obviously
participate in the sendoff.

00:27:14.160 --> 00:27:17.010
I feel like the sendoff
makes everyone excited.

00:27:17.010 --> 00:27:19.200
We can even do, get the community,

00:27:19.200 --> 00:27:22.050
and get their friends and
family to do those car parades

00:27:22.050 --> 00:27:23.910
that people did during COVID.

00:27:23.910 --> 00:27:26.160
And we could, obviously
not everyone has cars,

00:27:26.160 --> 00:27:30.480
but put balloons on our cars,
or have like confetti cannons,

00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:34.200
and just be like, "Yay," and
drive by their house and stuff.

00:27:34.200 --> 00:27:35.610
And then the whole community

00:27:35.610 --> 00:27:37.170
would be like, "What is going on?"

00:27:37.170 --> 00:27:38.227
And then everyone would be like,

00:27:38.227 --> 00:27:39.627
"Oh, let cheer them on too."

00:27:40.577 --> 00:27:41.689
- I love all these ideas.

00:27:41.689 --> 00:27:45.810
(students speaking over each other)

00:27:45.810 --> 00:27:47.782
Hearing from y'all is, y'all are in.

00:27:47.782 --> 00:27:50.310
(students cheering)

00:27:50.310 --> 00:27:52.585
Y'all wanna help us in
participating in this,

00:27:52.585 --> 00:27:55.353
which is gonna be an amazing
experience, that's great.

00:27:56.670 --> 00:27:58.980
- How's it going so far this year?

00:27:58.980 --> 00:28:02.130
Let's see, we've had a mask
mandate then not a mask mandate.

00:28:02.130 --> 00:28:05.070
And now if you want to wear
a mask, you don't have to,

00:28:05.070 --> 00:28:08.220
but you can, and we can't force you to,

00:28:08.220 --> 00:28:10.710
but it's strongly encouraged
in every building.

00:28:10.710 --> 00:28:12.360
So that's where we're at.

00:28:12.360 --> 00:28:14.970
We're still working
around Special Olympics,

00:28:14.970 --> 00:28:18.270
and we're coming up with
alternative activities

00:28:18.270 --> 00:28:20.880
for our families, and we're
doing the best we can.

00:28:20.880 --> 00:28:23.700
We have two subs on our
list that are willing

00:28:23.700 --> 00:28:27.709
to do adaptive PE, if they're available,

00:28:27.709 --> 00:28:31.950
which we've had three
of our 14 staff members

00:28:31.950 --> 00:28:33.750
who have come up positive with COVID,

00:28:33.750 --> 00:28:36.603
which is a minimum of 10 days off work.

00:28:38.250 --> 00:28:41.160
Every single time, I reach out to the team

00:28:41.160 --> 00:28:44.006
while Christine reaches out
to the campus administrators

00:28:44.006 --> 00:28:46.170
to let them know we're
doing the best we can,

00:28:46.170 --> 00:28:48.090
but we may not have coverage.

00:28:48.090 --> 00:28:50.520
Our coordinator herself went out

00:28:50.520 --> 00:28:52.740
and taught some of the classes.

00:28:52.740 --> 00:28:55.170
She left her office in her high heels

00:28:55.170 --> 00:28:58.440
and went and taught classes
that needed to be taught.

00:28:58.440 --> 00:29:00.090
We're getting to the point now

00:29:00.090 --> 00:29:02.100
where we've done everything we can.

00:29:02.100 --> 00:29:05.070
You have to stay in the
moment, figure out the problem,

00:29:05.070 --> 00:29:06.930
and then move on to the next one.

00:29:06.930 --> 00:29:08.940
And if the problems start to pile up,

00:29:08.940 --> 00:29:12.570
you just put 'em in order of
what needs to be handled first.

00:29:12.570 --> 00:29:13.480
- Red circle.
- Red circle.

00:29:13.480 --> 00:29:16.380
- Wait, wait, along.
- Okay, I'm waiting.

00:29:16.380 --> 00:29:18.623
- [Speaker] Okay, I'll hold
the door for everybody.

00:29:19.680 --> 00:29:21.360
- [Teacher] Camila, go
put that in the trash

00:29:21.360 --> 00:29:24.003
when we get in the gym today.
- Okay.

00:29:26.932 --> 00:29:29.733
- Red circle.
- Red circle.

00:29:29.733 --> 00:29:32.820
- I've been trying to get
him in ABA therapy for years.

00:29:32.820 --> 00:29:37.530
It's really hard to get kids
into ABA as new patients

00:29:37.530 --> 00:29:39.270
if they're over the age of eight.

00:29:39.270 --> 00:29:41.010
And if they do, they're not the ones

00:29:41.010 --> 00:29:43.770
that exactly play well with
your insurance company,

00:29:43.770 --> 00:29:45.960
and so it's really pricey.

00:29:45.960 --> 00:29:50.220
So finding a program that
will accept him at age 10,

00:29:50.220 --> 00:29:54.323
and help work with me on a
sliding pay scale kind of thing

00:29:54.323 --> 00:29:55.860
has been a hard thing.

00:29:55.860 --> 00:29:59.111
I go into those ARD
meetings and I'm normally,

00:29:59.111 --> 00:30:01.170
they've labeled me an easy parent

00:30:01.170 --> 00:30:02.677
because I'll go in and I'll be like, okay,

00:30:02.677 --> 00:30:03.840
"What are you guys doing for him?

00:30:03.840 --> 00:30:06.717
I'm happy with everything
he's had so far."

00:30:07.590 --> 00:30:10.260
I don't fight them on
things, I don't argue,

00:30:10.260 --> 00:30:12.960
'cause most of the time I feel
like his needs are being met.

00:30:12.960 --> 00:30:14.460
But when I hear

00:30:14.460 --> 00:30:17.280
that he could have these
things that he needs

00:30:17.280 --> 00:30:20.130
and they're stopping him
with an arbitrary rule,

00:30:20.130 --> 00:30:21.660
that's a huge problem for me.

00:30:21.660 --> 00:30:23.040
I've been working on it for three years,

00:30:23.040 --> 00:30:24.273
trying to get him ABA.

00:30:26.760 --> 00:30:28.923
And it's not on the teachers, I get that,

00:30:30.120 --> 00:30:34.113
because they literally
took beatings from my son,

00:30:35.070 --> 00:30:38.010
because of his behavioral
issues and all that.

00:30:38.010 --> 00:30:39.960
And they would go home at night

00:30:39.960 --> 00:30:43.140
and they would think about
ways to make his life better,

00:30:43.140 --> 00:30:47.460
to make their life better,
all these solutions.

00:30:47.460 --> 00:30:48.766
That's the kind of people they are.

00:30:48.766 --> 00:30:53.490
Special needs teachers are
another echelon of people.

00:30:53.490 --> 00:30:55.050
He gets a little bit of
occupational therapy,

00:30:55.050 --> 00:30:57.870
he gets a little bit of
speech therapy, all that.

00:30:57.870 --> 00:31:01.020
It's not like, he's not
gonna get everything he needs

00:31:01.020 --> 00:31:03.660
within the school district,
so he's still not gonna get

00:31:03.660 --> 00:31:06.390
as much ABA as he could possibly need.

00:31:06.390 --> 00:31:09.450
But my goal in all of this was

00:31:09.450 --> 00:31:12.000
to help him with behavioral replacement

00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:15.333
so that he can figure out a way
not to be violent at school.

00:31:16.470 --> 00:31:18.900
He's not violent at home,
I don't have those issues.

00:31:18.900 --> 00:31:20.760
I can't have them come
and observe it at home

00:31:20.760 --> 00:31:23.370
because that's not where
the behavior's taking place.

00:31:23.370 --> 00:31:25.477
And when I dropped him off,
they did this thing, like,

00:31:25.477 --> 00:31:29.280
"Okay, we're gonna observe his
behavior for several hours,"

00:31:29.280 --> 00:31:30.960
and of course he was
just a little delight.

00:31:30.960 --> 00:31:34.470
He was this sweet kid,
none of those anger issues,

00:31:34.470 --> 00:31:39.127
just all happy and smiling,
giggling, just the best of Tex.

00:31:39.127 --> 00:31:43.170
I see the level of care
that happens in APE.

00:31:43.170 --> 00:31:46.380
They understand that it's not about having

00:31:46.380 --> 00:31:48.450
to assert power over them

00:31:48.450 --> 00:31:50.070
or say, "You have to do this my way."

00:31:50.070 --> 00:31:53.977
It's about redirecting
your thoughts and saying,

00:31:53.977 --> 00:31:57.380
"If I can give them this,
this works best for them."

00:31:57.380 --> 00:32:01.140
And it's like they, I think
that they understand the plight

00:32:01.140 --> 00:32:03.300
of the individual a whole lot more

00:32:03.300 --> 00:32:05.580
than mainstream teachers do.

