This qualitative study was designed to understand parents' perceptions of their children's participation in an inclusive surf therapy programme in the United States. Ten parents and one caregiver were interviewed about theirs and their children's experience in the surf programme. Parent discussions centred on the child, parent/caregiver,…

Students in recreation programs are often introduced to laws that apply to therapeutic or community recreation services. Several of these laws have to do with policy regarding people who experience a disability. One important law is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In order for students to better understand the law and its…

Ultimately, all successful recreation programs center around its participants wants and needs. Serving people with disabilities is no exception. "Introduction to Recreation Services for People with Disabilities" is intended to be an introductory book for anyone planning or working in the parks, recreation, and leisure service industry. Through…

Slippery Rock University (SRU), located in western Pennsylvania, is one of 14 state-owned institutions of higher education in Pennsylvania. The university has a rich tradition of providing professional preparation programs in special education, therapeutic recreation, physical education, and physical therapy for individuals with disabilities.…

More than 400 children with a physical and/or mental challenge visit the Curacao Dolphin Therapy and Research Center (CDTC) for dolphin-assisted therapy every year. Dolphin therapy appears to be the right approach for many children. With the help of these special and very social animals, it is easier to make contact with the children. It motivates…

Describes how people with disabilities can benefit from working and playing in the water with dolphins, focusing on the many positive benefits of dolphin-assisted therapy and discussing several hypotheses about why dolphin-assisted therapy is so effective. The article describes two dolphin-assisted therapy programs and presents contact information…

This resource section provides (1) a directory of 58 recreation organizations serving the disabled that lists names, addresses, and telephone numbers, and (2) a directory of 18 camp guides that lists titles, addresses and telephone numbers of distributors and/or publishers, cost, and, for a few, annotations on sections directed at the disabled.…

Presents a sense-making process in defining health, particularly as related to people with chronic illness and disabilities, reviewing existing concepts of health, examining how people make sense of their disability and illness from an existential perspective, offering two concepts (life story and sense of coherence) relevant to this existential…

A parent describes her son's participation in Challenger Little League, a special division which allows children with disabilities to play competitive baseball. The division now has 560 leagues with an estimated 20,000 participants. (DB)

The paper examines the role of therapeutic recreation with disabled children. The underlying philosophy of the field is interpreted and its development from beginnings in World War II is reviewed. Three specific levels of services within a comprehensive model are delineated: therapy (to improve functional behavior through assessment, planning,…

The resource section provides a directory of 46 national recreation organizations which serve the disabled. Listings include organization name, address, a phone number, and a brief description of services. (DB)

Examined the extent to which schools were utilizing therapeutic recreation as a related service. Surveys of recreation therapists indicated they were employed by public school systems, primarily worked with students with emotional and behavioral disabilities or multiple disabilities in self-contained classrooms, mainly provided leisure education,…

Reviews the major approaches used by social scientists to measure daily experiences, including interval-contingent, signal- contingent, and event-contingent methods. Examples of how these methods have been used in therapeutic recreation and leisure research are provided. The unique challenges and issues of measuring the daily experiences of…

Presents a rationale for using single-subject research designs to examine the effects of therapeutic recreation (TR), offering a description of single-subject research designs, examining research requirements, explaining data analysis through visual inspection, presenting examples of single-subject research designs, and concluding that this…

Therapeutic recreation is a means of empowering individuals with disabilities through arts or sports. The field has developed differently in the United States and the United Kingdom; the former emphasizes professionalization and the latter the right to adult education. (SK)