Therapeutic Puppetry.....

Tonight in class we learned all about therapeutic puppetry. We began class with an instructional video on proper puppetry skills with the Kids on the Block puppets. These puppets are designed to teach kids about disabilities, medical conditions and social issues. I learned that being a puppet master isn't as easy as someone would think. It actually takes a log of practice and skills to learn all of the techniques.

After the video we did a class discussion and learned how different types of puppets can be incorporated with many different populations. One great example is how puppets can be a very effective tool used by a child life specialist. A child life specialist can use puppets as a part of medical play and allow children to interact, ask questions, and "preform procedures" on the puppets. It was also interesting to consider that puppets can be used when working with individuals who have experienced sexual and physical abuse. The puppets may allow the individuals to open up and discuss things that they wouldn't feel comfortable talking about directly to someone else. Puppets can be a great tool to use when working with a variety of populations. Although many clients may benefit from the use of puppets, they aren't for everyone. Some clients may not like interacting with puppets and many therapeutic recreation specialist may not feel comfortable using them.

B.A.S.E. Jumping

B.A.S.E. jumping is an extreme sport that involves jumping from fixed objects with a parachute. It is often compared to skydiving but it is considered to be much more dangerous. The acronym B.A.S.E. stands for the four different object that people often jump from, Buildings, Antennas, Span (bridges) and Earth.

Before BASE jumping became popular the jumpers used skydiving equipment. This included the main and reserve parachutes along with all of the deployment equipment. Today jumpers use more specialized equipment.

Although BASE jumping is not illegal many people are often fined for the activity. Many of the objects people jump from include buildings and antenna towers which are privately owned. A majority of the owners are reluctant to allow base jumping from their property so this sport is often done illegally. Jumpers who are caught can be charged with trespassing, breaking and entering, reckless endangerment, along with vandalism. If anyone is daring enough to try this dangerous sport it would be wise to get the proper authorization first.

Sandboarding......

Sandboarding is very similar to snowboarding, just take out the snow and add sand. It involves riding across or down a sand dune while standing with both feet strapped to a board. Some riders chose not to use a board with bindings but this is considered to be more dangerous. Once the rider has reached the bottom the ride to the top isn't always an easy task. Unlike snowboarding it is difficult to construct a ski lift to carry the riders back up. The riders either walk back up the sand dune after each run or ride a dune buggy or 4 wheel drive vehicle back to the top.

Equipment

A sandboards shape resembles a snowboard except a sandboards base is much harder than a snowboard. The boards are often made from wood, plastic, or fiber glass. To make it easier to ride the sand the bottoms of the boards are often waxed.

Fishing Float Tube

This is a great way to mix up the typical fishing trip. This tube allows individuals to fish while floating in the water. The bottom of the "seat" part clips in nicely. The bottom has a belt that clips in between the legs and then another around the waist. The seat is upright so it doesn't cause back pain. There is also a metal bar that goes along the front of it which allows individuals to feel secure. There are various loops where where paddles or various fishing items can be attached.

Zorbing.......

This is a form of recreation that involves rolling down a hill in an orb. I bet you are wondering what and orb is. Well it is two balls made of transparent plastic. A smaller ball is placed inside a larger one with a gap of air in between the two. The layer of air acts as a shock absorber. Inside the ball there is usually a harness attached to allow the rider to stay securely fastened down when rolling down the hill.

However, not all orbs roll down hills. Many times people are not in an area with hills so they have to be innovative. When there isn't a hill around riders often construct inflatable, wooden, or metal ramps.

Lived Experiences.........

Today in class we watched two videos that covered stories of several individuals who have some sort of disability. The individuals had a range of different disabilities but they all found a way to include a recreational sport into their life. Many of the individuals were diagnosed with their disability later on in life and had to adjust to the new life changes. I thought it was interesting to learn and hear how many of them were able to cope with their disability through therapeutic recreation. One lady described the result of becoming involved in sports while in her wheelchair as the time, "when the world opened" This shows that recreation can play such a huge role in a persons life. It was also inspiring that many of the individuals became more active after they were diagnosed with their disability. It's great to see them making the most of their life and not letting anything get in the way of their dreams.

Adaptive Skydiving......

Many people are familiar with skydiving. However, not a lot of people are brave enough to jump from a helicopter/airplane while flying 3,000-13,000 ft in the air. Thousands of people a year do take the extreme jump, including quadriplegics and paraplegics. It is becoming increasingly more common to see someone who has a disability participate in skydiving.

In order to participate in the jump there are only a few adaptations that need to be addressed. After the proper safety classes are given the guide and passenger then put on the proper safety gear. An additional step to ensure safety for a quadriplegic or a paraplegic is to duct tape their knees and ankles to the guides. This will prevent their legs from flying up and hitting the guide while on the descent. Once all geared up and ready to go it is time to board the helicopter/airplane. This step also requires some additional planning. In most cases the passenger will be unable to climb into the airplane/helicopter by themselves. No worries there though.....With a few people to help lift the passenger up and into the plane they are ready to start their journey. Once at the altitude they are going to jump the guide and passenger make their way to the edge of the plane and take the leap!