00:32:05.580 --> 00:32:08.310
I mean, I'm his biggest
advocate anyway as his parent,

00:32:08.310 --> 00:32:10.980
but like as a special needs parent,

00:32:10.980 --> 00:32:15.980
I'm very, I'm overbearingly
protective. (laughs)

00:32:17.370 --> 00:32:19.863
He's 10 but he's been through a whole lot.

00:32:21.426 --> 00:32:25.470
He just has me, so I have
to be like really on it.

00:32:25.470 --> 00:32:27.221
What did your day look like?

00:32:27.221 --> 00:32:30.753
How can I address these
things and help prepare you?

00:32:32.310 --> 00:32:36.750
His dad was his caregiver and
they spoke the same language.

00:32:36.750 --> 00:32:41.160
He just knew, it was very instinctive.

00:32:41.160 --> 00:32:43.440
And so it was one of those things

00:32:43.440 --> 00:32:46.893
where I had to like learn a new language,

00:32:48.060 --> 00:32:49.293
and I'm still learning.

00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:53.650
It's a different world than
it was even 10 years ago.

00:32:54.750 --> 00:32:58.503
I mean, I'm hopeful, I'm
cautiously optimistic, you know?

00:33:00.660 --> 00:33:02.733
So that is what I hope,

00:33:03.868 --> 00:33:07.950
I just hope that they are
given every opportunity

00:33:07.950 --> 00:33:11.213
and not dismissed.
(subdued music)

00:33:32.190 --> 00:33:33.103
- [Coach Mike] As the event got closer,

00:33:33.103 --> 00:33:36.330
everything just kinda
started to fall into place.

00:33:36.330 --> 00:33:38.021
Everyone on the team was doing their best

00:33:38.021 --> 00:33:39.960
to get the word out

00:33:39.960 --> 00:33:42.240
so that as many kids from the district

00:33:42.240 --> 00:33:44.640
in our special education
program could come out,

00:33:44.640 --> 00:33:47.460
have fun with their families,
and get back to play.

00:33:47.460 --> 00:33:50.505
- Really we're trying to
find more of a central area

00:33:50.505 --> 00:33:53.610
that would be easy for all
of our families to access

00:33:53.610 --> 00:33:56.310
that has the lights that we can use

00:33:56.310 --> 00:33:57.660
since it's gonna be so dark.

00:33:57.660 --> 00:34:00.210
And we actually were able

00:34:00.210 --> 00:34:05.130
to secure the NEISD Sports
Complex for that night.

00:34:05.130 --> 00:34:05.963
It's gonna be great.

00:34:05.963 --> 00:34:07.500
They're gonna do all of our fields.

00:34:07.500 --> 00:34:09.960
They're gonna make sure all
the bathrooms are clean.

00:34:09.960 --> 00:34:13.230
They're gonna be mowing and
cleaning up just around here

00:34:13.230 --> 00:34:17.820
and letting us use this venue
for our event that night.

00:34:17.820 --> 00:34:22.243
But one of the talents that
Shauna has that I need more of

00:34:22.243 --> 00:34:24.240
is she's very detail oriented.

00:34:24.240 --> 00:34:26.940
So I can give her an idea
and then she can expand on it

00:34:26.940 --> 00:34:29.520
and be like, "Oh yes, and
then you need to include this.

00:34:29.520 --> 00:34:30.900
Did you think about this?

00:34:30.900 --> 00:34:32.220
Have you called this person?"

00:34:32.220 --> 00:34:36.240
And so I usually go to
Shauna as my go-to person

00:34:36.240 --> 00:34:39.150
just when I have a small like
little kernel of an idea.

00:34:39.150 --> 00:34:42.557
Between her and I, we pretty
much can get anything done.

00:34:42.557 --> 00:34:44.790
- [Coach Mike] One of the
coaches even started a podcast

00:34:44.790 --> 00:34:47.430
to talk about current
events in adaptive PE

00:34:47.430 --> 00:34:50.670
and Special Olympics to get
the word out about this event

00:34:50.670 --> 00:34:53.250
and future events coming
throughout the district.

00:34:53.250 --> 00:34:54.750
- Everybody's got a cell phone nowadays.

00:34:54.750 --> 00:34:56.910
Everybody's watching videos on YouTube.

00:34:56.910 --> 00:34:59.430
Everybody's got podcasts
and listening to it.

00:34:59.430 --> 00:35:02.130
And we'll discuss events that we're doing,

00:35:02.130 --> 00:35:04.800
kinda see how it goes and just
make it a week-to-week thing.

00:35:04.800 --> 00:35:07.050
Yeah, I think we're gonna
have a big turnout with,

00:35:07.050 --> 00:35:10.050
not just with kids, but
with community as well.

00:35:10.050 --> 00:35:12.360
And I think it's a great thing

00:35:12.360 --> 00:35:14.550
because we missed out on both.

00:35:14.550 --> 00:35:16.410
It's kinda like a, it's not a competition,

00:35:16.410 --> 00:35:18.330
but it's more for fun and
that's what kids need,

00:35:18.330 --> 00:35:19.440
is more fun at this point.

00:35:19.440 --> 00:35:21.330
- You want to know what's
going on in Special Olympics,

00:35:21.330 --> 00:35:23.850
then scan here, and I
think if we send this home,

00:35:23.850 --> 00:35:25.710
they're so used to getting
those take-home folders-

00:35:25.710 --> 00:35:26.970
- Yes.
- That if they see this,

00:35:26.970 --> 00:35:28.472
they'll just take the picture or scan it,

00:35:28.472 --> 00:35:30.540
and then they can go from there.

00:35:30.540 --> 00:35:31.637
- [Christine] And I also
think that what we should do

00:35:31.637 --> 00:35:34.650
is let's put it on card
stock and we can laminate it,

00:35:34.650 --> 00:35:36.900
and if we can put it on the doors

00:35:36.900 --> 00:35:39.460
outside of the ALE classrooms.
- Oh yeah.

00:35:39.460 --> 00:35:42.300
- Just so anyone could be
part of our Facebook page

00:35:42.300 --> 00:35:44.790
so they could just like
scan it and they can join.

00:35:44.790 --> 00:35:46.410
- Yeah, and that was another
thing I was gonna say,

00:35:46.410 --> 00:35:50.010
is having everyone encourage
their campuses to join,

00:35:50.010 --> 00:35:52.290
because I had all of my Driscoll

00:35:52.290 --> 00:35:54.030
and MacArthur teachers do it,

00:35:54.030 --> 00:35:55.950
and then they're friends
with parents on there

00:35:55.950 --> 00:35:58.170
that I'm not friends with,
and they saw, they joined,

00:35:58.170 --> 00:35:59.400
so then they started joining

00:35:59.400 --> 00:36:01.560
because they're more
comfortable with the campus

00:36:01.560 --> 00:36:04.230
and their caseloads and
all that kind of stuff.

00:36:04.230 --> 00:36:05.340
- [Coach Mike] A really
cool thing that came

00:36:05.340 --> 00:36:09.900
outta the PALS meeting was the
idea of creating a platform

00:36:09.900 --> 00:36:13.023
for the athletes to learn how
to play these games virtually

00:36:13.023 --> 00:36:16.350
before they came to the
backyard lawn game event.

00:36:16.350 --> 00:36:17.370
And we posted them

00:36:17.370 --> 00:36:21.030
on the Special Olympics
adapted PE Facebook page

00:36:21.030 --> 00:36:24.390
so that the families and
the students could learn,

00:36:24.390 --> 00:36:26.610
from their PALS, how to play these games

00:36:26.610 --> 00:36:27.993
before the event happened.

00:36:30.005 --> 00:36:31.111
- The loops?
- Yeah.

00:36:31.111 --> 00:36:33.563
- [Speaker] Aren't those
gonna go separate though.

00:36:35.760 --> 00:36:37.080
- I can't believe the day's here.

00:36:37.080 --> 00:36:40.380
I'm very, very excited
for all of our athletes

00:36:40.380 --> 00:36:42.360
and our PALS students
that have volunteered.

00:36:42.360 --> 00:36:44.340
But lemme tell you, it's
just very stressful.

00:36:44.340 --> 00:36:46.590
Like we still have two Amazon orders

00:36:46.590 --> 00:36:48.450
that need to come in this afternoon.

00:36:48.450 --> 00:36:51.660
We're waiting for our tic-tac-toe beanbags

00:36:51.660 --> 00:36:54.210
and we're waiting for
something else to come in.

00:36:54.210 --> 00:36:57.600
All of our stuff basically came in Friday,

00:36:57.600 --> 00:36:59.160
yesterday, and Monday.

00:36:59.160 --> 00:37:02.940
And so we have been spending hours

00:37:02.940 --> 00:37:05.760
putting glow-in-the-dark
stickers and tapes

00:37:05.760 --> 00:37:09.990
all over our games just so
it can all glow in the dark

00:37:09.990 --> 00:37:13.476
and just be part of our
theme, which is Glow Crazy.

