Therapeutic Recreation and Physical and Developmental Disabilities
Curriculum guideline
Lecture: 4 hours/week
- Lecture
- Group work
- Student/media presentations
- Community experiences
- Skill development
- Strengths and diversities of persons living with physical and developmental disabilities
- Therapeutic recreation intervention and implementation strategies and techniques
- Disability and disease related changes a person experiences when acquiring disability
- The International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health and its relationship to therapeutic recreation practice
The following global ideas guide the design and delivery of this course:
Course content will be guided by research, empirical knowledge and best practice. The following values and principles, consistent with professional standards, inform course content.
- Increasing knowledge and understanding of a range of disabilities increases competence of TR practitioners
- Building leisure and recreation life skills increases individuals' capacity to engage in meaningful and challenging activity, develop personal networks and wellbeing, and increase opportunities for community engagement
- Understanding classification systems used in cross disciplinary practice enriches inter-professional collaboration
- Advocating for the rights of all individuals is central to therapeutic recreation professional standards of practice
- Developing adaptation techniques for increasing access to leisure experiences is integral to inclusion
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- explain characteristics of a variety of physical, neurological, intellectual and developmental disabilities;
- discuss secondary implications of disability for people living with physical, neurological, intellectual and developmental disabilities;
- analyze and justify the role and benefits of leisure and recreation opportunities and experiences for people living with a physical, neurological, intellectual or developmental disability using evidence-based research;
- explore therapeutic recreation frameworks and interventions to solve problems that relate to diversity in abilities and disabilities including the principles of task analysis and adaptation;
- explain the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health philosophy, codes and qualifiers and their relationship to therapeutic recreation practice.
Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. An evaluation schedule is presented at the beginning of the course. This is a graded course.
Typical means of evaluation will include a combination of:
- written assignments
- presentations
- testing
- participation
Students in the TR program, both diploma and degree students, are required to attain a minimum of 60% (C letter grade) in all courses utilized for credit towards a diploma and/or degree in Therapeutic Recreation in order to progress in the program.
Textbooks and materials are to be purchased by students. A list of required textbooks and materials is provided for students at the beginning of the semester.