An arena was set up by ADD (Sports Association for the Disabled) at this year's Reatech 2023 to host institutions interested in promoting sports modalities for people with disabilities. The space hosted the Down syndrome futsal, wheelchair basketball and rugby, Paralympic volleyball, table tennis, martial arts, Paralympic boccia, and track and field teams.
ADD is an entity that has been in the market for 27 years. Without educational purposes, the institution has the mission of providing social inclusion for people with disabilities through sports.
“Currently, we serve 260 school-age children and adolescents in our adapted sports initiation program. Adults are integrated into high-performance programs to represent Brazil in international competitions, Paralympics, and world championships in sports such as basketball, volleyball, paralympic boccia, and table tennis, explains Sileno Santos, general director of ADD.
The director points out that, currently, there is a high demand for sports by people with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and other intellectual disabilities. “We are also developing specific programs, since this is an audience with very distinct characteristics. So we serve people with physical, visual, and intellectual disabilities. And today the largest number of people are those with Down Syndrome and ASD,” he concludes.