00:37:13.476 --> 00:37:17.430
And so I think it's gonna be
a very, very fun, good event,

00:37:17.430 --> 00:37:21.570
not only for our athletes but
also for our PALS students

00:37:21.570 --> 00:37:23.371
that are gonna come and volunteer.

00:37:23.371 --> 00:37:27.870
93, 93 PALS students are
volunteering two hours

00:37:27.870 --> 00:37:30.750
out of their night to come
and help us with our athletes.

00:37:30.750 --> 00:37:32.650
I mean, that to me is just so amazing.

00:37:33.990 --> 00:37:38.990
I am just a little nervous with
just never doing this before

00:37:39.000 --> 00:37:42.510
but I think this event is
just going to be so amazing.

00:37:42.510 --> 00:37:44.550
I think that it incorporates everything

00:37:44.550 --> 00:37:46.560
that we would've worked
with our students on

00:37:46.560 --> 00:37:47.790
when it came to bowling,

00:37:47.790 --> 00:37:50.130
and I think that this is
gonna be a great replacement

00:37:50.130 --> 00:37:52.435
for our bowling tournament.

00:37:52.435 --> 00:37:56.602
(tender music with vocalizations)

00:38:45.141 --> 00:38:48.641
(tender music continues)

00:39:27.957 --> 00:39:30.420
Maybe it was good that
bowling couldn't happen

00:39:30.420 --> 00:39:32.700
because it forced us to
have to think out of the box

00:39:32.700 --> 00:39:34.290
and incorporate an activity

00:39:34.290 --> 00:39:37.410
where families were
engaging with their athletes

00:39:37.410 --> 00:39:39.180
and it was together as a group.

00:39:39.180 --> 00:39:42.663
As a unit, they were coming
in and participating together.

00:39:52.086 --> 00:39:53.268
(object scraping)

00:39:53.268 --> 00:39:55.170
- Ah, thank you.
- You're welcome.

00:39:55.170 --> 00:39:58.344
- It's heavier than it looks.
- Yeah, that's pretty dope.

00:39:58.344 --> 00:39:59.865
- Isn't that awesome though?
- Yeah.

00:39:59.865 --> 00:40:01.074
- It turned out to be a really fun night.

00:40:01.074 --> 00:40:04.113
I got to see some of my old
students who came up and they,

00:40:05.340 --> 00:40:07.790
the Lee kids, and it was just fun.

00:40:07.790 --> 00:40:09.450
It was just fun to be outside and play.

00:40:09.450 --> 00:40:11.910
- [Coach Mike] So Special
Olympics, we've kind of,

00:40:11.910 --> 00:40:14.220
after Christmas break we
kinda hit the ground running.

00:40:14.220 --> 00:40:15.390
- Yes.
- Can you just tell us

00:40:15.390 --> 00:40:18.660
what it all entailed for you,
as the head of delegation,

00:40:18.660 --> 00:40:22.890
and what has transpired,
Omicron, all that stuff.

00:40:22.890 --> 00:40:26.580
Like how we were nervous
about basketball and how,

00:40:26.580 --> 00:40:28.380
'cause there was a moment there
where we thought basketball

00:40:28.380 --> 00:40:29.760
wasn't gonna happen for a minute.

00:40:29.760 --> 00:40:34.760
- Right, I think after
bowling was canceled,

00:40:35.010 --> 00:40:38.280
and then they said okay for basketball,

00:40:38.280 --> 00:40:41.654
I was like, I'm just gonna plan it,

00:40:41.654 --> 00:40:43.860
and then if it doesn't
happen, it doesn't happen.

00:40:43.860 --> 00:40:46.083
But I'm just gonna get everything running,

00:40:46.950 --> 00:40:49.740
get as much stuff done as I can,

00:40:49.740 --> 00:40:51.140
just in case it does happen.

00:40:53.640 --> 00:40:55.290
It's definitely been hard,

00:40:55.290 --> 00:40:58.170
but I think we're in
a good spot right now.

00:40:58.170 --> 00:41:00.937
We're not the same as
we were before COVID,

00:41:02.796 --> 00:41:05.760
but we're still doing stuff.

00:41:05.760 --> 00:41:07.980
And for the ones who
are able to participate,

00:41:07.980 --> 00:41:09.270
it's gonna be fun.

00:41:09.270 --> 00:41:13.463
So for me specifically, I, it's crazy,

00:41:16.350 --> 00:41:21.350
it's absolute absolutely
crazy, but I like it.

00:41:21.540 --> 00:41:24.090
It's for good reason.

00:41:24.090 --> 00:41:26.918
- It is very stressful, especially since,

00:41:26.918 --> 00:41:29.490
if you count, of the 14 of us,

00:41:29.490 --> 00:41:32.370
five of you haven't done this before,

00:41:32.370 --> 00:41:34.200
and it is very stressful.

00:41:34.200 --> 00:41:37.650
But at the same time, I'm kind of excited

00:41:37.650 --> 00:41:40.320
because the teachers are excited as well.

00:41:40.320 --> 00:41:42.270
They're like, "We're
finally back, oh my gosh."

00:41:42.270 --> 00:41:43.980
And then the parents are excited,

00:41:43.980 --> 00:41:46.050
and so if you just feed off of that,

00:41:46.050 --> 00:41:49.770
it kind of pushes that negativity
back down and that stress.

00:41:49.770 --> 00:41:52.770
And then I start counting
the days to my break.

00:41:52.770 --> 00:41:56.460
And I know next week
that my grades are due,

00:41:56.460 --> 00:41:58.020
and my progress reports are due,

00:41:58.020 --> 00:42:00.810
and we've got our showcase
performance on Wednesday night,

00:42:00.810 --> 00:42:02.520
and our track scores are due,

00:42:02.520 --> 00:42:05.700
and our bus Google sheet for track is due.

00:42:05.700 --> 00:42:06.533
But you know what?

00:42:06.533 --> 00:42:08.340
It'll all get done, it'll all get done,

00:42:08.340 --> 00:42:11.400
and then I'll probably
collapse during spring break.

00:42:11.400 --> 00:42:14.790
But right now, I'm feeding
off of the excitement

00:42:14.790 --> 00:42:19.104
of the kids and the teachers
who are so glad it's back.

00:42:19.104 --> 00:42:21.771
- We have that.
- Oh, yeah we do.

00:42:23.640 --> 00:42:28.103
- Thank you. All right
everybody, this is so exciting.

00:42:30.120 --> 00:42:31.803
We've waited so long for this.

00:42:34.320 --> 00:42:35.327
- Let me win.

00:42:38.138 --> 00:42:40.533
- [People In Unison] Let me win.

00:42:42.064 --> 00:42:44.096
- [Student] But I cannot win.

00:42:44.096 --> 00:42:47.655
(gentle piano music)

00:42:47.655 --> 00:42:49.072
- I
- Cannot win.

00:42:51.925 --> 00:42:55.342
- [People In Unison] But if I cannot win-

00:42:56.612 --> 00:43:01.273
- [Student] Let me be brave in my attempt.

00:43:01.273 --> 00:43:03.606
- [Speaker] Let me be brave.

00:43:05.993 --> 00:43:08.160
- In the.
- In the attempt.

00:43:10.324 --> 00:43:13.641
- [Parent] Let me be brave in the attempt.

00:43:13.641 --> 00:43:18.274
- Woo hoo, good job, guys.
(crowd cheering)

00:43:18.274 --> 00:43:22.469
Now my turn. You did it, fellas, good job.

00:43:22.469 --> 00:43:24.870
Now we're gonna have two students

00:43:24.870 --> 00:43:28.683
walk our torch around the gym.

00:43:30.844 --> 00:43:34.844
(crowd cheering and applauding)

00:43:44.880 --> 00:43:47.550
- Medicals are still rough to get.

00:43:47.550 --> 00:43:50.930
I had to really hound teachers and parents

00:43:50.930 --> 00:43:53.070
to get this team together
'cause that was rough.

00:43:53.070 --> 00:43:55.710
I was literally struggling
up to like the last week

00:43:55.710 --> 00:43:56.543
until we started practice,

00:43:56.543 --> 00:43:59.280
in the sense of like only
having three or four kids

00:43:59.280 --> 00:44:00.810
and not having a full basketball team.

00:44:00.810 --> 00:44:02.640
But luckily everything worked out,

00:44:02.640 --> 00:44:04.920
and now I got my seven kids
and we have a good team.

00:44:04.920 --> 00:44:08.220
But I have just been super motivated

00:44:08.220 --> 00:44:10.770
since the first practice that we've had.

00:44:10.770 --> 00:44:14.490
I forgot how cool and
how amazing the sport is,

00:44:14.490 --> 00:44:16.470
and seeing these kids out here having fun,

00:44:16.470 --> 00:44:18.660
and then this year bringing
in the PALS to help

00:44:18.660 --> 00:44:21.030
with the basketball team,
which is something different.

