"Inclusive Recreation for Transition-Age Youth" article critique

Critique of “Inclusive Recreation for Transition-Age Youth”

            The article I chose to critique addresses the outcomes of a program that helped youth with developmental disabilities from the ages of fifteen to eighteen. My purpose in critiquing this article was to look for its strengths and weaknesses as well as how it can be applied to the field of Recreation Therapy. I then looked at how the research presented can be useful to the field of therapeutic recreation.
Article Summary

            Youth who have disabilities generally have a more difficult time in participating in recreational activities in schools than those who do not have disabilities. This occurs both as a result of poor planning on the schools’ part and social or emotional factors that occur as the result of inclusive recreation. To combat this, the Youth Transition Demonstration Project, which took place in the Bronx from 2003 until 2010 developed a recreational therapy component of their program called FreshenUp. The goal of this program was to prepare youth with disabilities for increased independence and self-sufficiency. In this program, participants paired up with a mentor, who was a recreation therapy student, and participated in a wide range of recreational activities at a college recreation center. The program educated students about new recreation opportunities as well as provided an opportunity for them to develop their social skills further.

            Over the course of the FreshenUp program, parents “noted increased self-confidence in their children” (Croke, Kunstler, & Thompson, 2013, p. 132). Benefits were also seen when participants of FreshenUp were compared to the participants of other recreational programs that were also part of the Youth Transition Demonstration Project, such as photography. Participants in FreshenUp were more likely to be in attendance at their activities than those in the other programs. In addition, these participants were also more likely to have more than one paid job, which was another outcome of the transition program.

Strengths

            The designers of the FreshenUp program did a great job of utilizing the Therapeutic Recreation model. Recreation participation and leisure education were used extensively to help the teenagers both learn about new sports and the skills involved in them as well as enjoy participating in them. Treatment was also present in the project, as a goal was to help participants have an increased sense of self-sufficiency and better social skills. The way in which the sample was chosen was also a strength to this article, as the participants were chosen at random and there were both treatment and control groups. This helped to ensure the validity of the acquired results and observations of the research.

Weaknesses

            Despite the strengths of this article, there were many problems with the research. The article started off with discussing how the FreshenUp program was a great model for Therapeutic Recreation before explaining what it was or any results gained from it. This could bias readers before they are able to form their own opinion. Also, the only inclusion that the article mentions, other than that the program participants are using the same recreational facilities as other community members, is their activity with their recreation therapy student mentors. Although positive results were brought about through this interaction, it is hard to extend these results to inclusive recreation with peers who are not interacting positively with them as the result of a class assignment. It is also unclear whether the positive results that participants experienced were due to FreshenUp alone or if they were a result of a combination of FreshenUp in addition to the other components of the Youth Transition Development Project. A fourth flaw in the research was taken note of in the article, which was that post-testing fell through because of staffing constraints. Because of this, there is not enough data to form a solid conclusion about the program’s effectiveness.

Applications and Usefulness

            Despite the weaknesses of the research in this article, the information obtained can be used to benefit similar recreation therapy programs. The positive reactions of the parents and their children to the FreshenUp program show that there is a demand for similar programs, especially in disadvantaged locations where leisure education would have a large impact. Having such programs in public locations as exemplified by the FreshenUp program could also increase community awareness and acceptance of disabilities. This could in turn lead to an even greater increase in inclusive recreational activities and community cohesiveness.

Personal Reaction and Interest

            Inclusion is a large part of therapeutic recreation, and I think it is a worthy goal to work towards. This article particularly interested me because it involved inclusion of adolescents. Inclusion is especially important in these years because this is a time when many struggle with identity and acceptance, whether they have disabilities or not. I experienced many struggles during this stage of life, from feeling left out to dealing with peer pressure, and I think any effort to alleviate such struggles in any way is commendable. Another aspect of the FreshenUp program that intrigued me was that one of its goals was helping the teenagers to be more self-sufficient and lead healthier lifestyles through enjoyable physical activity. The recreation and other skills that they learned to accomplish these goals are tools that each participant will be able to use throughout his or her life to increase quality of living. In that way, it is a very empowering program.

Conclusion

            Despite the weaknesses that are present in this article’s research, the FreshenUp program had admirable goals and demonstrated great usage of the therapeutic recreation model that can be mirrored by similar groups across the country. If other groups replicated this method and then followed it up with stronger testing methods, clearer conclusions on how therapeutic recreation programs can increase independence and self-reliance might be reached. This in turn could lead to better research quality in the field of recreation therapy, benefiting the entire career field.

           

           

References

Croke, E., Kunstler, R., & Thompson, A. (2013). Inclusive recreation for transition-age youth: Promoting self-sufficiency, community inclusion, community inclusion, and experiential learning. Therapeutic Recreation Journal. 47(2), 122-136.