Amanda is a 37-year-old woman with Down Syndrome. She participated in many activities pre-COVID, including Special Olympics, bowling league, Bournelyf Special Camp, and LiveUp. She has been swimming with Special Olympics since she was eight-years-old; her best stroke is the butterfly. She has worked at AMC Theatres for 15 years as a ticket taker and at Chick-fil-A for 3 years as a dining room assistant. She was in MTV’s reality show “Bam’s Unholy Union” as the sister of Missy Rothstein.

“I want to see my friends again.”

Amanda: I want to see my friends again.

Vera: You want to see your friends again? Yeah, I think that’s pretty much what everyone feels they want to see their friends again. I just want to give you guys all a great big hug.

Amanda: I did bocce. I want to go back to that. And Swimming.

Vera: You want to go back to bocce? Yeah, yeah, is there anything else you’re missing?

Amanda: And swimming, too.

Vera: Swimming? That’s right. You swim from Special Olympics so that’s another sport thing.

Marion: She misses the dances she said.

Amanda: I missed Penn State.

Marion: Yeah, she missed her Penn State trip for swimming. She usually makes that. You have to gold medal in a prerequisite meet and then she would go to Penn State and they canceled all that. And sports camp. They go away in August for a week.

Amanda: Oh, yeah. I used to go to New York.

Vera: Ohh, you travel way more than I do!

Amanda: Yeah, I was in New York City to see the play.

Vera: Okay, Is there anything else I’m, that you want to tell me that you’re missing or anything else that you want to talk about with COVID?

Amanda: Oh yeah there’s one more thing. In Philly, at The Academy, I can’t see the shows.

Vera: Oh in Philly, you wanted to go see the shows?

Amanda: Yes.

Marion: Yeah, we used to go to the Academy of Music.

Vera: And you missed that?

Amanda: I love that.

Marion: We used to go every month.