00:44:21.030 --> 00:44:22.200
You're right there, all right?

00:44:22.200 --> 00:44:24.858
We all run to the ball, unless
you're on defense, okay.

00:44:24.858 --> 00:44:29.858
Ready, try again.
(ball bouncing)

00:44:32.593 --> 00:44:34.530
And y'all can move, y'all can
grab the ball and dribble,

00:44:34.530 --> 00:44:35.460
whatever, it's up to you.

00:44:35.460 --> 00:44:36.960
Get the ball and dribble, dribble Elijah,

00:44:36.960 --> 00:44:37.793
dribble a little bit.

00:44:37.793 --> 00:44:40.739
Then go look at Bryson, you
wanna pass it to Bryson.

00:44:40.739 --> 00:44:43.852
And then Bryson, you try to shoot it.

00:44:43.852 --> 00:44:46.658
(ball bouncing)
Shoot.

00:44:46.658 --> 00:44:48.447
(rim clattering)
Good, just like that, buddy.

00:44:48.447 --> 00:44:49.830
All right, let's try it again,

00:44:49.830 --> 00:44:51.960
but let's start all the way
down to the bottom, all right.

00:44:51.960 --> 00:44:53.016
All the way down the bottom.

00:44:53.016 --> 00:44:56.698
Everyone go all the way
down from the start.

00:44:56.698 --> 00:44:58.832
I just scored, now it's your turn.

00:44:58.832 --> 00:45:03.390
Pass him the ball and we go-
(continues speaking faintly)

00:45:03.390 --> 00:45:05.248
All right, now let's go
all the way down, run, run,

00:45:05.248 --> 00:45:07.862
run to your spots, run,
run, run, run, run.

00:45:07.862 --> 00:45:11.930
(ball bouncing)
(footsteps falling)

00:45:11.930 --> 00:45:14.762
Get ready, several passes
off you, go do your thing.

00:45:14.762 --> 00:45:16.793
Move around, move around, move around.

00:45:16.793 --> 00:45:20.626
There you go, dribble,
shoot, pass, up to you.

00:45:22.174 --> 00:45:24.094
What're you gonna do,
what're you gonna do?

00:45:24.094 --> 00:45:29.094
(rim clattering)
(coach clapping)

00:45:29.728 --> 00:45:31.180
All right, can't go out of bounds.

00:45:31.180 --> 00:45:33.347
You go out of bounds,
it's their ball now, okay.

00:45:33.347 --> 00:45:35.574
So you gotta look where you're
going, always pay attention.

00:45:35.574 --> 00:45:36.992
Okay, you got it?

00:45:36.992 --> 00:45:38.291
Gotta keep going!
(rim clattering)

00:45:38.291 --> 00:45:39.830
Keep going.
- Keep going, big guy.

00:45:39.830 --> 00:45:41.163
Hit the rebound.

00:45:43.021 --> 00:45:44.782
(rim clattering)
- Good.

00:45:44.782 --> 00:45:48.494
Good job, good job, good job.
(hands clapping)

00:45:48.494 --> 00:45:50.630
Switch it up, switch it up, switch it up.

00:45:50.630 --> 00:45:52.575
- Hey man.
- Come on, go circle.

00:45:52.575 --> 00:45:53.803
There we go, one.

00:45:53.803 --> 00:45:55.470
- Brahmas on three.
- Take it on, go.

00:45:55.470 --> 00:45:58.230
- One, two.
- No, no, hold.

00:45:58.230 --> 00:46:00.205
Angelina's gonna do's it,
Angelina's gonna scream real loud.

00:46:00.205 --> 00:46:02.639
- [Angelina] Brahmas on
three, one, two, three.

00:46:02.639 --> 00:46:03.990
- [People In Unison] Brahmas!

00:46:03.990 --> 00:46:06.540
- Winning would be nice,
and seeing him move on

00:46:06.540 --> 00:46:08.250
to the championships and
all that would be great.

00:46:08.250 --> 00:46:10.710
But seeing him thrive in a team setting

00:46:10.710 --> 00:46:11.760
would be really nice.

00:46:12.780 --> 00:46:14.999
Cooperating with his team
and all that kinda stuff,

00:46:14.999 --> 00:46:17.081
and playing through the whole game,

00:46:17.081 --> 00:46:18.780
that's what I'm really hoping for,

00:46:18.780 --> 00:46:21.060
is that he is able to make
it through all four quarters

00:46:21.060 --> 00:46:23.490
for all the games he plays and all that.

00:46:23.490 --> 00:46:25.650
So hopefully, hopefully he's got it in him

00:46:25.650 --> 00:46:27.690
to play through the games,

00:46:27.690 --> 00:46:30.445
and hopefully they do go
through to the championship.

00:46:30.445 --> 00:46:33.362
(percussive music)

00:47:05.577 --> 00:47:08.410
(crowd cheering)

00:47:25.580 --> 00:47:26.948
- [Announcer] To sing the national anthem

00:47:26.948 --> 00:47:28.828
is 10th grade student Nate Harris.

00:47:28.828 --> 00:47:32.311
♪ Oh say can you see ♪

00:47:32.311 --> 00:47:36.090
♪ By the dawn's early light ♪

00:47:36.090 --> 00:47:39.926
♪ What the other we part ♪

00:47:39.926 --> 00:47:42.479
♪ Twilight's last gleaming ♪

00:47:42.479 --> 00:47:45.942
♪ Whose broad stripes and bright star ♪

00:47:45.942 --> 00:47:49.206
♪ Through the perilous fight ♪

00:47:49.206 --> 00:47:51.963
♪ O'er the ramparts we watched ♪

00:47:51.963 --> 00:47:55.800
♪ Were so gallantly streaming ♪

00:47:55.800 --> 00:47:58.937
♪ In the rocket's red glare ♪

00:47:58.937 --> 00:48:02.045
♪ The bomb burst in air ♪

00:48:02.045 --> 00:48:05.026
♪ Gave proof through the night ♪

00:48:05.026 --> 00:48:08.569
♪ That our flag was still there ♪

00:48:08.569 --> 00:48:13.569
♪ Oh say does that star-spangled banner ♪

00:48:15.555 --> 00:48:18.724
♪ O'er the land of the free ♪

00:48:18.724 --> 00:48:22.359
♪ And the home of the brave ♪

00:48:22.359 --> 00:48:26.359
(crowd cheering and applauding)

00:48:29.793 --> 00:48:33.300
- [Coach] I don't know if
it was him being overwhelmed

00:48:33.300 --> 00:48:35.010
with all the noise at the pep rally,

00:48:35.010 --> 00:48:36.600
but King was shutting down,

00:48:36.600 --> 00:48:38.670
so I had to call his dad from the stands

00:48:38.670 --> 00:48:41.850
and come facilitate a
little talk between us all.

00:48:41.850 --> 00:48:44.070
King's dad had to pull him aside.

00:48:44.070 --> 00:48:46.530
After we had a nice talk with each other,

00:48:46.530 --> 00:48:50.010
an understanding of how
I want my team to be ran

00:48:50.010 --> 00:48:51.900
and how he needs to be a part of a team,

00:48:51.900 --> 00:48:54.360
and once that talk was done,

00:48:54.360 --> 00:48:57.030
he understood the assignment
and just went with it.

00:48:57.030 --> 00:48:59.940
And when I needed him
to do something, he did.

00:48:59.940 --> 00:49:01.200
And when I needed him to be

00:49:01.200 --> 00:49:02.910
at a place on the court, he was there.

00:49:02.910 --> 00:49:04.140
He really tried.

00:49:04.140 --> 00:49:06.690
And once, like I said,
once we had that talk,

00:49:06.690 --> 00:49:08.790
he knew how a team should be ran,

00:49:08.790 --> 00:49:11.010
and it's not just one person,
it takes a lot of people,

00:49:11.010 --> 00:49:13.360
and he was a part of the
team and it was great.

00:49:16.020 --> 00:49:18.210
- Going that way, and green
you're going that way.

00:49:18.210 --> 00:49:19.950
- [Coach] Gameplay was amazing.

00:49:19.950 --> 00:49:23.636
I haven't felt that in a long
time, and the kids either.

00:49:23.636 --> 00:49:25.890
We started off with a little bit of nerves

00:49:25.890 --> 00:49:26.970
in the first quarter

00:49:26.970 --> 00:49:30.301
that still trailed us
throughout the most of the game.

00:49:30.301 --> 00:49:33.060
Kids got better, kids knew where to be,

00:49:33.060 --> 00:49:34.693
where the ball was gonna be.

00:49:34.693 --> 00:49:36.620
(crowd cheering)

00:49:36.620 --> 00:49:39.490
- Get it, get it, get it, get it.

00:49:39.490 --> 00:49:40.710
Get the ball.
(shoes squeaking)

00:49:40.710 --> 00:49:43.950
- Overall, I was very, very,
very impressed with my team.

