British-Bangladeshi autistic athlete wins gold in equestrian competition

A British-Bangladeshi autistic athlete has won a gold medal in the equestrian competition in the Special Olympic Great Britain National Games 2017.

A total of 2,600 athletes with intellectual disability took part in this event from all over the UK held in Sheffield on August 7-11. 

Thirty-year-old Nayeem Samad is an equestrian athlete and he won the gold medal in the dressage competition and bronze for horse care and knowledge.

“From his childhood, Nayeem showed an unusual interest in horses and took up horse riding through riding for the disabled clubs after we moved to England in November 2000,” his mother Dr Nahid Chowdhury told bdnews24.com from London.

Nayeem regularly competes in regional and local competitions. He also holds a level 1 diploma in Land-based Equine Studies, Chowdhury said.

Autism is used in general to describe a group of complex developmental brain problems – autism spectrum disorders – caused by a combination of genes and environmental influences.

It usually appears in the first three years of life and affects the brain's normal development of social and communication skills.

Those children cannot pick up self-care tasks – dressing, self-feeding, using the toilet and others – by watching and imitating. They do not make eye-to-eye contact and have a single-track thought process.

They show talents in a specific field, given opportunity. Chowdhury said her son’s passion is horses.

Experts advise parents to highlight their strengths to help them become successful in life.