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A place to grow and compete
(by Megan Burrow - September 23, 2008)
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Photo Courtesy Of The Borough Of Westwood
Special Olympians from Pascack Valley were recently honored in Westwood Borough Hall by area mayors and given plaques celebrating their achievements. Many of the athletes wore medals from past competitions. Many of the Special Olympians are members of Project ASK, a local group for people with special needs.
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The normally hushed meeting room in Westwood Borough Hall was transformed last month into a standing room only event as Special Olympians of the Pascack Valley, many wearing medals, were handed plaques celebrating their achievements by Westwood Mayor John Birkner and several other area mayors.
Many of the athletes at the meeting that night first became involved in the Special Olympics as teenagers through a program called Project ASK – Activities for Special Kids.
As the Special Olympics became more prevalent in the early 1980s, Project ASK got involved, sending teams to a variety of competitions and encouraging the athletes to push themselves to perform their best.
Park Ridge resident Betty Papirio was one of the original founders of Project ASK. Her daughter Susan, now 41, began participating in the program when she was around 10 years old.
“There’s an old expression, ‘It takes a community to raise a child.’ With these kids with special needs, it really does take a community,” she said. “These kids have grown up through the experiences in Project ASK and they’ve been friends for 20 years now. It has greatly enriched their lives.”
The group started over 30 years ago as the Pascack Valley Parent Teacher Association for Special Education Students. Parents with children in special education wanted a way for their children to socialize and make friends after school while learning to compete in a supportive environment.
Many of those children are now adults, and have been competing side by side for decades. The parents have also formed deep bonds through carpooling, coaching, and sharing their ups and downs over the years.
Papirio said Project ASK has become so successful that it draws participants from not only the Pascack Valley, but neighboring communities in Northern New Jersey and New York. She explained how the program grew from a small organization to one that counts over 70 participants today.
“One of the first activities that started was a bowling league for the Project ASK kids. It enabled parents to share experiences with their kids, but we never competed, we just bowled for fun, for socialization. When Susan was 12, the director resigned and we were going to lose the league, which had about 27 kids. So instead of seeing the bowling league cease, I volunteered to be the director. I heard about the Special Olympics as the director and in 1982 we took four kids to the bowling Special Olympics. Project ASK has sent kids to the Special Olympics ever since.”
In addition to the sports programs, Project ASK offers social programs like bingo games, trips, parties and dances.
Marlene DeSavino spoke about the impact Project ASK has had on her son Paul, who is autistic.
“When it first started, Paul was pretty scattered, not focused, and very withdrawn. Whenever I couldn’t find him, all I had to do was look for the most far away place. At the track meet he’d be up in the highest seat up, the furthest away. He just didn’t participate,” she explained. “But Betty was amazing, she just included him, like she does with all the kids.”
“What it did was open up a whole other world. It really helped him get a sense of himself and to participate with his friends and be part of a team.”
While the lights of the sports arenas in Beijing have long since gone out, the roar of the crowds has quieted, and the Olympic and Paralympic athletes have been awarded their medals and gone home, there is a group of athletes still training and competing; many for whom just being part of a team means everything.
Megan Burrow's e-mail address is burrow@northjersey.com.
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