Brief Overview of Meeting A Recreational Therapy Meeting was held at the Indian Golf Course in Arvada on Thursday the 7th at 9am. There were multiple TR representatives from several districts including Fort Collins, Denver, Aurora, Wheatridge, Arvada and Boulder. The main discussion of the meeting was about the events and programs that were going on in each district. Each representative took turns sharing what events and projects were going on in their organization.
Fort Collins is working on spreading information for transition students through “Passport to Recreation”. They are trying to make inclusive programs more popular where seniors ages 50+ are included with younger participants in activities. Denver’s program is …show more content…
Most of the discussion was about camper registration and scholarships for campers who couldn’t afford to go. Because of different management guidelines and the rules of each district, the effect of ADA guidelines impacts the process of camper registration. For example, it is not technically legal for a camp to put campers with disabilities on a wait list. In some districts, they are not allowed to put a permanent cap on the capacity of campers for each summer camp because of this. Unless the ratio of camper to counselor/staffer becomes a safety problem or the over-abundance of campers causes a drain on the city’s budget, they are required to make the cap flexible to allow more campers in. Also, camps aren’t allowed to refuse a camper unless their behavior has caused a threat to the safety of other campers or staff members. Several camps have had instances where parents have withheld behavioral information about their child/adult with disabilities out of fear that their child won’t be allowed into camp. This fact has obviously caused problems. I used to volunteer as a counselor for a disabled camp in Missouri during the summer. I had one camper who was nonverbal and had severe behavioral disorders. I was not equipped to handle her outbursts and behavioral issues. While I had some information about her behavioral problems, I wasn’t aware of any strategies or crisis management techniques that would’ve been helpful in dealing with her. Their conclusion was that each camper goes through a trial and error run, and after that first camp experience, the camp leaders should have a better understanding of how to deal with those specific behavioral problems and decide whether or not they should allow that camper to return. They also suggested that the camper’s paraprofessional or care-taker come to assist with behavioral problems throughout the week to give the counselors and staffers suggestions
Fort Collins is working on spreading information for transition students through “Passport to Recreation”. They are trying to make inclusive programs more popular where seniors ages 50+ are included with younger participants in activities. Denver’s program is …show more content…
Most of the discussion was about camper registration and scholarships for campers who couldn’t afford to go. Because of different management guidelines and the rules of each district, the effect of ADA guidelines impacts the process of camper registration. For example, it is not technically legal for a camp to put campers with disabilities on a wait list. In some districts, they are not allowed to put a permanent cap on the capacity of campers for each summer camp because of this. Unless the ratio of camper to counselor/staffer becomes a safety problem or the over-abundance of campers causes a drain on the city’s budget, they are required to make the cap flexible to allow more campers in. Also, camps aren’t allowed to refuse a camper unless their behavior has caused a threat to the safety of other campers or staff members. Several camps have had instances where parents have withheld behavioral information about their child/adult with disabilities out of fear that their child won’t be allowed into camp. This fact has obviously caused problems. I used to volunteer as a counselor for a disabled camp in Missouri during the summer. I had one camper who was nonverbal and had severe behavioral disorders. I was not equipped to handle her outbursts and behavioral issues. While I had some information about her behavioral problems, I wasn’t aware of any strategies or crisis management techniques that would’ve been helpful in dealing with her. Their conclusion was that each camper goes through a trial and error run, and after that first camp experience, the camp leaders should have a better understanding of how to deal with those specific behavioral problems and decide whether or not they should allow that camper to return. They also suggested that the camper’s paraprofessional or care-taker come to assist with behavioral problems throughout the week to give the counselors and staffers suggestions