SPORTS HAVE BEEN A SALVATION FOR LOCAL SPECIAL OLYMPICS ATHLETE
Georgian Grizzlies cross country runner Desiree Allen focuses on "you can" as opposed to "you can't"
From OrilliaMatters.com
Désirée Allen had always heard the words, "you can't."
But the Ramara resident has been changing those words to, "you can," for the last eight years as a Special Olympian.
Désirée and her twin brother were just over two-years-old when they were adopted by Hélène Deschenes-Allen and Tim Allen.
"We knew there was some learning disability, but it was difficult to figure what," said Deschenes-Allen. "We had to battle with the medical field until we had the opportunity to take them St. Michael's Hospital for an evaluation. The twins were assessed to have Alcohol-Related Neurological Disorder."
Prominent symptoms include problems with memory, slow cognitive or auditory functioning, difficulty in decision-making, developmental dysmaturity (the persistence of a pattern consistent with an earlier developmental stage), and different responses to stimuli, she explained.