(2/3) “My passion is movies and I can talk about those nonstop....

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