Recreation Therapy which is, also known as therapeutic recreation, is a process that makes utilisation of recreation, leisure and other interventions of activities that address the needs of people with ailments or disabilities. This is done as a means of addressing psychological as well as physical health, well-being and recovery. According to Robinson (2020), there are emotional benefits of encouraging recreation among young people and children with disabilities which enables children to feel confident about their appearance. Recreation therapy makes use of leisure activities, and the implementation of various activities enables the reduction of depression, anxiety and stress along with recovery of some basic mental as well as physical abilities. Recreation therapy helps in building up confidence among individuals, and with the help of the same, people can effectively socialise. Recreation therapy also uses interventions like art and craft, dance, playing sports and helping out parents.
The purpose of this report is to evaluate the reasons why the appointment of a recreation therapist is beneficial for any community organisation. The report encompasses how a recreation therapist can fit within a community while facing some barriers during recruitment. Some possible solutions to overcome the barriers of hiring a recreation therapist will also be discussed in the report.
Autism Ontario is a non-profit charitable organisation that was established about 49 years ago to represent thousands of people who belong to the spectrum of Autism throughout Ontario. The program or organisation was started by a group of parents who were seeking to establish support and education for their children. The charity has now grown into an entity called Kerry’s Place Autism Services which offers a residential program on a community basis to both adults as well as adolescents who are suffering from Autism in the Central and Southeastern part of the province. The main aim of Autism Ontario is to advocate and support all autistic individuals across the province irrespective of their race, ethnicity, religion, income, sexual identity or nationality (“About Us | Autism Ontario”, 2022). This organisation provides a lot of referral and information on Autism and hence is one of the collective voices that represent the community of Autism. It covers seven regions throughout the province.
The legal name of Autism Ontario is Autism Society Ontario. Until 1973, various families were compelled to institutionalise their kids since there were no proper education and treatment programs available. After the incorporation of the organisation, there has been a spurt in the research regarding the treatment along with the causes of Autism, which ultimately led to the development of community-based services and education for the people who were suffering from Autism (“Our History | Autism Ontario”, 2022). The organisation also raised funds for the residential program along with educational programs. The provinces served under this charity is Novo Scotia, British Columbia, Alberta, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Autism Ontario committedly connects with the entire community that is very diverse and is strictly against any kind of hatred that prevails in the community. The recent activities and events which have occurred have reflected that there is some need of creating an inclusive, safe and creative community (Flint et al., 2017). Autism Ontario provides and conducts workshops that are culturally relevant along with events such as music programs and attending support groups. Sometimes recreational sports such as soccer and volleyball are arranged with the help of partnerships that are meaningful with some of the grassroots organisations who are leaders holding a steadfast position in upholding the conditions of the community.
Some of the institutions might ask for a bachelor’s degree in Special Education for handling patients with Autism, but most organisations hiring staff look for a candidate with a master’s degree (Ferguson et al., 2021). Autism Ontario hires specialists who have obtained a certificate from the Behaviour Analyst Certification Board. Professionally workers must possess experience of 2-3 years working in the same field handling any kind of social work associated with behavioural changes. The organisation looks for employees with a post-graduate degree in Social Work as well (“Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder”, 2022). Apart from this, speech, as well as language therapists, are also employed for assistance to individuals who face similar problems.
Recreation therapists use different forms of games and recreation as means of treatment and modalities to bring about comfort from illness and disabilities (Genoe et al., 2021). Recreation therapy in the form of drama and art therapy, equine therapy, aquatics or music therapy can benefit the population of Autism in a proficient way. Hence recreation therapists can utilise these elements to bring about improvement in the life of these individuals (Austin et al., 2020). Recreation therapists conduct sessions that are focused upon some of the specific goals, which are aimed at the achievement of a plethora of social, physical as well as emotional goals, thereby enabling the patients with Autism to indulge in recreational activities and inculcate their interests while capitalising on the strengths. Some of the benefits of hiring a recreational therapist by Autism Ontario can be enlisted as follows:
Firstly, there is a huge lack of information available about therapeutic recreation, and hence it is almost impossible to convince stakeholders to pay another set of employees in a community organisation such as Autism Ontario. The lack of information leads to the creation of a vague picture about these professionals. They find recreation therapists to be of just playful nature who play with clients by being diversionary and find such a professional to be very unimportant to be hired (MacKinnon, 2022). What recreation therapists actually do is rehearse along with clients about their feelings, actions, movements and attitudes, which might have been dealt with or within themselves or other people when they are leaving the facility. This time of rehearsal or training is problematic often.
Secondly, the preparation required for professional entry as recreation therapy. This problem is very hard to consider. When this profession is adequately needed to be represented, the entering personnel is supposed to have a broad-based knowledge of skills since it is necessary to execute all the functions as they are required (Kemeny et al., 2020). The functions which are required in a therapeutic recreation setting are basically the programming of activities as well as interventions depending on the goals as well as objectives.
