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.