LIFE, Leisure is for Everyone, is a training program for community recreation professionals that sensitizes them to the needs and abilities of persons with disabilities and provides them with the skills required to offer access to all programs and facilities. LIFE was originally funded through a grant from the Department of Education from 1985 to 1988. LIFE is designed as a workshop learning opportunity, and the materials have also been used for college and university classes, and as resources for persons interested in promoting access in community recreation programming.
LIFE: A New Direction, a training project funded by the Department of Education from 1988-1991, provided parents and teachers with information about the values and benefits of recreation and recreation’s role in the education process. A major goal of the project was to increase the inclusion of recreation as a related service on the Individual Education Plans of students with handicapping conditions. Training materials developed through the project are described below.
LIFE Resources: The LIFE Resource Manual has information on interacting with people who have disabilities, details about specific disabling conditions, a list of companies that distribute adaptive devices and equipment, and a checklist of accessibility design factors. ($10.50)
The Parent Training Guide to Recreation is a four-section compilation of resources designed for professionals who train parents of children with disabilities. College or university faculty in recreation administration, leisure services, or special education may also find this manual useful. Section 1 describes the importance of play and recreation to all persons. Section 2 provides information on recreation service delivery. The twenty three-minute videotape, "Can Molly Come out...and Play?" describes the benefits of recreation and illustrates three structured options for recreation service delivery. Section 3 offers suggestions for identifying recreation and leisure opportunities in the community and for gaining access to them. Section 4 includes resources for family recreation participation and provides information about adapted play and recreation equipment, camps, sports, and so forth. ($50.00)
The Community Reintegration Program, funded from 1987 to 1991 by the Rehabilitation Services Administration, US Department of Education, was implemented to enhance the quality of life for persons with disabilities. CRP provided transitional therapeutic recreation services to help recently hospitalized and other individuals with disabilities to attain independence in their home communities. Through the project, a leisure education program was developed and delivered by transitional therapeutic recreation specialists at two sites in North Carolina. Due to the effectiveness of the project, the Community Reintegration Program has been continued in North Carolina through the NC Independent Living Programs. Leisure education materials, and a Model Program that describes the operation of the Community Reintegration Program are outlined below.
Recreation - The Time of Your Life is a leisure education manual designed for participants in the Community Reintegration Program. The manual contains twelve units of instructions and exercises and is in loose-leaf notebook form so it can be easily edited, resequenced, or supplemented to fit specific needs. ($7.50)
The Community Reintegration Facilitator’s Guide is for therapeutic recreation specialists conducting leisure education programs for clients. This loose-leaf manual contains learning objectives and strategies and exercises to help clients accomplish each objective. It contains a suggested approach, a camera-ready brochure master to start the program, and a copy of Recreation - The Time of your Life. ($30.00)
The Wake Leisure Education Program: An Integral Part of Special Education. The effects of Leisure Education on the Transition of Youth with disabilities from Secondary Schools to Adult Life was a projected funded by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services, US Department of Education from 1988 to 1991. The grant involved both research and demonstration in cooperation with the Wake County School System in Raleigh, North Carolina. Through the project, a therapeutic recreation specialist provided leisure education sessions for high school seniors in classes for students with educable and trainable mental handicaps to determine the effects of leisure education on selected social and attitudinal dimensions of student's leisure awareness and participation. The model leisure education program, Wake Leisure Education Program: An Integral Part of Special Education is designed for teachers and recreation specialists. The resource contains introductory information on the need for leisure education in the schools, and suggestions and strategies for establishing a leisure education program. The "Leisure Education Curriculum" is organized into ten units, each with a goal, objectives, session outline, and suggestions for successful teaching. This resource also contains tolls and forms for students, sample assessment guides, IEPs (including leisure education objectives) and a summary of the results. ($20.00)
Learning to Play, Playing to Learn: Recreation as a Related Service. Offers information about the education of students with disabilities, as well as background information on recreation as a related service from P.L. 94-142 to I.D.E.A. The video provides you with experiential learning activities, discussion questions, and a handout prototype for your class. The education activities are fun and educational, and can be done in class or given as outside assignments. They are intended to help students become more aware of the importance of leisure in their lives as well as in the lives of their future students. ($25.00)
School-Community Leisure Link. The School-Community Leisure Link was a research and demonstration project funded by the office of Education from 1989-1992. The model program provides a comprehensive leisure education program within the school system, which includes structured training for students with disabilities and working with families and community agencies. The program enables students with disabilities to increase their independent leisure functioning at school, at home, and in the community, and eases their transition to adult life. A Therapeutic Recreation Specialist facilitates the leisure education in the classroom, conducts teacher training, designs and distributes newsletters and a summer leisure guide, consults with families, and works with community agencies to increase integrated opportunities. The projects materials include a comprehensive overview of the program and the process of delivering leisure education within the school system. The leisure education curriculum includes individual curriculum based measures tested by classroom teachers and the Decision Making in Leisure Model. ($70.00)