Hoopapalooza!

In last week's class we learned about hula hooping and were able to each make our own hula hoop using PVC pipe, a connector, and duct tape!  What I learned from this class that will help my professional development is all of the benefits that hula hooping offers (physical exercise, community building, self-expression, etc.)!  What I learned about myself was that sometimes I get very focused on the individual parts of a project (i.e. finding the perfect colors of tape) that I can miss enjoying the whole process.  What I did to strive for excellence during this class was to let go of being afraid if I looked silly hula hooping and just have fun!  Since this class, I have begun hula hooping on my own for exercise and have set a 20 minute non-stop record for myself! :)      

My class proudly displaying our newly made hula hoops!

Beta Fish Therapy

Activity:  Beta Fish Therapy

Target Participant Group: Individuals in the hospital

Therapeutic potential of this activity:

• Decrease symptoms of depression
• Provide opportunity to reminisce
• Decrease blood pressure

What other groups may benefit from this activity? 

• Individuals in nursing homes
• Individuals with mental illness

What groups may not be as appropriate for this activity?

• Individuals with severe animal phobias

Activity description:

   In this activity, single Beta fish are brought to patients’ rooms as a form of animal therapy.  Depending on the level of patient interest and ability, the therapy can be as simple as just having the patient enjoy looking at the fish, or may be more involved in that the fish can be trained to eat out of people’s hands! Beta fish are also attracted to colors and therefore may be “played” with if the patient is given different colored objects.     

Resources needed:

• Medium sized glass bowl
• Beta fish
• Aquarium plant
• Aquarium rock
• Water treatment products (stresscoat water conditioner, aquarium salt, and aquarisol drops)
• Tank transportation (e.g. cart)
• Colorful objects

Best leadership style for this activity?

   Leaders should have good social interaction skills and the ability to engage patients in therapeutic conversation, but also be able to step back and let the interaction between the patient and the animal be therapeutic in and of itself.

Where did I find this activity?

   Activity information was found at http://www.recreationtherapy.com/tx/animalassisted.htm and provided by Methodist Healthcare’s Rebecca Neeley.  Photo found at http://www.bettafishguru.com/images/bettafish.jpg.

Where can others find more information on this activity?

   For more information on animal assisted therapy visit http://www.animaltherapy.net/Premise%20%26%20Promise.html.

Autobiographical Writing

Activity:  Autobiographical Writing

Target Participant Group:  Assisted living/nursing home residents

Therapeutic potential of this activity:

·         Provide opportunity for self-awareness

·         Provide opportunity for self-acceptance

·         Provide opportunity for healthy expression of emotions

·         Provide opportunity to build self-esteem

·         Provide opportunity to reminisce

·         Provide opportunity for participants to practice empathy

What other groups may benefit from this activity?

• Individuals who have experienced trauma (with knowledgeable facilitator only)
• Individuals who have difficulty expressing emotions
• Individuals who would like to expand their creative writing skills
• Individuals with dementia

What groups may not be as appropriate for this activity?

• Individuals who are too young to read and write

Activity description:

   Autobiographical writing can be facilitated in a group setting or on an individual basis.  Often, it is helpful for facilitators to have pre-selected suggested writing topics in order to help participants have a place to start their writing (i.e. family, job, hobbies, etc.)  Other methods, however, might be to use photo albums of the participants in order to give them some more flexible writing topic ideas.  A useful format for autobiographical writing programs is to have weekly group sessions where participants can brainstorm as well as share the stories they wrote throughout that week based off of the ideas given in the group session.  If desired, facilitators can offer to word process participants’ stories for them to have an easily readable copy for their families. 

Resources needed:

• Paper
• Pencil
• Word processor
• Group meeting room
• Creativity

Best leadership style for this activity?

   The best leadership style for this activity is one that provides enough structure for participants to get started but enough freedom so that participants can truly be creative and express themselves how they best see fit.

Where did I find this activity?

   Activity information was found in an article by Nancy Richeson, Ph.D., CTRS, called Autobiographical Writing:  An Innovative Therapeutic Recreation Intervention at http://www.recreationtherapy.com/articles/autobiographical.htm.  Photo found at http://www.gcrweb.com/HeartDSS/photos/old-people-reading-copy.jpg.

Where can others find more information on this activity?

   For more information about autobiographical writing go to http://www.storyhelp.com/autotypes.html.  This is a great website by the Center for Autobiographic Studies with information on types of autobiographies as well as links to purchase other individuals' stories. 

Adapted Bungee Jumping!

Activity:  Adapted Bungee Jumping

Target Participant Group:  People using wheelchairs

Whistler Bungee Jumping Location

Therapeutic potential of this activity: 

• Provide a sense of normalcy
• Provide opportunity for life enjoyment
• Provide a sense of mastery upon completion 
• Provide opportunity to increase one’s social circle
• Serve as a healthy outlet for individuals who are addicted to unhealthy risk taking behaviors
• Provide trust building opportunity

What other groups may benefit from this activity?

• Individuals at risk (chronically engage in unhealthy risk taking behaviors)
• Wounded warriors
• Individuals with hearing impairments
• Individuals with visual impairments

What groups may not be as appropriate for this activity?

