Recreation Therapy - Accelerated Courses

The learner will be able to develop a personal philosophy of leisure through an understanding of the recreation delivery system and the benefits of leisure to society.

The student will be introduced to the practice of recreation therapy across the life cycle. The students will be able to identify and apply the competencies and skills necessary to work with people through the different stages of their life. An emphasis of the course will be on the concept of inclusion and its application in the lives of people with disabilities throughout their lives. The use of Montessori programming with pediatric and geriatric populations will be highlighted.

In this course, the student will apply the Leisure Ability Model and the Therapeutic Recreation Accountability Model to the practice of Recreation Therapy. Students will build on their knowledge of the therapeutic recreation process of assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation, and documentation. Students will develop their understanding of activity analysis, activity adaptation, task analysis, and diagnostic protocols. An electronic health records managements system will be used to document assessments, program planning, and client evaluation. Case studies of diverse populations will be utilized to demonstrate the therapeutic recreation process. The Flourishing Through Leisure Model will be explored as it relates to leisure experiences and therapeutic outcomes.

This course provides an opportunity for students to experience and facilitate a variety of therapeutic interventions. Students will be actively involved in facilitative techniques such as but not limited to: Aquatic Therapy; Music Therapy; Dance Therapy; Massage Therapy; Relaxation Techniques; Adventure Therapy; Pet Therapy; Humour Therapy; Exercise Therapy; Horticultural Therapy; Expressive Arts Therapy; Reminiscence Therapy; and others.

In this course, students will explore a breadth of relevant trends in recreation therapy. Adaptive technology as it relates to communication, mobility, use of the environment, and cognitive functioning will be explored. Principles of Universal Design and the Human Activity Assistive Technology Model will be examined as they relate to adaptive technologies. The topics of multi-sensory environments, video games, virtual reality, augmented reality, robotic companions, and tablet applications will be related to treatment outcomes. The process of administration of medication will be practiced and connections between medications and program design will be made. Elder life and child life programs will be examined as they related to the treatment of delirium and the application of medical play to medical procedure education. Cultural competence will be discussed with a focus on leisure subcultures. Students will practice processes related to the therapeutic use of magic. Sexual health will be explored as it relates to health-promoting leisure activity participation.

In this course, students will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to plan, implement, and evaluate leisure education programs with clients. Students will examine models related to leisure education with a focus on Stumbo and Petersons Leisure Education Content Model and Datillos Leisure Education Model. Student will identify and explore the relationship between behavioural stages of change and motivational interviewing.

In this course, the student will be able to apply organizational administrative practices in a therapeutic recreation setting. Students will gain experience in marketing strategies, developing promotional materials, writing policies and procedures, and creating volunteer management materials. There will be an opportunity to examine laws and regulations that apply to the field of recreation therapy, approaches to risk management, and financial management. Students will focus on developing a business plan using their skills learned throughout this course.

The student will be introduced to the practice of Therapeutic Recreation. The students will be able to identify and apply the competencies and skills necessary to work with people with various disabilities. An emphasis of the course will be on the concept of inclusion and its application in the lives of people with disabilities.

In this course, students will complete a 280 hour agency based placement and a 150 hour lab based placement. Students will work in consultation with the program coordinator and faculty to choose a field placement agency for their agency based placement and to select a volunteer client for their lab based placement. Students will gain practical experience in the application of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that have been learned in their other recreation therapy courses.

In semester 4, students should be prepared to make direct connections between the theory and the practice of Therapeutic Recreation. In this seminar, students will learn with and from each other's experiences in order to help broaden their knowledge and skill-set in the field of Therapeutic Recreation. Students will reflect, discuss, compare and demonstrate significant placement experiences and valuable facilitative techniques.