RECREATION SKILLS

Table 13-5 Participants Access to Materials and resources

Amount and types of materials available
What toys, games, or other recreational materials/equipment are available to the participant at home,
school, or work environment?
Can recreation materials/equipment be borrowed by community agencies (e.g., public library, university
curriculum center)?
Are funds available in the home, school, or work environment to purchase additional recreation
equipment?
Does the participant have access to a record player, radio, or other equipment for musical enjoyment?

Proximity and physical design of community recreation opportunities and ease of transportation
Are leisure service agencies offering recreation opportunities to special populations?
Is the participant making use of the recreation service that are readily available in the community?
Can the participant utilize nonadapted playground equipment?
How close is the local park and playground to the participants home?
Is activity for the participant in the community recreation program significantly hampered because of
architectural or attitudinal barriers, or lack of appropriate programming?
Is adequate transportation available for the participant to get to utilize community recreation facilities?

Availability of skilled recreational personnel

Are the community recreation personnel working within the community to facilitate participation of
persons with special needs?
Is the trained recreation consultant/staff available to help develop programs for special populations?

Presence of siblings or other relatives in the home, the type of home, and the attitude of other home
members will greatly influence variety and independence of leisure activities engaged in.
Location of the home will also affect the selection process. Urban living presents different problems
from those in sparsely populated rural areas. Sensitivity of local communities and neighborhood
members to handicapped persons will also be reflected in the amount of funds which are appropriated
for therapeutic recreation programming. Table 13-6 is a checklist of factors to consider in evaluating the
home environment for leisure-skills selection.

The willingness of parents and other family members to follow through on the school training programs
is important as well. Marchant and Wehman (in press) found that demonstration and behavior rehearsal
with a foster mother of a severely retarded child was instrumental in generalizing table game skills from
the classroom to the home. The example of parent-professional partnership is vital to maintenance of a
leisure-activities repertoire in severely handicapped individuals.

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Table 13-6 Participant's Home Environment

The participant lives with
Relationships and ages of other persons in home

How does the participant utilize his free time at home?

Does the participant utilize his leisure time independently or with assistance in the home?
What leisure activities and interests are enjoyed by others in the home?
How many hours per day do housemates /siblings spend with the participant?
Do housemates have any natural talents (e.g., athletics, musical ability) or learned talents (e.g., cooking,
tools)?
How is the participant perceived by him- or herself and by family members?
What are the present attitudes toward recreation and leisure held by the participants family members?
Does the participant reside in an urban or rural area?
What is the general attitude of the neighborhood toward integration of handicapped persons into
community programs?
Does the participant interact with others in the neighborhood?

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES AND LESSON PLANS

Toy Play
One part of the recreational inventory outlined in the back of this chapter involves toy play. This is an
area which reflects cognitive, motor, and social development in children (Piaget, 1951), and may provide
an effective medium for assessing the general level of functioning of handicapped children. The way in
which children interact with toys and other peers in a free-play situation may provide a gross profile of
the child's skill level. For example, in clinical situations a number of behavioral indices may be evaluated,
thereby providing observational data on the child's exploratory behavior, relationship to parents and

peers, language, cognitive development, and persistence. Preferred toys can also be evaluated as
potential reinforcers.

Toy Play Objectives

Selection of relevant toy play objectives is important because it may be possible to accelerate collateral
skills in the child's repertoire, such as fine motor skills (Bradtke, Rosenblatt, & Kirpatrick. 1972). Three
objectives are provided below.
1 Given a set of different-sized blocks, the child will identify and arrange at least 10 different formations
within a 30-day period
2 Given a dollhouse, the child will demonstrate how to open and close the doors of the house and how
to place different dolls in the rooms of the dollhouse for 4 out of 5 consecutive days.