The issue of programming time considered while hiring recreation therapists can be addressed by in-service training at the local level. This can be done by providing information from the professional bodies by the therapist for doing the best work of profession that is possible. However, a lot of information must be gathered which is appropriate. The appointment of a well-trained professional recreation therapist will form a legacy that is far more effective than the superficial information which is obtained (Kensinger, 2019). At the national level, bridges have to be built between professional bodies that are comparable.
Various community organisations and the government can actively provide education to the autistic community through posters, campaigns, pamphlets and other professional areas. Awareness programs have to be implemented on a continuous basis till the time people get proper knowledge and information on therapeutic recreation at a professional level (Jones et al., 2019). This indicates that recreation therapists must be able to interact freely about their profession with patient parties before delivering intervention measures to them. Recreation therapists must work in groups as much as possible. This would include direct facilitation of groups but not planning of activities which is team-oriented. Increasing the availability of opportunities in the job market, which are quality opportunities in a given area, is another way that challenges the hiring of recreation therapists.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that a community organisation such as Autism Ontario will benefit in a number of ways by hiring a recreation therapist. The benefits will be reflected in the form of comprehensive care to the patients who seek help for recovering from Autism and associated disorders. The organisation will need to hire experts who are efficient and experienced who can render developmental and behavioural transformation through leisure and recreation. The benefits of hiring recreation therapists have been evaluated in a detailed manner so that the organisation can get a clear picture of why they should hire a recreation therapist. It has been understood that recreation therapists are responsible professionals who will take care of the autistic population to give them a better life. If the barriers to hiring such professionals can be overcome through the spreading of awareness, there will be a marked development in the betterment of this community of autistic individuals.
Reference List
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Austin, D. R., Crawford, M. E., McCormick, B. P., & Van Puymbroeck, M. (2020). Recreational therapy: An introduction. Sagamore Publishing, LLC. https://www.sagamorepub.com/sites/default/files/2020-06/lookinside_0.pdf
Carter, M. J., & Van Andel, G. E. (2019). Therapeutic recreation: A practical approach. Waveland press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=TOmaDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR3&dq=The+benefit+of+the+population+by+hiring+a+Recreation+Therapist+&ots=PF661Acaqw&sig=xo4qdv2ylemkRC61vwvV4W-DLFA
Cooper, K., Smith, L. G., & Russell, A. (2017). Social identity, self?esteem, and mental health in Autism. European Journal of Social Psychology, 47(7), 844-854. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2297
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Ferguson, R., McCaffery, F., Maguire, K., Nugent, M., & Tynan, F. (2021). The development of a partnership to provide an accredited qualification in Autism and its evaluation. Good Autism Practice (GAP), 22(2), 44-50. https://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/bild/gap/2021/00000022/00000002/art00007
Flint, S. W., Lam, M. H. S., Chow, B., Lee, K. Y., Li, W. H. C., Ho, E., … & Yung, N. K. F. (2017). A systematic review of recreation therapy for depression in older adults. Journal of Psychology and Psychotherapy, 7(2). DOI: 10.4172/2161-0487.1000298
Genoe, M. R., Cripps, D., Park, K., Nelson, S., Ostryzniuk, L., & Boser, D. (2021). Meanings of therapeutic recreation: Professionals’ perspectives. Leisure/Loisir, 45(1), 35-51. https://doi.org/10.1080/14927713.2021.1872411
Jones, D. R. (2018). Bending the curve: the importance of expertise. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, 105(5), 1287-1293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.athoracsur.2018.01.040
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Kemeny, B., Fawber, H., Finegan, J., & Marcinko, D. (2020). Recreational Therapy: Implications for Life Care Planning. Journal of Life Care Planning, 18(4), 35-58. https://www.proquest.com/openview/c7fdf098a01c48cf31b0fc570b0e4092/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=5107878
Kensinger, K. (2019). Recreational Therapy. In Handbook of Interdisciplinary Treatments for Autism Spectrum Disorder (pp. 397-403). Springer, Cham. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-13027-5_21
MacKinnon, A. (2022). Therapeutic Recreation Resources for recreation therapy, recreational therapy, and activity directors.. Recreationtherapy.com. Retrieved 25 March 2022, from https://www.recreationtherapy.com/articles/challg.htm.
Our History | Autism Ontario. Autismontario.com. (2022). Retrieved 25 March 2022, from https://www.autismontario.com/about-us/our-history#:~:text=The%20Ontario%20Society%20for%20Autistic,support%20services%20for%20their%20children.
Robinson, D. (2020). Advancing inclusive participation of children and young people with disabilities in community leisure and recreation (Doctoral dissertation, Bournemouth University). https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/34544/1/ROBINSON%2C%20Daisy_M.Phil._2019_redacted.pdf
Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Edu.gov.on.ca. (2022). Retrieved 25 March 2022, from https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/autism.html.
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