Defense Date

11-7-2018

Graduation Date

Fall 12-21-2018

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

capstone

Degree Name

OTD

Department

Occupational Therapy

School

Rangos School of Health Sciences

Committee Chair

Jeryl Benson

Committee Member

Jaime Muñoz

Keywords

Occupational Therapy, Recreational Activities, Leisure, Doctoral Experiential Component

Abstract

Despite the benefits, children with disabilities do not participate in recreational activities as often as typically developing peers. The purpose of the program was to: 1) describe the benefit of a gymnastics program on a child’s development, and 2) identify the impact of a staff training program. Engagement in the proposed program aimed to ultimately contribute to a child’s involvement in recreational activities, health and quality of life (QOL). All participants in the gymnastics program demonstrated a positive change in motor and communication skills. Pre-test data from the staff training program indicated that none of the gymnastics staff members were comfortable in teaching children with disabilities prior to engagement in the staff training program. Results suggest that organizations should make an increased effort to increase the engagement of children with disabilities in recreational programming.

Language

English

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