It is so great to see that adaptations are being made to allow people who have disabilities to skydive. It is such a rush and there is no other experience comparable to it. This is another activity I would highly suggest trying!

Canyoning!!!!!

Even though canyoning is new to the United States Europeans have been doing it for centuries! This extreme sport refers to maneuvering your way down a canyon. On the journey you are required to hike, cross boulders, go through streams, get carried down by the rushing water, jump off cliffs, and sometimes even rappel through waterfalls.

I went canyoning a few years ago in in Austria and it was a blast!!! We began our journey climbing a ton of stairs to reach the top of the canyon. Even though we were wearing wetsuits I remember the water was freezing! Once we began our journey down the canyon we soon forgot about how cold the water was because we were have so much fun. We climbed and jumped over rocks, jumped from a few low waterfalls, jumped from a 40ft waterfall at the end, along with much more. There was a part in the adventure when we had to lay down on our back and "ride the water" going along with the rocks. This part was a little uneasy for most people because our heads were submerged for a brief amount of time. It was a great experience and I would recommend everyone to give it a try!!!

Some equipment that may be used while canyoning includes a harness, helmet, flotation device, wet suite, ropes, and ascenders, descenders (clips for the ropes) To go canyoning it is often done with a guide who is experienced in the sport and familiar with the terrain. It is important to remain safe at all times and to listen to all of the instructions the guide gives.

Group Presentations

Our last class was filled with new information about horseback riding, painting/sculpting, boating/kayaking, and high elements ropes courses. There were four groups that each presented one of the above activities. My group had the high elements ropes course. We presented information on different adaptive equipment and techniques that make is possible for people who have a physical, cognitive, or visual disability to participate in the high elements ropes courses. There are many benefits associated with participating in the rope courses. While researching about the activity I thought it was interesting to learn about some of the different ways to remix the typical activities on the ropes course. One activity involves someone who does not have a disability "pretending" as if they do. By this I mean that someone who doesn't have a visual disability might put on a blindfold and then attempt to do the course. This gives them an idea of what a person with a visual disability may experience. There are many ways to mix things up and gain a new perspective of what someone with a disability may experience.

When learning about horseback riding I was surprised to see that there is sooo much adaptive equipment available. It was great to see that there are a variety of organizations that support therapeutic riding, locally and world wide. I am not familiar with horses at all so I learned a lot from this presentation. For example, hippotherapy was something that I had never heard of before.

Hippotherapy can be defined as; physical therapy in which a patient (as one affected with cerebral palsy or multiple sclerosis) sits or lies on the back of a horse for the therapeutic effect of the horse's movement

I also learned a lot from the group that presented painting and sculpting. I was familiar with some of the adaptive equipment that was available but there was also a lot that I had never seen before. For example, there are several types of  adaptive scissors available. Adaptive scissors can have larger holes for the fingers, more than two holes, and there is also a device where you can put the paper near a blade and cut the paper by pressing a lever.

Learning about boating and kayaking also opened my eyes to new technology that makes it possible for anyone, regardless of their disability, to enjoy a day on the water. When the presentation began we were all instructed to turn our tables and sit like we were in a kayak. At the end of the presentation we were given a mini lesson on the four basic kayaking strokes. I have been kayaking before but I just figured it our on my own. It was great to get some actual instructions on the proper way to turn, stop, go forward and backwards. This is new information I know I will definitely use in the future.

February 22, 2011

Class began with an activity called clay, artist, model. The group who instructed this activity had the class split into groups of three. Everyone played a part as either "clay" an "artist" or a "model". The model of the group pics a pose to do that the artist will have to mold. Once the model has their pose the artist, who is blindfolded or has their eyes closed, then feels the model to learn the pose. After they are confident that they know what the pose is they try to mold the person who is the clay into that same position. Once the person who is the clay was molded into the same position as the model a new round started. Everyone played the role as the clay, artist, and model. I think this game was a little uncomfortable for many people to play. A lot of people don't know each other well enough to feel comfortable touching them with their eyes closed or having someone touch them. In the end I think everyone had fun because a lot of people were laughing while playing the game.

After the short activity we got into our groups and came up with an innovative game that had similar objectives as "Red light, Green light". Many of the groups shared games that they had previously played. Our group shared the game, "Captain's coming" To play this game everyone is spread out with enough room to run/move around. There is one person who calls out commands that the participants have to listen to and follow along with. For example; if the command captains coming was said than everyone would have to stand up and salute. There are many more commands that go along with the game. To find out more about it check out the link below...

 http://www.anzagl.org/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=108

Our next activity involved creating an activity for a specific population we may work with in TR. The activity was based on the idea of the show Project Runway. Our group had alcoholism and the activity we chose was designing jewelry. We had to choose three unique materials to make the jewelry with. Our materials included, keys, silverware, and wire. Some things we thought were important when choosing materials for this populations was to stay away from anything that would resemble bottles, alcohol logos, beer caps, or anything that could be associated with alcohol. An alcohol related thing can be enough to trigger someones past alcoholic behavior, so this is a very important thing to consider.