136 What are adaptive sports? Can you name some of them? One of the programmes of the Special Olympics movement is Unified Sports, which brings together athletes with and without intellectual disabilities in the same teams. To sum up, what are the differences between the Paralympic and the Special Olympic Games? SPORTS AND DISABILITY Sports and physical disability Sports have long been a powerful tool for promoting inclusion, health, and personal growth for people with physical disabilities. The development of assistive devices that help overcome physical impairments in order to adapt existing sports to disabled people has increased the opportunities for sports practice and competition. Adaptive sports are a way of showing the athletic abilities and resilience of people born with disabilities or who have had major injuries after an accident. The Paralympic Games The first competitions for physically impaired athletes took place in 1948 at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England. They were organised for the World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries hosted in the structure. This event, an archery competition for wheelchair athletes, marked the beginning of the Paralympic movement. The Stoke Mandeville Games were then held every year; in 1952 they became international. The 1960 edition, held alongside the Summer Olympics, is considered the first edition of the Paralympic Games. Since then, the Paralympics have evolved to include a wider range of sports and athletes with various disabilities, becoming a global sporting event. The event now includes athletes with ten different impairment types, such as visual impairment, limb deficiency, and severe coordination impairment. accomplishment: realizzazione archery: tiro con l arco impairment: menomazione 248 HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, AND CIVIC EDUCATION Sports and mental disability Sports offer a structured and supportive environment to people with mental disabilities, too. Team sports, for example, contribute to building self-esteem and confidence, giving individuals a sense of accomplishment and purpose. The routine and discipline of training can also help in managing anxiety and improving concentration. Special Olympics The Special Olympics is a global movement dedicated to providing sports training and competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. The movement was founded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the sister of the USA President John F. Kennedy, in the early 1960s, beginning with a summer day camp for children with intellectual disabilities at her home in Maryland. The first International Special Olympics Summer Games were held in Chicago in 1968. Special Olympics provide training and competition opportunities for millions of athletes all over the world, both in individual and team sports. The Special Olympics World Games, which alternate between summer and winter games, are held ever y two years .