Parents' Guide to Swim Team

One of the most touching moments in SWIM TEAM -- a heartfelt documentary about a swim team whose members are all teenagers and young adults with autism -- comes early on. "I'm not like other teenagers," Mikey McQuay tells the filmmakers. "I'm autistic. When I'm swimming, I feel normal." Many of the featured kids' parents had heard from doctors that their children would never speak, never mind swim competitively. This movie is a tribute to the swimmers' grit and determination to overcome their challenges and fears, as well as to their parents, most of whom suddenly found themselves required to become instant experts on autism, occupational therapy and training, and exercising monumental patience and serenity in order to help their children negotiate life (not to mention the public school system). Standing out among these dedicated moms and dads is Mike McQuay who, with his wife Maria, formed the New Jersey Hammerheads, a swim team for kids like Mikey. They reasoned that if kids with autism could learn to swim and compete, surely they could learn many other important life skills. The love, nurturing, and encouragement that McQuay shows his team members are beyond exemplary. All audiences will marvel at his unflagging advocacy and support for the swimmers. He believes in them, so they believe in themselves -- which may be why, in their first year of competition, the Hammerheads took first place in New Jersey's state summer games.