Sharita Taylor, 26, is proud of what she has achieved so far in life. In the beginning, doctors did not have high expectations for her.
EDITOR'S NOTE: As Sharita Taylor, 26, represents Team USA at the Special Olympics, we are updating and sharing this profile first published in February.
“They said I wasn’t going to be able to talk normally,” she explained. “Like do anything that I am doing now. Look at me. I am standing on my own two feet.
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Sharita is doing much more than standing on her feet, she is skating on them, too. The level five skater is autistic. Currently, she is competing at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria. She was the only athlete from Ohio invited.
WATCH: Sharita talks with ABC's Robin Roberts about "the biggest fun yet"
“I looked and my jaw just dropped on the floor and I looked and was like ‘Oh Wow! What?’” Sharita said of her reaction to the invitation to the games.
But Sharita is not the only one in her family with skills on the ice. Her fraternal twin sister, Shaye, is also a figure skater.
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“Some people might say we are Serena and Venus Williams of figure skating,” Sharita said with a smile.
In the case of the Winter World Games, only Sharita was invited to compete but Shaye is fully supportive.
“I have unconditional love for her and I am very proud of her and with Austria coming I will be sitting in the stands cheering her on,” Shaye explained.
However, regardless of who takes the ice, it is clear they are both champions for Special Olympics athletes.
“Be yourself and don’t let anyone tell you, you can’t achieve your dreams, because I know you can do it,” Shaye said.
“My dreams is for people to seem me in a whole different light, see me and my sister, my friends from Special Olympics in a different light,” Sharita said. “We are not just people with disabilities, we can turn it into abilities.”
Sharita and Shaye skate through Trinity Special Olympics Training Program. For more information click here.
