Becky Freidman jumps. She lands triumphantly. For her efforts, she earns a second place in the Standing Long Jump at the Special Olympics held at Pleasant Valley High School's stadium. Her smile is mile-wide. Her pride is reflected in her family's faces as they congratulate her and shower her with praise.

But Becky is already eager to move on to her next event and takes off with her PV "buddy."Her mother, Fidelia Freeman of Saylorsburg, is somewhat emotional."She went from not walking to this," she says of her 16-year-old PVHS ninth grade daughter."I think the Special Olympics is wonderful. It helps those of us who take everything for granted to see what takes months and years for others to accomplish, like Becky. She couldn't walk until she was four years old and now here she is jumping."When Becky was born, she was labeled "failure to thrive". She was fed through a enteral tube until she was one years old and a feeding tube was surgically inserted. She began eating solid foods when she was five. Becky was diagnosed with 18q-syndrome which results from a deletion of part of chromosome 18. However, the size of the deletion is not consistent, and so varying numbers of genes can be lost (up to 500). In some cases, it appears that only some of the cells in the body carry the deletion. Both of these factors can lead to large differences in the severity and symptoms of 18q-syndrome.Mrs. Freeman says Becky has some speech and hand coordination problems but does well academically and is on the honor roll. She loves math and ice hockey."I tried ice skating and I didn't do very well and I didn't want to continue but Becky said, "No Mama, we don't quit."Becky loves playing ice hockey so much that her father, Douglas, drives her 1 1/2 hours each way so she can play for the Admirals of Bucks County, a special needs ice hockey team."How can we not?" asks her mom. "To us, Becky is amazing."It would take more space than allowed here to report on all the 325 amazing young people who participated in the Special Olympics. Each one is unique. And each one has a story. Just like Becky.