Lesson 14: What I learned

 Introduction: Hi Folks! Since this week doesn't have any personal training, it will be a lot shorter. I am going to add resources from classmates from last week and my experience doing the volunteer Practicum. I am also going to add one last resource that I found enlightening. I am so happy that I was able to be a part of this class and make this Toolbox to help myself and others to make people life better. There are resources in my blog (not this post necessary) about learning about mental illnesses and how we can help, how we can include those with disability, the First person Language, the important of art and sports, etc. I hope you can used this for good and make a differences. I know for me I am going to be using this a lot as I work with others with mental illnesses and disabilities. With those tools, I will be able to inspire professors, mothers, fathers, and daughters who know someone who a mental illness or disability or who has one.

Classmate resources from Lesson 13: 

• Kelci Johnson post a website called National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification which is super helpful if you need to know to where to get your license.   https://nctrc.org/
• Emma  Tennyson's added a helpful website that help shared what type of jobs that are available. https://www.atra-online.com/
• The last one is by David Lybbert that is called, "Outdoors without Limits" He involved people with any type of disabilities.https://youtu.be/kcmjdF4LMMI

This week: 

• In this class in the beginning, we were suppose to write our Mission statement. The first Mission Statement I wrote was this, "My mission is to make people’s lives better, giving hope to those who think there is no hope. To make dark days seems full of light and hope for those with disabilities, mental illnesses, and poverty. To help others overcome obstacles, make dreams happens, and feel of Heavenly Father’s love and truth.” Much of this still hold true, but after learning what I have this semester, I will have to change some of this. My new one is this " My Mission is to make people’s live better by thinking outside the box of making activities and programs accessible. I will do my best to educated programs that already exist in small ways they could make their problem accessible. Every dream anyone have is possible to make come true, and I will do anything I can to help others overcome those obstacles so they can truly live."
•  We were supposed to write about our experience with our volunteer Practicum. Here is the link so you can view my experience. (It is not letting me post it at this time, but I will try later)

Resources I found:  

• The First Video is Called Overcoming cerebral palsy It is about a 5 year old doing Aquatic therapy.  https://youtu.be/qZq15PRItEk
• The Second video is more about Aquatic Therapy. https://youtu.be/YAqnQnZeGd0
• The last one is a talked called "That we may not Shirk by David Bednar. It is about    Elder Maxwell underwent 46 days and nights of debilitating chemotherapy for leukemia. https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/ces-devotionals/2013/01/that-we-might-not-shrink-d-c-19-18?lang=eng

Conclusion: This has been an rewarding Semester and I hope you have an Great Christmas! I hope what I been sharing can bless each one of you who read this or bless someone who you may share it to. 

Lesson 13: Therapeutic Recreation

 Introduction: 

Hi again Folks. This week you can learned a bit more about what Therapeutic Recreation is all about. Like normal we will have last week classmates resources (sports), things I found enlightening from this week lesson, resources I found, etc. Also for this week I may add a video that shares what is amazing about Therapeutic Recreation. It amazing, this week, and a half is the last of the semester. I hope what I been adding been insightful, and whose knows, I may add other things to this that I find insightful even after this class is over. It just won't be every week. I know this been rewarding for me and I hope the information I put in my blogs been rewarding for you. Enjoy!

Add all the tools and tricks you want to keep in your e-portfolio. 

Classmate Resources: 

• I added a website that Davin Lybbert had which is called "Equal Adventure" It is a community of providing adventures for those with disabilities. It gives each resources, training and other things so others programs can provide those opportunities within their community. http://www.equaladventure.org/?jubijuphcipi=c953a3a1

• Beth Horen added an powerful video about sports and disabilities that I HAD to add. It is called, "'All about ability'-How the Paralympic Movement is maintaining momentum" https://youtu.be/6RMOSDynkw8

Enlightening Things From this Week Lesson:

• You may wondered what the requirements in being a Recreation Therapeutic, well.. this is what this week was all about which is to follow. 

• Definition: American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA), “the provision of Treatment Services and the provision of Recreation Services to persons with illnesses or disabling conditions. The primary purposes of Treatment Services, which are often referred to as Recreational Therapy, are to restore, remediate or rehabilitate in order to improve functioning and independence as well as reduce or eliminate the effects of illness or disability.  

• Purpose of Recreational Services: are to provide recreation resources and opportunities in order to improve health and well being. Therapeutic recreation is provided by professionals who are trained and certified, registered and/or licensed to provide therapeutic recreation (1987).” National Therapeutic Recreation Society (NTRS), a branch of the National Recreation and Park Association, “Therapeutic recreation uses treatment, education and recreation services to help people with illnesses, disabilities and other conditions to develop and use their leisure in ways that enhance their health, functional abilities, independence and quality of life."
   