• Individuals with heart conditions
• Individuals with no fine motor control (necessary for self-attachment of retrieval line if jumping solo)

Activity description:

     Depending on individual physical needs and/or preferences, bungee jumpers can jump several different ways by having the cord attached to their person at different locations.  Options include the chest/waist, ankle, tandem (pairs), or in a wheelchair!  Where the cord is attached will affect the jumping experience (i.e. being attached at the chest/waist will minimize the amount of going headfirst).  Wheelchairs are harnessed in such a way as to prevent any damage.  The type of cord used will be determined by where it will be attached, as well as the weight of the bungee jumper.  All participants (or their parent/ guardian) must sign a waiver before the activity.        

Man in a wheelchair bungee jumping!

Resources needed:

·         Bungee cords

·         Bungee harness

·         Transportation

·         Guts! J

Best leadership style for this activity?

   The best leadership style for bungee jumping is one that puts the safety of participants before everything else.  Leaders should also be experts at trust building in order for participants to have the most safe and enjoyable experience possible.   

Where did I find this activity?

   Activity information and photos were found at Whistler Bungee at http://www.whistlerbungee.com/ and Whistler for the Disabled at http://www.whistlerforthedisabled.com/summertouradventures.htm#offroad.

Where can others find more information on this activity?

   For more information people can check out In the Sky Sports at http://www.intheskysports.com/.  This website has information on bungee jumping locations and more, as well as other similar sports (i.e.sky diving, gliders, etc.)  

Adapted Scuba Diving

Activity:  Adapted Scuba Diving

Target participant group:  Individuals with physical disabilities

Therapeutic potential of this activity: 

• Build physical strength and endurance
• Increase social networks
• Provide opportunity for life enjoyment   

What other groups may benefit from this activity? 

• ·         Individuals with traumatic brain injury
• ·         Wounded warriors
• ·         Individuals with ADHD
• ·         Individuals with Down Syndrome
• ·         Individuals with Autism

What groups may not be as appropriate for this activity? 

• ·         Individuals who have a disability affecting their memory (may not be able to remember necessary safety precautions)
• ·         Individuals who have a disability related to pressure

Activity description:

Scuba diving may be taught and adapted to individuals with many different ability levels.  The following levels of certification reflect this great degree of adaptability:    

• ·         Level 1 Scuba Certification:  Diver has ability to perform safety/rescue procedures for himself/herself and others
• ·         Level 2 Scuba Certification:  Diver has ability to perform safety/rescue procedures for himself/herself only
• ·         Level 3 Scuba Certification:  Diver does not have the ability to perform any safety/rescue procedures

A diver's level of certification will thus determine how much assistance is needed for them to be involved in a dive and what type of dives they will be able to go on.

Resources needed:    

• ·         Scuba equipment (goggles, air tanks, weights, swimming suit or wet suit, etc.)
• ·         Pool (controlled environment for safe training) or open water
• ·         Certified instructors

Best leadership style for this activity: 

For this activity, the best leadership style would be one where the leader is very involved at first for participants' safety and then gradually steps back as much as possible as participants become more knowledgeable and competent in performing required diving tasks.  

Where did I find this activity?

Activity information and photo were found on the Diveheart Foundation’s website http://diveheart.org/ on November 14, 2011.   

Where can others find more information on this activity?

The following links direct to additional scuba diving websites:

http://www.divebuddys.com/

http://www.captainslate.com/

http://www.divetech.com/

http://www.hsascuba.com/

Tape Art!

Last week in class was an awesome experience because it was the first time I created tape art!  The class divided into groups and did 2D as well as 3D art.  For our 3D sculpture, my group made a flamingo!  In 2D art, we did a silhouette of one of our members doing a handstand against the wall!  What I learned that will help me with my professional development was yet another activity that is very creative and that can be used with a wide range of participants.  Another bonus was that this activity was not very messy and easy to correct if you made a mistake.  What I learned about myself that week was that I am not very assertive in leadership.  There were times that I wanted to try a different part of the tape art activity but did not say anything because another group member was doing it, and I did not want to get in their way.  However, I am sure that they would have been glad to let me try that part of the activity if I just would have asked!  I learned that next time I should just speak up!  What I did to strive for excellence in this class was to try something new that looked a little intimidating (i.e. having a huge blank wall to work on).  I worked on the activity a little bit at a time, and before I knew it something awesome was created!

Article Review: Leadership

Name of article: Important Co-leader Skills and Traits on Extended Outdoor Trips as Perceived by Leaders

Name of journal: Leisure Studies

Name of authors: Christel Rilling and Deb Jordan

When and how I located this article: I located this article on November 3, 2011, using EBSCOhost on Murphy Library’s website.  

Synopsis of what I learned in this article:

     This article summarized three different styles of leadership in outdoor trips.  These were People-Empowering Leaders (PE), Wilderness-Power Leaders (WP), and Universal Leaders (UN). 

     PE leaders strove for interpersonal skills.  WP leaders, on the other hand, were characterized by having technical skills.  UN leaders valued community and skills in leadership.  Besides identifying different leadership styles, this article also looked at what types of co-leaders leaders desired.  Similarity to the leader was the number one choice.  The next most popular co-leaders were PE leaders.    

         

How I will apply this knowledge to my professional development: 

This information is very relevant to my professional development because it will help me to know what areas I need to work on in order to be a desired co-leader.  I think that one can never stop improving too much on interpersonal skills.

Would I recommend this article for other TR students? Why or why not?

Yes, I would recommend this article for other TR students because it will help them begin thinking about what type of leader they want to become.

Reference:

Rilling, C., & Jordan, D. (2007, April). : Important Co-leader Skills and Traits on Extended Outdoor Trips as Perceived  by Leaders. Leisure Studies, 26(2), 193-212. Retrieved November 3, 2011.