(by Bullock, C. C., Therapeutic Recreation in Special Education. The Parent Training Guide to Recreation. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina, Center for Recreation and Disabilities Studies.)     

   

Recreation and physical education are not the same from a legislative or programmatic perspective. Unlike physical education, recreation is by definition, an addition to regular special and physical education. As a related service, recreation assists, augments, and enhances the education process. Recreation and leisure are essential parts of a total education. Recreation personnel, identified in Subpart B of the rules and regulations as "Therapeutic Recreation Specialists," must work with traditional service personnel such as special educators and physical educators to provide recreation services that assist and augment rather than duplicate. This is accomplished through cooperative working relationships that provide the highest quality and most comprehensive educational experiences.

Recreation as a related service for students with handicaps must be administered in a manner consistent with other related educational services. That is, services are provided to those children who need it to benefit from their special education. The focus of recreation for handicapped students is to serve children whose recreation and leisure skills, abilities, attitudes, and knowledge are significantly below average and are affecting learning, classroom performance, and present and future life style. Therapeutic recreation personnel direct their energies toward analyzing and identifying students' strengths and weaknesses, and determining the appropriate programmatic responses. Specific interventions and strategies are then developed to improve performance.
 
 
 

Trips Home Page

Special Educators  & School Administrators