•  Job Settings: Hospitals, Long term care facilities and nursing homes, Community recreation centers, Schools, Camps, Wilderness programs, Drug and alcohol rehabilitation, Mental health facilities, acute and residential, Correction centers, Group homes, Senior centers, Veterans administration hospitals, Retirement communities, and Home healthcare and outpatient services. 
• Career Path:    

          1. Recreation Degree Requirements

          2.  Electives: RM 370, RM 471, RM 472, and RM 473

          3. Cluster 1: Anatomy & Physiology: BIO 264 and 264 + 4 additional credits

          4. Cluster 2: Psychology: Psych 111, 201 and 342 + 3 additional credits

          5. Internship: 600 hours at under a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS)

          6. NCTRC Exam: National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification

•  Therapeutic Recreation Process:
   1. Assessment: Identify Clients needs; physical, social, emotional, mental, and spiritual
   2. Planning: Determine client’s goals and objectives; functional intervention, leisure education, recreation participation
   3. Intervention: Facilitate the group or the activity
  4. Evaluation: Determine progress of the client and benefit of the program.
   
• What are the outcomes of recreational therapy? Improvement in physical health status, psychosocial status, cognitive status, and life, recreation, and community activities.

• Where is recreational therapy headed in the future?According to the US Department of Labor, “The rapidly growing number of older adults is expected to spur job growth for recreational therapy professionals and paraprofessionals in assisted-living facilities, adult daycare programs, and other social assistance agencies. Continued growth also is expected in community residential care facilities, as was daycare programs for individuals with disabilities.”References: ATRA Website and NTRS Website

•  Examples of Work (Illustrative Only): 1. Plans and supervises therapeutic recreation activities at recreation centers, parks or various facilities in the community. 2.Registers participants in classes and programs using CLASS registration software, and maintains computer class registrations. 3. Plans, facilitates and evaluates therapeutic recreation programs and classes on a semester basis for a specific population area. 4. Supervises therapeutic recreation support staff, instructors and volunteers. 5. Works with individuals with disabilities in the program to provide support as needed. 6.Plans & Supervises daily operations of summer day camp for children with developmental disabilities 7. Supervises interns according to NCTRC guidelines (if a CTRS) 8. Procures and maintains for equipment, supplies, and materials. 9. Assists in the development, planning, and promotion of Therapeutic Recreation special events, programs and activities. 10. Prepares reports and statistics as needed. 11. Performs a variety of routine clerical tasks. 12.Drives a van to transport program participants and operates a wheelchair lift 
  Resources I found:   
   
•  I found this video about what Recreation Therapy is all about and why Major in it. It is called, "Why major in Therapeutic Recreation?" https://youtu.be/4dqR1GEwg78

Conclusion:  I hoped you enjoyed this as much as I do, and hope you would consider to have your major as Therapeutic Recreation. It is a growing Career and through the ways I have volunteer throughout this semester, what I do is rewarding and fun. It not all fun and games, but it so worth it and you can make an huge differences in others lives. Before I close off this blog, I wanted to add a video we were supposed to watch for this lesson that I thought you would enjoy as well. It is called, "A Description of Therapeutic Recreation" Here is the link! You will be glad you watch it. I promised you. It is about not giving up, giving your daughter, mother, niece, aunt, or grandma hope for better days. https://youtu.be/1XJD5XDihhY  . There one more I just had to add, and just will just be a linked. See what it is. https://youtu.be/nZ0ELRWkdPA  It is an beautiful video with people with disabilities and mental illness doing amazing things. How they are amazing, heroes, and not broken.

Lesson 12: Sports

Introduction: Hi Folks! I hoped you had an wonderful Thanksgiving's- I sure did. This week will go back to normal. Last lesson classmate resources, things I found enlighten from the lesson, and resources I found to be interesting and helpful. I might also had tricks I learned while working with special population in my past and this week volunteer practicum. We shall see. I do know Audio note  and quizlet is great resources for help with classes. Check them out and find out for yourselves. I will add the links later if you are interested or just looked it up. To Begin..... Lesson 11 classmates resources and perhaps others thoughts or videos that came to mind while looking or watching them.

