Fair Field County Business Daily

Why is leisure /recreational therapy so important?

I am trying to set up a leisure program for the mrdd population. I need to explain to my board of directors why it is important for this to happen for the clients I serve. I already know that self care, work, and leisure are what makes up a persons well balanced life, but how do I explain the importance of this so my clients can benefit?

Public Comments

1. probably mental ease to go with the prior stress the mind was subjected to.
2. Use ergonomic excerballs, theyre the best.
3. So you can have your own time to do what you want to. Its good to do that... =D
4. As you are already knowledgeable about therapy, it would be helpful for your clients to explain the benefits along these lines: Recreation Assessment The recreational therapy process begins with an individual assessment of your: Strengths, interests, and values Previous leisure activities and expectations Available resources in your home and community Social needs and relationships Economic and other potential problem areas in your participating in recreational and leisure activities, and Life-style adjustments necessary for healthy leisure functioning. Based on the assessment, you and the recreational therapist plan a program that builds on your abilities and either corrects problem areas or develops ways of coping with them. Therapeutic recreation involves several components in a continuum of developmental services. Individual Treatment Activities of interest to you are analyzed and broken down into components. The components are examined to determine how the activity would contribute to your treatment goals. And modifications in the activity are made to better support your physical, cognitive, and social goals - such as applying velcro to strengthen your grip or installing battery-operated switches Group Programs in the Hospital and Community Skills, such as dealing effectively in variable real-life situations, are learned and applied through enjoyable activities in a supportive, realistic environment - such as arts and crafts, games, shopping, movies, and sightseeing tours Interdisciplinary Programs Recreation, occupational, and physical therapists, together with nurses, staff interdisciplinary groups where goals for your successful reintegration into the community are planned by you, participated in, and processed to identify problem areas and successes - such as planning for, going to, and evaluating a trip to a museum. Wheelchair Sports Wheelchair sports, such as basketball, bowling, swimming, archery, table tennis, softball, etc. are taught and promoted. Outpatient Therapeutic Recreation Services Ongoing therapeutic recreation services to eliminate barriers to your participating in community recreation activities and self-satisfying leisure activities which enable you to develop social skills within a group structure, form new relationships with peers, and continue to improve your self-confidence and rehabilitation skills. Discharge Planning Agencies and services in the community are identified that can support your ongoing needs for recreational and leisure activities - such as special recreation associations, wheelchair sports organizations, accessible outdoor programs and facilities, continuing education programs, national support organizations, independent living centers, volunteer opportunities, etc.
5. I don't know if this will help you. It may actually be a bit too metaphysical for your BOD. There are six processes in nature. Every possible thing that occurs can be seen to be one of these processes. From the lowest process to the highest, they are: Crime, Disease, Corruption - this process will appear at all levels of existence. Diseased cells, diseased bodies, diseased minds, diseased societies. Elimination - all processes occur on all levels. A cell will remove material it no longer needs, a body, for example, plant or animal, will eliminate material IT can't use...plants dump Oxygen, animals remove nitrogen solid waste, CO2, etc. A detective, in attempting to solve a crime, eliminates theories that DON'T WORK. Or a student taking a multiple choice test. Eliminates the answers that don't work. You must find other examples. Growth - obvious Healing - also known as REcreation. The normal stress of existing begins to allow the process of Corruption, Disease to enter and HEALING must now take place. Without recreation, a person's mental capacity plummets. (for example, this would account for prisoners making pets of cockroaches and running them in "races" while in prison. ANYTHING for the crucial process of emotional healing.) This also links to the parable about "rendering to Caesar". Our bodies are "Caesar" and even if one is trying to lift their consciousness into another realm, they are doing it while in A BODY. And sometimes, you just need to listen to music. Or go see a movie. Or feed some ducks some old bread. Whatever. Refinement- take a restaurant, many examples. Food comes in from a delivery truck in bulk. The prep cook refines it to a certain level, the cook refines it further by cooking it, and also arranging it in a refined pattern on the plate. The customer further refines it on a personal level by chewing it, mixing it with digestive enzymes until it is small enough to be in the blood stream. Transmutation - something becomes greater than the sum of it's parts. On a physical level, this could be seen as the birth of a new life form. Two people come together and now there are three. (which makes you think. If heterosexuality it part of the process of transmutation, where would homosexuality fit in? Refinement? No. Healing? No;How? Growth? uh unh. Elimination? Nope. Gee. there's only one process left. CORRUPTION.) On the level of inner growth, a person might achieve a level of wisdom that is simply not available to ordinary consciousness. If any of the top five processes are blocked, then the process of corruption WILL occur. So that's it. The six processes of nature.
6. I am a para-pro working within a SPED unit. The teacher I work with develops this time to work on goals that are on the students IEP. For instance: Community skills are developed by getting out into the community and shopping for instance. Students will work on developing a list of people, a list of items, determining amount of money to be spent, shopping, checking out, wrapping gifts, etc. Social skills are developed by encouraging interaction of other students and faculty throughout the building. They may work in the cafeteria, or assist in an office. Anyway, you tie it to IEP goals that are not addressed by studying Math or Reading.