Wherever Rosemary Parisi goes in Mount Olive, she meets people who know her daughter Gabriella.
Gigi, who has Down syndrome, was a year-round educator athlete at Mount Olive High School and a homecoming queen. It was even featured on the Times Square Billboard, sponsored by the National Down Syndrome Society.
Sports have been central to GiGi’s popularity, surprising even Rosemary, a special education teacher at Wharton’s MacKinnon Middle School.
GiGi was part of the hockey, basketball and softball teams at Mount Olive along with her peers of the spooky style. She also participates in the Special Olympics Unified Track and Field Program at Mount Olive, which mixes students with intellectual disabilities and neurotypical partners.
Clubs, teams, and standardized events often require fewer time commitments than their general education counterparts. But there are few limitations to what can be called standardized, or how comprehensive those programs are.
David May of Morristown believes Unified is more restrictive than the Americans with Disabilities Act promises.
The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act provides for appropriate free public education for more than 7.5 million eligible children with disabilities – in the least restrictive environment – and ensures special education and related services.
Students with special needs may prefer to compete alongside special needs athletes on one team. But Unified does not allow in-season athletes to be team partners, so their backgrounds and experiences vary with the activities.
“All the unit did was make it the most restrictive environment in the entire place,” May said. “Some parents are just happy that their kids are active, they have no nuance in what it means to be separated in the unified team and not connected to the other (public) team. … It has given the kids opportunities to exercise, but it is not the least restrictive environment.”
Separate but unequal?
Autism has never stopped Ryan May from being part of the Morristown Swimming Team, which has included many swimmers with physical and mental disabilities over the years. David May packed breakfast and drove Ryan to 6 a.m. and he’s been training nearly every school day for six years.
Ryan took part in about half of the get-togethers during his high school career, wearing the same burgundy suit and bright orange hat as everyone else on the list. Between events, he usually cheered for teammates from the end of the stands closest to the starting blocks. Ryan, who turns 24 in July, didn’t talk much, but he usually smiled and raised his thumbs.
May, who co-founded Kids2Kids, a Morristown nonprofit that guides children with special needs through activities led by their neurotypical peers.
“If you have a child with special needs, you realize early on how isolated you are. They aren’t invited to anything: birthday parties, events… It’s too painful for these kids not to be involved in anything.”
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In an effort to provide opportunities to more student-athletes, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletics Association announced a partnership with the New Jersey Special Olympics at the Champions Meet in June 2016. At the time, there were about 60 Uniform Champion schools working to promote acceptance, respect, and dignity for all the students.
There are now more than 250 in New Jersey, and Bill Deponte, SONJ’s chief operating officer, hopes to have at least 300 in the fall.
“Integration has been around for a long time, and it means different things to different people,” Deponte said. “For us, it’s about engaging people of all abilities.”
Champion schools are supported by funding from the United States and the New Jersey Department of Education, although DePonte said they are encouraged to be self-sufficient. SONJ gives support things like coach and club salaries, uniforms, travel, officials, and technology.
The NJSIAA currently sponsors unified basketball and bowling in the winter, and track and field games in the spring. Uniform swimming will be added to the roster this winter, with a mixed relay expected during the NJSIAA meet of champions in March.
“It’s great to meet new people and get involved in different activities,” said Jeremiah Moses, a new student at Pensocene State, who plans to join the soccer team in the fall.
“I bring good energy, good sportsmanship, and good vibes everywhere. We are like a huge family.”
Sparta and Mount Olive were the top two major schools at the opening of the NJSIAA Unified Stand-alone Track and Field Championships on June 8 at Franklin High School. Morristown won the Small Schools Division.
In past years, a few consolidated events have been incorporated into the group tournament schedule, splitting teams into multiple locations.
“After 50 years in the business, Special Olympics knows they need to do better,” said Assistant Principal of Voorhees High School Kelly Ann Kieffer, Assistant Principal of Voorhees High School, the first in New Jersey to be recognized as a national unified school of champion.
“Unified is a way to do that. The students I support won’t be able to play sports or participate in play without Unified. … We have some important (disabled) students, and they won’t be able to get into the least restrictive environment, not for a second. Our main goal is that Each student is able to access the high school experience to the best of their abilities.”
The best of both worlds
Rosemary Parisi said Gigi “flourished” once she reached high school because of the sport. She loved hockey so much, Rosemary bought her a stick, balls and a net to practice in the family yard. She scored 150 points in her career, and was involved in both college and joint matches “if they win big or lose big,” according to Rosemary Parisi.
GiGi got into softball three years ago, and although she rarely got into a game due to safety concerns, Rosemary Parisi said: “Its role is to be in the dugout, cheering on all the girls, and helping coach (Bill Romano) when he gets too. compressed.”
“Working in a public team takes a lot: a lot of stamina, understanding, good behavior, good health,” Rosemary Parisi said. “You have to have a coach supporting her. You have to have an assistant in the background in case anything happens. If there are health issues, people have to be trained. We’ve all worked hard to make it happen. GiGi is the poster kid to include in a sports team, but that’s just because That we did it right. Not everyone can do it.”
GiGi is now 22, and has just graduated from Mount Olive High School. Rosemary Parisi hopes her daughter can volunteer as a mentor or coach for a unified program in the fall to maintain “team camaraderie.”
This is something Michael McCluskey was looking for when he joined the cross country, bowling and spring track teams at West Milford High School. But when he tried on the New Jersey team before the USA Special Olympics, Gina McCluskey told her son, “This is your time to shine. This is where you are.”
Michael McCluskey, a sophomore with autism and seizure disorder, ended up on ESPN’s social media channels after coming back in the last second in his 1,500-meter heat on June 7.
For three weeks before the USA Games, McCluskey went from general track practice to Special Olympics practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays—often accompanied at both Chase Abell and Wyatt Space juniors, longtime partners of West Milford Unified. On Sundays, Gina McCluskey drove her son and Hewitt’s Destiny Gerrity to two-hour New Jersey practice at Point Pleasant.
“Special Olympics give everyone a place to be just themselves,” said Kristi Cliff, West Milford Special Olympics coach, who teaches several classes about disabilities at Maple Road Elementary School in West. “You don’t have to make any kind of show for anyone else.” Milford.
“Unifying cultures change if you do it right. If you find two really cool kids, two partners who aren’t involved in anything… you put them on this team, and you give them purpose. Their lives will change. Not just kids with special needs, but those Children who have never felt needed or loved, you will make them all part of something.”
Jane Hufsey is a storyteller at Daily Record and DailyRecord.com, part of the USA TODAY Network. For complete access to live scores, breaking news and analysis, sign up today.
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