Classmate Resources:

• I added two of  David Lybbert resources that I felt was inspiring. The first one is an website that talk about accessible art is great for all ages. It provide tools to allow options to any person with work with, mental illness, disability, and just about anyone. https://www.mainlineart.org/accessible-art/ The Second resource is a video that shares of different amazing artist who has disabilities and how important it is for programs to make art accessible for everyone. https://youtu.be/89SsP3M-ITc
• I added two resources from Rachel's Toolbox. One of them I may have already added last week, but it is helpful and I felt it will be a good thing to add.https://arttherapy.org Another one of them is a video of about Artistic Wheelchairs.  https://youtu.be/XC4fccd7DXs
• My other classmate Tiffany Packard added this video. It is about an artist who doesn't have limbs, and yet that doesn't stop her from creating art and helping others. It is called, Elsha Stockseth; Making the Impossible Possible. https://youtu.be/nnppqw0kNpg  https://youtu.be/OPWLSb3dsTQ
• The last resource I will add is from Jessica. This website shares how to make art accessible for all in your programs. http://artshoptherapy.com/blog/topics/teaching-art/
• There are so many more I would love to add, so many good resources, but if I add then all, this is going to be a really long blog. Next step, this I found enlightening from this week lesson. 

This Week Lesson Enlightenment:  

• For this week Application assignment, we were suppose to do a sport with a disability. This is a link to my document and the things I learned from it.  https://1drv.ms/w/s!Ano_1vcorOeMqlIzzW-a_u3pVP_E
•  A website that raise awareness to those with limb lost.https://www.extremitygames.com/index.php
• The link tells the history and other neat facts about Special Olympics SpecialOlympics.org Also with that, in our personal training, they said about the history about Special Olympics and how it came to be, and I thought that would be neat to add to this blog. (Next Bullet point)  

 It all began in the 1950s and early 1960s, when Eunice Kennedy Shrive saw how unjustly and unfairly people with intellectual disabilities were treated. She also saw that many children with intellectual disabilities didn’t even have a place to play. She decided to take action.Soon, her vision began to take shape, as she held a summer day camp for young people with intellectual disabilities in her own backyard. The goal was to learn what these children could do in sports and other activities, and not dwell on what they could not do.Throughout the 1960s, Eunice Kennedy Shriver continued her pioneering work; both as the driving force behind President John F. Kennedy’s White House panel on people with intellectual disabilities and as the director of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation. Her vision and drive for justice eventually grew into the Special Olympics movement. July 19-20 1968 the first International Special Olympics Summer Games were held at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, USA. A thousand people with intellectual disabilities from 26 US states and Canada compete in track and field and swimming. 

• This website is a link to the history of the movement when the Paralympic Games begin. https://www.paralympic.org/the-ipc/history-of-the-movement. And this is the "Disability Category Definitions for Paralympic Games" (down below). 

  • Amputee: Athletes with a partial or total loss of at least one limb.

  • Cerebral Palsy: Athletes with non-progressive brain damage, for example cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, stroke or similar disabilities affecting muscle control, balance or coordination.

  • Intellectual Disability: Athletes with a significant impairment in intellectual functioning and associated limitations in adaptive behavior (currently suspended.)
  • Wheelchair: Athletes with spinal cord injuries and other disabilities which require them to compete in a wheelchair.
  • Visually Impaired: Athletes with vision impairment ranging from partial vision, sufficient to be judged legally blind, to total blindness.
  • Athletes with a physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other five categories, such as dwarfism, multiple sclerosis or congenital deformities of the limbs such as that caused by thalidomide.

• Ok, the last thing is an video that we were supposed to watch called, "Don't say that I can't." https://youtu.be/oLdi0hMkinM

Resources I found for this week  Lesson: 

•  I was wondering if there was nerf guns that were made for those who didn't have limbs. There was. You can find that on this website. https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/nz7mqz/bionic-nerf-gun-prosthetic-lets-you-fire-darts-from-muscle-contractions
• I found a few different videos of people with disability who are almost like superheros of how they move and the spots they can do. The first one is called, "YES I CAN - Paralympics RIO 2016 - We're The Superhumans!"  please watch this, this is inspiring. https://youtu.be/vzjuQoNM534 
• The next one is a bit more insight about USA Adapted sports and experiences they gain and their personal experiences. It called, "Change the way you think about disabilities forever! Adaptive sports at Disabled Sports USA"https://youtu.be/tjZQwoR2Bkg
• This last one shows people with and without disabilities completing with each other.  https://youtu.be/a6krLeYduBY

Conclusion:  
Let's stop limiting people with disabilities and bring them into our programs, activities, and stop telling them that they can't because THEY CAN! Believe in them. Help train them just as you would anyone else. Yes, it might be more challenging to train.. but isn't the whole thing about sports is to challenges the participants who is a part of the sports? So.. shouldn't you as a leader.. challenge yourself in helping a person with any disability to achieve the impossible? It doesn't matter what program it is, what activity it is, let yourselves be challenge and grow by helping others be challenged and grow.