00:49:43.950 --> 00:49:46.260
They stuck together, they worked hard.

00:49:46.260 --> 00:49:49.020
They grinded for the whole four quarters,

00:49:49.020 --> 00:49:52.034
and I was just proud of 'em.

00:49:52.034 --> 00:49:54.386
(crowd cheering)

00:49:54.386 --> 00:49:56.899
(whistle blaring)

00:49:56.899 --> 00:49:59.490
When we're down here, ask for
the ball, okay, look around.

00:49:59.490 --> 00:50:01.770
If you get the rebound, shoot again.

00:50:01.770 --> 00:50:03.487
Shoot, just shoot, okay.
Don't be scared, shoot.

00:50:03.487 --> 00:50:06.090
- I need water.
- Over here, over here,

00:50:06.090 --> 00:50:08.029
take the ball away, stay on ball.

00:50:08.029 --> 00:50:09.520
Whoever has the ball, stay on them.

00:50:09.520 --> 00:50:10.626
(coach continues speaking faintly)

00:50:10.626 --> 00:50:13.446
- Got it. Got it, got it.

00:50:13.446 --> 00:50:15.881
(ball bouncing)

00:50:15.881 --> 00:50:18.676
(student exclaiming)

00:50:18.676 --> 00:50:21.378
(crowd yelling)

00:50:21.378 --> 00:50:22.628
(crowd groaning)
- Get the ball, get the ball.

00:50:22.628 --> 00:50:25.528
(whistle blaring)

00:50:25.528 --> 00:50:29.778
(crowd yelling)
- Work, work, work.

00:50:33.390 --> 00:50:35.040
- [Coach] They came together,
and when they needed

00:50:35.040 --> 00:50:39.810
to be a team, they worked hard
and they just, just so proud.

00:50:39.810 --> 00:50:44.810
I just can't stress enough
how good they were as a team.

00:50:45.379 --> 00:50:48.129
(crowd cheering)

00:50:49.871 --> 00:50:53.251
(people speaking over each other)

00:50:53.251 --> 00:50:57.084
(crowd cheering and clapping)

00:50:58.851 --> 00:51:01.830
So once we got past all the little nerves,

00:51:01.830 --> 00:51:04.230
we took it to the fourth,
and we ended up tying.

00:51:09.450 --> 00:51:11.283
The last 30 seconds were wild.

00:51:12.570 --> 00:51:15.090
King got a hold of that ball
'cause he was out there,

00:51:15.090 --> 00:51:18.582
really working on both ends of the court.

00:51:18.582 --> 00:51:21.249
(crowd yelling)

00:51:25.067 --> 00:51:27.046
(crowd cheering)

00:51:27.046 --> 00:51:28.920
So we actually have this
saying in the Special Olympics,

00:51:28.920 --> 00:51:29.977
it's our creed, is,

00:51:29.977 --> 00:51:33.000
"Let me win, but if I can't win,

00:51:33.000 --> 00:51:34.740
let me be brave in the attempt."

00:51:34.740 --> 00:51:37.950
I'm just proud of him,
what he did to regroup

00:51:37.950 --> 00:51:39.540
and come back and be a part of the team

00:51:39.540 --> 00:51:42.510
and actually become a leader
at the end when we needed him.

00:51:42.510 --> 00:51:45.060
I know we didn't end up
winning the championship

00:51:45.060 --> 00:51:48.210
but they impressed me,
and I know that next year,

00:51:48.210 --> 00:51:49.740
they're just gonna come out more hungry

00:51:49.740 --> 00:51:51.972
and want to get that championship.

00:51:51.972 --> 00:51:55.139
(reverberating music)

00:52:01.830 --> 00:52:04.703
- My friend Texas, this
year he's done more

00:52:04.703 --> 00:52:06.840
than he has ever done for me.

00:52:06.840 --> 00:52:08.160
He's throwing the shot put.

00:52:08.160 --> 00:52:10.530
There's a continuum on a yardstick,

00:52:10.530 --> 00:52:13.110
if you look at the field events.

00:52:13.110 --> 00:52:16.050
Down here is like your tennis ball throw,

00:52:16.050 --> 00:52:19.560
and then your softball throw,
and then your javelin throw,

00:52:19.560 --> 00:52:21.390
and then your standing long jump,

00:52:21.390 --> 00:52:22.590
and your running long jump,

00:52:22.590 --> 00:52:26.940
and the gold standard for all
field events is the shot put.

00:52:26.940 --> 00:52:30.810
And so he's throwing the
shot put, he's progressing.

00:52:30.810 --> 00:52:32.880
I'm just, I'm gonna be sad when he goes

00:52:32.880 --> 00:52:35.520
to middle school next
year, it's gonna be tough.

00:52:35.520 --> 00:52:37.590
I worry about my kids when they move on.

00:52:37.590 --> 00:52:39.591
- [Coach Mike] Who's gonna
be his coach next year,

00:52:39.591 --> 00:52:42.690
or his adaptive PE teacher?
- At wood, he will be at Wood,

00:52:42.690 --> 00:52:44.703
and it'll be Coach Gomez.

00:52:46.860 --> 00:52:49.980
- Track is tomorrow, we
stress about it before,

00:52:49.980 --> 00:52:54.300
and we beat ourselves up, make
sure everything's perfect,

00:52:54.300 --> 00:52:55.950
but at the end it's gonna run smoothly.

00:52:55.950 --> 00:52:57.203
I think it's gonna be a great time.

00:52:57.203 --> 00:52:58.560
Everyone's gonna enjoy it.

00:52:58.560 --> 00:53:01.893
Just super excited for it now
to see all the work pay off.

00:53:02.940 --> 00:53:07.940
- So if you were to ask me two
weeks ago, totally stressed.

00:53:08.094 --> 00:53:10.560
A couple days ago I had to
meet with transportation.

00:53:10.560 --> 00:53:12.720
I was stressing to them,
I really need them here

00:53:12.720 --> 00:53:14.241
between this amount of time,

00:53:14.241 --> 00:53:16.487
you don't understand,
it has to start on time

00:53:16.487 --> 00:53:18.090
and it all starts with the buses.

00:53:18.090 --> 00:53:19.440
You're gonna make our track meet.

00:53:19.440 --> 00:53:21.913
I mean, it's all determined
because of transportation.

00:53:21.913 --> 00:53:23.880
And they're all just kind of relaxed

00:53:23.880 --> 00:53:25.530
and I'm like, "What's going on?"

00:53:25.530 --> 00:53:27.457
And then finally someone said,

00:53:27.457 --> 00:53:30.150
"You can have whatever you
want, this is our favorite day."

00:53:30.150 --> 00:53:32.970
Then I leave that and I go
to a meeting with principals.

00:53:32.970 --> 00:53:35.850
I wanna know who's paying
for all of our substitutes.

00:53:35.850 --> 00:53:37.320
We've got special ed teachers,

00:53:37.320 --> 00:53:38.820
para instructionals that are coming,

00:53:38.820 --> 00:53:40.770
the PALS sponsors need to come.

00:53:40.770 --> 00:53:42.720
So I'm talking to all these principals,

00:53:42.720 --> 00:53:45.060
and all the principals just
very calmly sitting down,

00:53:45.060 --> 00:53:48.810
looking at me, go, "We got
it, it's our favorite day."

00:53:48.810 --> 00:53:50.940
And the most simple,
beautiful thing about it is

00:53:50.940 --> 00:53:55.940
that it's the gift of what our
kids and our athletes give us

00:53:56.787 --> 00:53:58.737
and they're not even aware of it.

00:53:58.737 --> 00:54:00.937
And that's why it's
everyone's favorite day.

00:54:02.580 --> 00:54:06.960
- Today is kind of like Christmas morning.

00:54:06.960 --> 00:54:08.220
You know what to expect

00:54:08.220 --> 00:54:10.413
but there's still gonna be some surprises.

00:54:11.725 --> 00:54:14.475
(peaceful music)

00:54:37.590 --> 00:54:39.030
- [Christine] We are gonna,
just all of a sudden,

00:54:39.030 --> 00:54:42.120
look around and see everyone
smiling, the PALS having fun,

00:54:42.120 --> 00:54:44.250
everyone laughing, everyone
having a good time,

00:54:44.250 --> 00:54:47.122
and we're just gonna
go, "It's all worth it."

00:54:47.122 --> 00:54:49.781
This is what it's about.

00:54:49.781 --> 00:54:52.614
(inspiring music)

00:55:10.157 --> 00:55:13.530
- Feeling like actually
my work is doing something

00:55:13.530 --> 00:55:17.100
for someone else other
than myself or just, yeah,

00:55:17.100 --> 00:55:20.850
just helping them just makes
me feel like crazy good inside,

00:55:20.850 --> 00:55:22.380
just always thinking of the kids

00:55:22.380 --> 00:55:23.640
and thinking of the bigger picture.

