VOA常速英语2007年-Disabled Girls Find New Destiny in Cheerleading

By June Soh
Washington
31 December 2007
 

Young people with special needs are often looked at differently. People see what they cannot do.

They often have few opportunities to play in sports or participate in social activities, and sometimes it is hard to make friends. As VOA's June Soh reports, some disabled girls are making friends and developing a sense of belonging by cheerleadering. Melinda Smith narrates¹ the story.

Announcer:  "Let's give a big welcome to the Dream Allstars' Destiny."

It is an exciting moment for the girls. These girls may not perform perfect cheerleading moves, but it is a proud moment for them.

They are Destiny, a team of cheerleaders with special needs [disabilities].

The girls, age seven to 15, are cheering at their first major sports event- a college basketball game at George Mason University in Virginia.

Parent Paula Kearney says initially² she had reservations about her daughter Clare participation³, but not anymore. "It has been very exciting. I wasn't sure how Clare was going to do. But she handled it very well. So I was pleased," she said. 

Paula Kearney's daughter, 13-year-old Clare, has autism and Down syndrome⁴.

The sport seems to be a perfect motivator, Kearney says, "It has been hard to find something that she can participate in. But the girls have welcomed her and opened (their) arms."

The Destiny team started about a year and a half ago after the mother of a girl with disabilities approached Andrea Needle, owner of Dream Allstars gym in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Needle says the gym is a labor⁵ of love, "Having children in cheerleading myself, I have seen the great benefits my kids have gotten from it in terms of their self-esteem, confidence and bonds of friendship they formed. So when I was approached about providing that to other children, I was absolutely thrilled to do it," she said. 

Since then a goodwill⁶ enterprise has formed. There is no cost for the families. Needle donates the gym space, time and uniforms for the children. The coach, Karen Mason, is donating her Saturday mornings too.

Needle adds, " A lot of the families with special needs kids really face financial hardship in caring for their children and their various therapies and medical costs."

The parents have noticed benefits that go beyond the gym. They say the experience has been life changing for the children. Parent Jennifer Zaranis adds, "My daughter, Tiffany had anti-depressants before she came here. She was really depressed⁷. Since she has been in this program and has built her self-esteem, she is much more happier now."

Parent, Jack⁸ Huntington, says it has created a social butterfly of his daughter Kylie. "Kylie was always on the sidelines asking when is her turn and when she can ever play and she gets to participate. Now it is something that is entirely⁹ Kylie's. And she is very happy about it," he said. 

The team is part of a growing grass-root effort to create more activities outside of school for children with physical and intellectual disabilities. The U.S. All Star Federation¹⁰, an umbrella organization for Cheer and Dance Teams, says special needs teams have more than doubled to 160 in 34 states across the nation in the past year.

"They are really nice to me that if I make a mistake they don't laugh at me. They are like, try again don't give up," says Tiffany Roberts, Developmental Disability and Epilepsy

As 12-year-old Tiffany Roberts discovered, the girls have found belonging and friendship, which the parents say has been missing in their lives.

And they say the best part of the program is creating a place for the children where they know they are accepted and loved.

1 narrates   

v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It narrates the unconstitutional acts of James II. 它历数了詹姆斯二世的违法行为。 来自辞典例句
• Chapter three narrates the economy activity which Jew return the Occident. 第三章讲述了犹太人重返西欧后的经济活动。 来自互联网

2 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

3 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

4 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

7 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

8 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

9 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

10 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。