Special Olympics

The special Olympics was founded in 1968 by Eunice Shriver, it was created to "provide people with mental disabilities opportunities to develop their physical fitness, demonstrate courage, and experience joy and friendship through sport." The first special Olympics attracted only 1,000 atheltes, but it has dramtaically expanded over the years, and in 2003 more than 7,000 athltetes competed. In addition to the numbers of participants exapnding attitudes from particular countires have changed about the Special Olpympics. For example, China used to be a country where if a person was born with an intellectual disablity it was considered a punishement from wrong doings in a previous life, and in some cases it was suggested for parents to kill their babies. China has transformed, within the past seven years China has helped over 700,000 athteles with intellectual disablities. The Special Olympics can transform your life. For example, a girl named Zhang Xinhui deveopled a serious illness that left her with a mental disablity. She became withdrawn from her peers, and her parents didn't know what to do. They turned to the Special Olympics for answers, and Zhang discovered a passion for table tennis. She has won two gold medals, and in 2007 she she participated in the Special Olympics East Asia Athlete Leadership Program training course and later became a torch carrier in Japan and Korea. Zhang is one example of how the SPecial Olympics can change families, and give new hope.
Alexis Whalen 332i sec 02
http://www.specialolympics.org/china.aspx