00:55:23.640 --> 00:55:24.930
Like yes you might stress,

00:55:24.930 --> 00:55:28.440
yes we might get mad at
ourselves or at other people,

00:55:28.440 --> 00:55:29.910
but at the end of the
day, it's for these kids.

00:55:29.910 --> 00:55:32.733
And that's what, the number
one goal we have to think of.

00:55:38.610 --> 00:55:40.530
- And I have never in my life had

00:55:40.530 --> 00:55:45.030
so many individual parents
reach out to me about the things

00:55:45.030 --> 00:55:47.730
that they didn't even know
their own students could do.

00:55:47.730 --> 00:55:50.670
For our program, I think
it's just gonna keep growing.

00:55:50.670 --> 00:55:55.170
I think Special Olympics is
going to be really, really huge,

00:55:55.170 --> 00:55:57.360
it's going to be really big.

00:55:57.360 --> 00:56:00.570
I believe we're going to
delve more into unified.

00:56:00.570 --> 00:56:05.570
We're in an area right now
where we're kind of pioneering

00:56:05.790 --> 00:56:07.053
what needs to happen.

00:56:08.850 --> 00:56:12.360
And if you're interested in
getting into adaptive PE,

00:56:12.360 --> 00:56:14.280
you just need to find someone to follow.

00:56:14.280 --> 00:56:16.230
You need to find someone
to shadow and make sure

00:56:16.230 --> 00:56:19.863
that it fits the needs of
your kids and your district.

00:56:21.060 --> 00:56:23.910
- Everyone showed up, they
did what they needed to do,

00:56:23.910 --> 00:56:26.234
and the kids, they really did well.

00:56:26.234 --> 00:56:28.107
- Hello, camera. Hello, camera.

00:56:28.107 --> 00:56:30.812
- [Coach Mike] This is
Sam. My name's Coach Mike.

00:56:30.812 --> 00:56:32.367
- Everybody's gonna watch this on TV.

00:56:32.367 --> 00:56:33.326
- [Student] Hey, Michael!

00:56:33.326 --> 00:56:34.603
- Everybody's gonna watch this on TV.

00:56:34.603 --> 00:56:35.447
- [Speaker] How you doing, buddy?

00:56:35.447 --> 00:56:36.280
- [Coach Mike] Everyone's
gonna get it right,

00:56:36.280 --> 00:56:37.882
dude, that's the plan.

00:56:37.882 --> 00:56:42.882
- [Student] Two, three, four.

00:56:43.404 --> 00:56:46.762
- Who's taking all the balls?
(student laughing)

00:56:46.762 --> 00:56:49.762
(students laughing)

00:56:52.307 --> 00:56:54.150
- My favorite part?
- Yeah.

00:56:54.150 --> 00:56:57.870
- Just hearing them laugh,
seeing them succeed,

00:56:57.870 --> 00:56:59.797
but hearing them laugh is the best sound.

00:56:59.797 --> 00:57:01.290
- [Coach Gomez] Including
these gen ed kids

00:57:01.290 --> 00:57:02.930
was just pretty amazing,

00:57:02.930 --> 00:57:07.930
in the sense of I feel like
more of the campus was involved,

00:57:08.010 --> 00:57:09.510
more of their friends were involved,

00:57:09.510 --> 00:57:12.697
maybe kids that have never
interacted with our kids,

00:57:12.697 --> 00:57:15.429
they were coming along together.

00:57:15.429 --> 00:57:16.392
- [Coach Mike] What do you think that does

00:57:16.392 --> 00:57:18.270
for the kids that are in
general education system?

00:57:18.270 --> 00:57:20.370
- I think it broadened
their horizons so much.

00:57:20.370 --> 00:57:24.030
I think it shows them that
not everyone's the same,

00:57:24.030 --> 00:57:27.570
not everyone is on a
cognitive level as they are,

00:57:27.570 --> 00:57:29.850
and that patience, patience is a virtue,

00:57:29.850 --> 00:57:31.440
and it teaches them a lot of patience,

00:57:31.440 --> 00:57:34.020
and how you're not always
gonna get your way,

00:57:34.020 --> 00:57:35.838
even no matter how hard you try.

00:57:35.838 --> 00:57:38.550
You're still learning,
it's still a concept

00:57:38.550 --> 00:57:40.080
that you're gonna have

00:57:40.080 --> 00:57:41.790
for the rest of your life, pretty much.

00:57:41.790 --> 00:57:43.200
- [Coach Mike] Have you seen, personally,

00:57:43.200 --> 00:57:45.600
friendships blossom through
through the stuff with-

00:57:45.600 --> 00:57:49.200
- Oh majorly, I mean
the two boys that I had

00:57:49.200 --> 00:57:52.170
for my basketball team, when
I see 'em in the hallways,

00:57:52.170 --> 00:57:54.946
they're always giving literally all

00:57:54.946 --> 00:57:57.870
of our special needs kids high fives,

00:57:57.870 --> 00:58:00.090
hugs, cheering them on.

00:58:00.090 --> 00:58:02.417
And I, deep down, like makes me happy

00:58:02.417 --> 00:58:05.028
'cause it's something that
I've never seen before,

00:58:05.028 --> 00:58:08.343
not in a sense I've never seen,
but been a part of as well.

00:58:13.260 --> 00:58:15.660
I always said I would give
myself five years doing this job,

00:58:15.660 --> 00:58:18.180
if I ever wanted to
take it somewhere else,

00:58:18.180 --> 00:58:20.730
in the sense like I love
what we do here at Northeast

00:58:20.730 --> 00:58:23.370
and the program we have
and the team we have.

00:58:23.370 --> 00:58:26.070
And I just feel like it's
a great model to have

00:58:26.070 --> 00:58:27.690
at other districts that don't do this,

00:58:27.690 --> 00:58:29.610
'cause we literally serve
these kids every single day,

00:58:29.610 --> 00:58:31.038
five days a week.

00:58:31.038 --> 00:58:31.980
There's a lot of places
that don't do that.

00:58:31.980 --> 00:58:34.710
They get to see their
kids once or twice a week,

00:58:34.710 --> 00:58:35.970
and that's everybody,

00:58:35.970 --> 00:58:37.800
all the kids in the
district are in one gym.

00:58:37.800 --> 00:58:39.600
Or just different stuff like that,

00:58:39.600 --> 00:58:41.460
they can't, they don't
have enough manpower

00:58:41.460 --> 00:58:43.830
to get to these schools daily.

00:58:43.830 --> 00:58:47.447
So I think I would love
to take that back home,

00:58:47.447 --> 00:58:49.890
'cause I do want to end
up back home in Del Rio.

00:58:49.890 --> 00:58:51.690
I don't know when and what age,

00:58:51.690 --> 00:58:53.733
but I think it'd be a great fit.

00:58:55.530 --> 00:58:58.290
I can't wait to just, kinda just relax

00:58:58.290 --> 00:59:00.450
and just recuperate from this past year

00:59:00.450 --> 00:59:03.690
and just get back to where
I need to be for next year

00:59:03.690 --> 00:59:05.100
and get the ball rolling again.

00:59:05.100 --> 00:59:06.843
- It was such an exciting thing.

00:59:08.220 --> 00:59:12.480
I've never really gotten to
see him compete in anything.

00:59:12.480 --> 00:59:15.240
And I think everybody there
was just excited to be there.

00:59:15.240 --> 00:59:18.780
I think everybody realized the gravity of

00:59:18.780 --> 00:59:20.583
and importance of it after,

00:59:22.380 --> 00:59:23.640
after everything with COVID

00:59:23.640 --> 00:59:25.920
and people not being able
to get back together,

00:59:25.920 --> 00:59:28.770
I think people don't
tend to take those things

00:59:28.770 --> 00:59:29.880
for granted as much.

00:59:29.880 --> 00:59:32.850
You could see it in how excited
everybody was to be there.

00:59:32.850 --> 00:59:36.060
NEISD stands out, compared to maybe

00:59:36.060 --> 00:59:39.060
some of the other districts
he's been part of,

00:59:39.060 --> 00:59:43.140
because you just, you
get a different attitude

00:59:43.140 --> 00:59:46.773
from the teachers than you do.

00:59:47.640 --> 00:59:50.730
You sense burnout in people,
it happens to everybody.

00:59:50.730 --> 00:59:52.680
But with these special needs teachers,

00:59:52.680 --> 00:59:53.513
the ones that are there,

00:59:53.513 --> 00:59:56.460
they're there because they wanna
be there, and you can tell,

00:59:56.460 --> 00:59:59.130
and they're invested in the
kids and they think about them.

