Prepares students for planning and using play and recreation activities designed to address the developmental and/or physical needs of children in life's most challenging events including children in health care settings and other challenging environments. Strong emphasis will be placed on the history of play and pediatric therapies, examining formal assessments used when evaluating children's progress, and different types of recreational play geared toward improving development. Learning experiences and activities will allow students to engage in developmentally appropriate play. It is recommended that this course be taken before HHS 215 and HHS 290.
Goals, Topics, and Objectives
- Play and Recreation for Children with Cognitive or Physical Developmental Disabilities
- Skills and Tools of Therapeutic Play with Children and Their Families
- Selection, Adaptation, and Application fo Play and Recreational Activities
- Play Research
- Identify the who, what, where, when and why of recreation and play.
- Prepare students to work with children and families.
- Describe the different recreation and play activities.
- Select appropriate play and recreation activities for a variety of pediatric environments.
- Apply recreation and playful therapeutic pediatric techniques for a variety of pediatric environments.
- Examine different recreation and play needs in pediatric clients with different disabilities.
- Create a plan for recreation and play activities in a variety of pediatric environments.
- Adapt appropriate play and recreation activities in a variety of pediatric environments.
- Discuss research supporting recreation and play activities in therapy.
Assessment and Requirements
Assessment may include but not be limited to the following:
- Creating recreation and play activities for different ages and disabilities.
- Volunteering to work with developmentally delayed children at a human services agency or a private agency.
- Analyzing the appropriateness of different recreation and play activities.
- Analyzing the strengths and limitations of recreation and play activities for children with different types and levels of disabilities.
- Research Assignments
- Reflective Journals
- Essays and Exams
Testbooks are determined by the program faculty. Recommended textbooks include: Tara Delaney, M.S., OTR: 101 Games and Activities for Children with Autism, Asperger's and Sensory Processing Disorders Heather Kuhanek , Susan Spitzer, and Elisa Miller: Activity Analysis, Creativity, and Playfulness in Pediatric Occupational Therapy: Making Play Just Right