‘Water is a place I truly call my home,’ NT Correspondent says ace swimmer Shamita

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Sliding through the placid waters of the swimming arena , Shamita U N has stroked her way to the top of the world with her two gold medals, a bronze at the National Special Olympics in 2014 and two gold medals at 2015 Paralympics.

Early in her childhood, Shamita was diagnosed with ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder at the age of three. It is an intellectual disorder that results in behaviours like impulsiveness, inattentiveness and restlessness. All these health issues make a person with ADHDslower and rather disconnected with the society’s morals and situations.

However, none of this has stopped the ace swimmer from winning two golds and a bronze at the National Special Olympics in 2014 and a two gold medals winner at the Paralympics in 2015. Her mother Ambika speaking to News Trail reporter said, Shamita lacked attention but had unlimited energy.

“We could not leave her for a minute and it was worse in social settings. Back in school, she found it hard to recognise people or what is being taught. After a year the school authorities asked us to get an assessment done by a psychiatrist and we found that she has learning disabilities.”

The doctor advised her to switch her school to a local Kannada school as she was finding it hard to cope with an English medium school. It was also because she was more familiar with her mother tongue. Her experience in the Kannada medium landed her with depression and anxiety due to the bullying and punishments she dealt with.

“We worked various methods to help her burn her energy, we got her to dance, learn music but alas in 2014 it was swimming that appealed to her,” Shamita’s mother said. Ambika who owned a business at the time had to shift her responsibilities to her husband and began focussing on her daughter’s problem.

The mother and daughter duo would wake up early mornings for the training sessions. After hours of training, she would drop her daughter to school. In this process Ambika also learned that dairy products are bad for her energy levels and that Ayurvedic treatment was more helpful for her child. Being a bookworm, she read any and everything that could help her child.

“I had to be there for her because no one else would. I had to associate with good and genuine people so my daughter can have the same standing as anyone else in this society. Today it makes me proud that she helps me manage my business.” Special Educator Krishna Ranganatha from Deepika Special School said, “The first step towards improvement is acceptance of the problem."

Krishna has worked with children ranging from a variety of issues - from language, speech, spelling, dyslexia, dysgraphia to ADHD. She and her team of 35 empathetic teachers have shaped the lives of many such special children. Shamitha too is an alumni of the institution.

For Shamita, water is a place she truly calls home. “We were very blessed to have such amazing coaches to teach her. For a child like her, grasping the swimming concepts took her six months. But in eight months she started appearing for National level competitions. ” said a happy mother.

“I love swimming, it makes me happy, it calms me down. It has also helped me develop skills which I use to fight my battles. I love managing work and helping my mother at the family restaurant,” said a shy and ever smiling Shamita.