00:59:59.130 --> 01:00:02.814
And I get text messages from his teachers,

01:00:02.814 --> 01:00:04.800
and it's like way late into the night

01:00:04.800 --> 01:00:07.680
when they should be doing
things for themselves,

01:00:07.680 --> 01:00:09.090
and they're sending me pictures

01:00:09.090 --> 01:00:10.440
of things he's done during the day,

01:00:10.440 --> 01:00:12.990
or, "I was just thinking
maybe Tex would like this,"

01:00:12.990 --> 01:00:15.693
and just these ideas,
and that's the kind of,

01:00:18.000 --> 01:00:19.770
that's the kind of
experience I've had overall.

01:00:19.770 --> 01:00:20.603
Those are the highlights.

01:00:20.603 --> 01:00:21.780
When I think about it overall,

01:00:21.780 --> 01:00:26.780
I'm so grateful for his
coaches, and his teachers,

01:00:27.150 --> 01:00:29.430
and everybody else,

01:00:29.430 --> 01:00:32.370
because I don't know that
everybody experiences that.

01:00:32.370 --> 01:00:34.665
I can be a working mom
and I can get pictures

01:00:34.665 --> 01:00:37.050
and video of my kid enjoying his day,

01:00:37.050 --> 01:00:40.080
and I'm not able to be there and see it.

01:00:40.080 --> 01:00:42.210
And I know that they're thinking of ways

01:00:42.210 --> 01:00:45.630
to make his day better
and their day better.

01:00:45.630 --> 01:00:48.060
And I never really knew
if I was going to be able

01:00:48.060 --> 01:00:50.040
to see him get to compete in things.

01:00:50.040 --> 01:00:52.740
And it's that overall feeling of like,

01:00:52.740 --> 01:00:55.590
I didn't know he could do that
and look at him doing that.

01:00:55.590 --> 01:00:58.190
And not just doing that,
but being successful at it.

01:00:59.460 --> 01:01:01.980
My kid has a medal. (laughs)

01:01:01.980 --> 01:01:04.860
- Yeah.
- And I think it's amazing.

01:01:04.860 --> 01:01:06.047
- [Coach Mike] If your
husband was still with us,

01:01:06.047 --> 01:01:09.750
do you think he would enjoy
watching him play sports?

01:01:09.750 --> 01:01:12.300
- First of all, he took a
ridiculous amount of pride

01:01:12.300 --> 01:01:14.654
in every single thing Tex did, regardless.

01:01:14.654 --> 01:01:17.610
But I think it would be
really exciting for him

01:01:17.610 --> 01:01:20.580
because he did track and
field, he did football,

01:01:20.580 --> 01:01:22.020
he did all these things,

01:01:22.020 --> 01:01:25.440
and I think that he would really just,

01:01:25.440 --> 01:01:28.863
he'd probably be like the super
parent down in the middle,

01:01:30.000 --> 01:01:32.713
getting in the coach's
way and all of that.

01:01:32.713 --> 01:01:35.340
But I mean he was just,
everything he did, he was just,

01:01:35.340 --> 01:01:38.310
he was very excited to
see Tex do anything,

01:01:38.310 --> 01:01:40.830
just so full of pride
at the smallest things.

01:01:40.830 --> 01:01:45.330
So seeing Tex accomplish
some amazing genuine things,

01:01:45.330 --> 01:01:46.410
I don't even know if you'd be able

01:01:46.410 --> 01:01:49.653
to handle the intensity coming from him.

01:01:51.870 --> 01:01:54.420
- I get emotional, like wow, my baby,

01:01:54.420 --> 01:01:58.050
who didn't even speak at
times, trying to communicate,

01:01:58.050 --> 01:01:59.310
and now he's playing this game

01:01:59.310 --> 01:02:02.070
and he's just making these
shots and being a team player.

01:02:02.070 --> 01:02:04.350
It was just, it's really,
really good to see.

01:02:04.350 --> 01:02:06.090
So I was just really,
really happy for him.

01:02:06.090 --> 01:02:10.110
- So seeing him go from
not wanting to go out

01:02:10.110 --> 01:02:11.520
and practice basketball with me

01:02:11.520 --> 01:02:13.830
to being in the basketball
tournament and doing great.

01:02:13.830 --> 01:02:16.650
And not wanting to go out and
throw the javelin with me,

01:02:16.650 --> 01:02:18.360
and then he has his whole stance

01:02:18.360 --> 01:02:19.680
and everything when he was out there,

01:02:19.680 --> 01:02:21.063
which was great to see.

01:02:22.278 --> 01:02:25.987
And him actually enjoying
it and not being forced,

01:02:25.987 --> 01:02:28.920
he was genuinely happy being out there.

01:02:28.920 --> 01:02:33.754
I think the whole Special
Olympics, all three of those days,

01:02:33.754 --> 01:02:37.320
he was up early in the morning
and getting ready to go,

01:02:37.320 --> 01:02:39.600
like he was making sure
we were there on time,

01:02:39.600 --> 01:02:41.190
like didn't wanna miss anything.

01:02:41.190 --> 01:02:43.470
- [Erika] I was just so, so
happy and so proud of him.

01:02:43.470 --> 01:02:45.870
And I'm glad that they
have something like this

01:02:45.870 --> 01:02:47.460
that targets children like him.

01:02:47.460 --> 01:02:50.730
And he was just really,
really, really happy

01:02:50.730 --> 01:02:54.150
to be around everyone and seeing
all the different families,

01:02:54.150 --> 01:02:55.822
and then having the both
of us there with him.

01:02:55.822 --> 01:02:57.697
So I think that was really great.

01:02:57.697 --> 01:02:58.843
- A lot of parents and a lot of kids

01:02:58.843 --> 01:03:00.830
in the special need community

01:03:00.830 --> 01:03:04.320
don't have a lot of
interaction once they go home.

01:03:04.320 --> 01:03:06.750
And I think the Special
Olympics is a great way

01:03:06.750 --> 01:03:09.450
to get them out and around other people

01:03:09.450 --> 01:03:10.886
that are similar to them,

01:03:10.886 --> 01:03:14.910
and just around friends
and that kinda stuff

01:03:14.910 --> 01:03:17.040
to give them something
that they might be missing.

01:03:17.040 --> 01:03:17.880
- [Coach Mike] What are your thoughts

01:03:17.880 --> 01:03:19.470
and hopes for your son?

01:03:19.470 --> 01:03:22.470
- We did see in the Special Olympics,

01:03:22.470 --> 01:03:25.170
not just high school kids, we saw adults.

01:03:25.170 --> 01:03:28.320
So I was like, hey, if he's
really interested in this-

01:03:28.320 --> 01:03:30.180
- And the collegiate
level Special Olympics

01:03:30.180 --> 01:03:33.000
is like top level athletes and stuff.

01:03:33.000 --> 01:03:34.200
- Yeah, we are willing to support him,

01:03:34.200 --> 01:03:35.430
whatever it is that he wants to do.

01:03:35.430 --> 01:03:37.050
- [Gregory] I saw stuff in King this year

01:03:37.050 --> 01:03:39.630
that I didn't think I was gonna see.

01:03:39.630 --> 01:03:43.875
I mean, with all the other
hardships and everything,

01:03:43.875 --> 01:03:46.230
it was a beautiful thing,

01:03:46.230 --> 01:03:48.090
just being able to watch
him this entire time.

01:03:48.090 --> 01:03:50.160
- Yeah.
- That was amazing.

01:03:50.160 --> 01:03:51.750
I mean it was just, for him,

01:03:51.750 --> 01:03:54.000
it was just watching like milestone

01:03:54.000 --> 01:03:55.982
after milestone after milestone.

01:03:55.982 --> 01:03:58.740
This is really watching the beginning,

01:03:58.740 --> 01:04:01.237
because now I get to see that
he does enjoy this stuff,

01:04:01.237 --> 01:04:04.710
and I get to have that
experience as a father

01:04:04.710 --> 01:04:05.850
for the next three years,

01:04:05.850 --> 01:04:09.569
and then for the next
four years, hopefully.

01:04:09.569 --> 01:04:12.210
So it was, this was really a,

01:04:12.210 --> 01:04:14.010
a really great experience this year.

01:04:15.418 --> 01:04:18.001
(gentle music)

01:04:21.960 --> 01:04:24.090
- Like I told you my mom
told me when I took this job,

01:04:24.090 --> 01:04:26.250
she was like, "Wow, (speaking
in foreign language)

01:04:26.250 --> 01:04:28.260
Buddha must really think you're
gonna feel this in your ears

01:04:28.260 --> 01:04:30.300
because you can't talk
so much in this job,

01:04:30.300 --> 01:04:31.890
'cause you're not miss
know-it-all about it.

01:04:31.890 --> 01:04:34.740
You're gonna have to learn
from all those around you.

01:04:34.740 --> 01:04:36.180
That's the only way you're gonna be able

01:04:36.180 --> 01:04:37.013
to transition to this."

01:04:37.013 --> 01:04:38.640
You know what I mean?

01:04:38.640 --> 01:04:41.400
And thank goodness I
had that learning curve.

