Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Brent Hooper trains at the Bellarmine College Preparatory track.

Shattering Stereotypes

Saratogan and Special Olympian Brent Hooper prepares for independence

By Mary Ann Cook

Saratogan Brent Hooper has been participating in Special Olympics events since he was 5--that's 15 years of track and field, swimming, tennis and basketball and a shoebox full of awards, including a first place in the 200-meter dash.

When "B," as he's known to his classmates, runs a dash, he may stop and help a fallen athlete or barrel right through the competition. B's disability has never been diagnosed, and his progress through life has been slow and every achievement hard-won, requiring endless patience and repetition.

His command of language is limited to a handful of words, "cool" being a crucial one. Communication is very hard and very frustrating. He understands and is able to respond to much more than he is able to express for himself, says his mother, Kathy Hooper.

Despite these frustrations, Brent is good-natured and very sociable. Mary Burson, area director of Santa Clara County Special Olympics, remarks on "his great enthusiasm, his loving heart and a beautiful smile that touches you."

Because Brent's gross motor skills are good and his small motor skills are not so good, the emphasis for Brent's activities has been on sports. Sports also serve as an indicator of his progress. After eight years of snow skiing, he buckled on his own ski boots for the first time this winter, his mother says.

The Hoopers are an athletic family. Father Dana is in marketing for telecommunications, and the other offspring are 17-year-old twins Carolyn and Tyler, who will be seniors at Saratoga High School this fall.

Brent takes part in the family athletics, and adjustments are made. When he bikes, it's on a bicycle built for two. He's ridden over Golden Gate Bridge twice. When he golfs, he rides in the cart and helps find errant balls.

Brent loves live theater, especially musicals. "He gets so wrapped up in it, he chafes when there's an intermission," his mother says. On the other hand, TV doesn't capture his attention at all, unless there's a sporting event on.

Brent is one of the most avid fans at Saratoga High's football and baseball games and often sits with his friend, coach Mike Machado, who is his aide in his classroom. Brent has been appointed unofficial assistant manager for the football and baseball teams and is pictured in team photos. His brother, Tyler, is wide receiver on the Saratoga team; sister Carolyn is on the high school tennis team.

In many other ways, Brent does the things all high school students do. He craves speed, riding the scariest rides at Paramount's Great America amusement park. He goes camping and houseboating with his family. He regularly visits both grandmothers on the East Coast, has been to Europe and goes to the YMCA. He was the first disabled student to receive the sacraments of first communion and confirmation at Sacred Heart Church in Saratoga. And he was in a Boy Scout troop.

He also attends dances put on three times a year by Family Teams for Special Olympians--one on Valentine's Day, one on Halloween and one in June. Family Teams often holds a Christmas party as well.

This spring, Brent went to the Saratoga High School senior prom in San Francisco with his date, Rachel Saenger, a member of his class. He graduated from Saratoga High in June, and partied afterward with classmates and family at a Saratoga restaurant. Brent, who is 20, took classes at Saratoga High for five years.

As part of his classwork at Saratoga High School, Brent held down a job at the Payless Store at Prospect Road and Lawrence Expressway, watering plants in the gardening section.

His supervisor was Judy Kupfer, a student teacher from SJSU who assisted his class. Every week, she sent his family a written report of his progress and wrapped up her internship with a small photo album of his work. The gardening stint included a break and a paycheck.

To qualify for competition, Special Olympians are required to attend more than 50 percent of the practice sessions offered. Practices are held twice a week over a two- to three-month period. Athletes must submit a medical report before participating in an event.

The events are broken down into different components for different skill levels. For instance, the goal in tennis may be to hit a tennis ball over the net a prescribed number of times, rather than playing with an opponent on the other side of the net.

In the classroom, Brent had a full-time aide to assist him, and his classwork was tailored for his skill level. One requirement the special-education teacher demands of the class of nine students is that they participate in one social event a week involving another classmate. Such activities include going to the movies, going out for pizza or horseback riding, since one of Brent's friends owns a horse.

"Brent has become a standard for me to use," says his teacher Holly Wade. He has become a lot more independent, Wade adds, more self-directed. He can do things on his own--get breakfast going if he needs to. He can communicate his wants, thanks to the incredible family and community support he gets.

"Brent is outgoing and has so many interests. He has tons of friends. Everybody knows him. He's intuitive, has an incredible memory. He has built a support network for himself, despite the fact that it's difficult for him to express himself. Not being able to speak isn't the same as not having anything to say. We're here to figure out how to help him get it out. Brent is an example of the strength of our [special education program at Saratoga High]," Wade says.

Perhaps the hardest demand on a special-education parent--besides the endless patience--is being able to let go. "You can imagine my feelings, watching him get on the Outreach bus for the first time this fall, being taken to school. Knowing he can't be understood, afraid he'd get lost or try to come home," Kathy says.

"But it hasn't happened. Well, he's probably gotten lost, but people help him."

Another worry for Kathy is that he buys his own lunch. Since Brent is slim, having an appropriate meal is a concern. As with teens everywhere, junk foods hold the most appeal.

In the fall, Brent will attend special classes at West Valley College and will live independently of his family with the help of a support staff. Amy Obenour, his athletic trainer at school, is one who will be living with him.

"She can get him to function at a higher level than I can. If he doesn't try for the right words, she doesn't give in. 'I don't understand you,' she'll say and not relent until he comes up with the words that tell what he wants," Kathy says.

The latest thinking in working with the disabled is to help them become as independent as possible. Living apart from his family is one step in that direction for Brent.

"He's learned everything he has to learn here," Wade says. "Going on overnights without his mother showed he could do it. Living independently, going to West Valley is where he belongs."

"They flourish when they live independently of their families," Kathy says. "The thing to remember [in being a special-needs parent] is never give up. Who would ever have thought Brent would live in his own house, for example?"

"Brent is a real asset to our community in overcoming the stereotype of a student with limited speech," Wade says. "He's helped the community gain a new understanding of special students."

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