01:04:41.400 --> 01:04:44.670
And so I think when
we're put in situations

01:04:44.670 --> 01:04:47.400
that forced us to think out of the box,

01:04:47.400 --> 01:04:50.040
every single one of us had
a different perspective

01:04:50.040 --> 01:04:50.880
of what to do.

01:04:50.880 --> 01:04:52.440
We wanted to do something,

01:04:52.440 --> 01:04:54.570
but your background's
different than my background,

01:04:54.570 --> 01:04:56.820
versus the other 13 teachers too.

01:04:56.820 --> 01:05:00.450
And I think everyone's
experiences coming together,

01:05:00.450 --> 01:05:03.088
how they look at situations,
those different perceptions,

01:05:03.088 --> 01:05:05.190
that is what fueled us to be able

01:05:05.190 --> 01:05:08.160
to have the Glow Crazy in
November instead of bowling.

01:05:08.160 --> 01:05:10.050
How were we able to get out of a jam

01:05:10.050 --> 01:05:12.180
when we didn't think we were
gonna do our basketball?

01:05:12.180 --> 01:05:14.100
It was better, haven't it unified,

01:05:14.100 --> 01:05:15.660
I don't think we would've ever done that

01:05:15.660 --> 01:05:18.150
if we weren't forced to having
to do something different,

01:05:18.150 --> 01:05:19.740
'cause we don't like change.

01:05:19.740 --> 01:05:21.510
And I think what this
year has taught us is

01:05:21.510 --> 01:05:22.710
that change is a good thing.

01:05:22.710 --> 01:05:25.920
As uncomfortable as it is,
it happens for a reason.

01:05:25.920 --> 01:05:28.980
And I think that's the
greatest lesson for us adults,

01:05:28.980 --> 01:05:30.990
is what are you gonna
do when that ride comes?

01:05:30.990 --> 01:05:32.152
Are you gonna make that change?

01:05:32.152 --> 01:05:33.570
Are you gonna hold back?

01:05:33.570 --> 01:05:34.860
Are you not gonna do anything at all?

01:05:34.860 --> 01:05:37.830
And I'm so proud of our team
because we met the challenge

01:05:37.830 --> 01:05:40.650
and we did what we needed
to do for our students.

01:05:40.650 --> 01:05:43.560
We're teaching them skills
that they can do lifelong,

01:05:43.560 --> 01:05:46.350
and that's the big push,
that is, does it require

01:05:46.350 --> 01:05:47.340
that student to always be

01:05:47.340 --> 01:05:48.587
in front of Mike Roth in order to do it?

01:05:48.587 --> 01:05:50.190
Do you know what I mean?

01:05:50.190 --> 01:05:51.780
It's a skill that you could actually go

01:05:51.780 --> 01:05:54.150
into a bowling alley with
your families and do.

01:05:54.150 --> 01:05:55.230
They learned lawn games,

01:05:55.230 --> 01:05:57.362
the whole point of that whole night was

01:05:57.362 --> 01:05:59.490
you can do this in your backyard.

01:05:59.490 --> 01:06:01.470
This is a skill that you can
have for the rest of your life,

01:06:01.470 --> 01:06:02.820
and play it and enjoy it.

01:06:02.820 --> 01:06:04.350
That's what I like about our programs.

01:06:04.350 --> 01:06:07.050
I wanna see that whatever
we do can transition

01:06:07.050 --> 01:06:09.810
for them meaningfully outside
of the school setting.

01:06:09.810 --> 01:06:13.110
It's gotta transfer or it won't
make that much of an impact.

01:06:13.110 --> 01:06:14.713
That's what I wanna see.

01:06:19.106 --> 01:06:22.990
- [Interviewer] Why do
this project and begin?

01:06:22.990 --> 01:06:24.900
- Well, the reason why I
wanted to do this project is

01:06:24.900 --> 01:06:27.750
because I've been a
special education teacher

01:06:27.750 --> 01:06:29.970
and adaptive physical education coach,

01:06:29.970 --> 01:06:33.180
combined for going on seven, eight years.

01:06:33.180 --> 01:06:36.840
Some of the most compassionate moments

01:06:36.840 --> 01:06:38.940
that I've witnessed in my life have been

01:06:38.940 --> 01:06:42.600
at a Special Olympics
tournament or in the classroom.

01:06:42.600 --> 01:06:46.710
Some of the successes that the
students have are so great.

01:06:46.710 --> 01:06:48.765
And I think they're taken for granted

01:06:48.765 --> 01:06:52.650
by someone that might not
be in special education,

01:06:52.650 --> 01:06:55.563
but it's a major victory for these kids

01:06:55.563 --> 01:06:57.450
when they accomplish something

01:06:57.450 --> 01:06:58.740
that they're having a tough time with.

01:06:58.740 --> 01:07:00.510
And I think that kind of reflects

01:07:00.510 --> 01:07:02.880
on human nature in general.

01:07:02.880 --> 01:07:06.120
I think that we need to
be kinder to ourselves

01:07:06.120 --> 01:07:08.120
and celebrate our accomplishments

01:07:08.120 --> 01:07:11.103
and our successes as they come.

01:07:13.230 --> 01:07:15.150
More and more, I feel I've learned that

01:07:15.150 --> 01:07:17.460
from being a special education teacher

01:07:17.460 --> 01:07:19.320
and being a Special Olympics coach.

01:07:19.320 --> 01:07:24.320
And I think if you are interested in it,

01:07:24.870 --> 01:07:27.930
you should go become a coach
and volunteer for a sport,

01:07:27.930 --> 01:07:30.263
'cause it could change your
life, 'cause it changed mine.

01:07:33.893 --> 01:07:35.520
In my final interview with Christine,

01:07:35.520 --> 01:07:39.300
I asked her what her favorite
moment from the past year was.

01:07:39.300 --> 01:07:41.760
- I think this is what it's about, truly.

01:07:41.760 --> 01:07:44.519
So this is the memory book
that she creates for her PALS,

01:07:44.519 --> 01:07:46.913
her Little PAL kids, and
they're in middle school.

01:07:46.913 --> 01:07:49.980
And I'm just gonna read
you Josh's favorite memory

01:07:49.980 --> 01:07:51.690
for the school year.

01:07:51.690 --> 01:07:54.040
Mind you, he's probably
an eighth grader, okay.

01:07:55.357 --> 01:07:57.660
"My favorite part about PALS

01:07:57.660 --> 01:08:00.780
was the Special Olympics at Hero Stadium.

01:08:00.780 --> 01:08:03.013
This was my favorite
activity this year in PALS

01:08:03.013 --> 01:08:06.240
because just seeing the
pure joy and happiness

01:08:06.240 --> 01:08:08.700
on their faces after running their race

01:08:08.700 --> 01:08:11.313
or doing the tennis
ball throw is priceless.

01:08:13.800 --> 01:08:16.740
My favorite part of the
whole day was when one

01:08:16.740 --> 01:08:20.310
of the ALE kids went up to
sing the national anthem.

01:08:20.310 --> 01:08:23.460
The amount of courage that
must have taken alone is crazy.

01:08:23.460 --> 01:08:25.530
But he went up there
and did an awesome job,

01:08:25.530 --> 01:08:27.300
which was a great moment.

01:08:27.300 --> 01:08:29.430
I'm glad I got to go
to the Special Olympics

01:08:29.430 --> 01:08:30.360
because that was probably

01:08:30.360 --> 01:08:33.117
one of the best things
I have gotten to do."

01:08:34.161 --> 01:08:36.810
Every kid in here talks

01:08:36.810 --> 01:08:39.777
about our students in Special Olympics.

01:08:39.777 --> 01:08:42.610
(inspiring music)

01:09:07.620 --> 01:09:10.373
The winning human spirit
that's still inside of us.

01:09:12.073 --> 01:09:12.906
It just kind of needs a little
spark to come out, you know?

01:09:15.512 --> 01:09:16.890
But there's hope.

01:09:20.136 --> 01:09:23.886
(inspiring music continues)

01:10:00.538 --> 01:10:04.288
(inspiring music continues)

01:10:52.117 --> 01:10:54.640
(crowd cheering and applauding)

01:10:54.640 --> 01:10:56.970
(whistle blaring)

01:10:56.970 --> 01:10:58.650
- [Coach Mike] My favorite
moment from the past year

01:10:58.650 --> 01:11:01.650
was getting to document
all of the acts of kindness

01:11:01.650 --> 01:11:05.103
from all of our students, their families,

01:11:07.830 --> 01:11:11.073
and our adapted PE Special
Olympics coaching staff.

01:11:14.156 --> 01:11:16.140
I think people forget,

01:11:16.140 --> 01:11:19.410
kindness is the greatest
gift you can give someone,

01:11:19.410 --> 01:11:21.903
and witnessing that this year, well,

01:11:23.100 --> 01:11:26.163
I know it gave me hope and I
hope it does the same for you.

01:11:32.467 --> 01:11:34.717
(no audio)