American Play and Recreation Organized Activities/Therapies

GLOBAL VISION PROJECT: Global Vision of Rehabilitation
and Recreation for People with Disabilities in the 21st Century

THERAPIES:
"American Play and Recreation Organized Activities/Therapies:
15 Organizations with 51,450 Members and 68 Staff" (1)

by Prof. John A. Nesbitt, Ed.D., CTRS, Pres/CEO
Special Recreation for disABLED International

Activities/Recreation. The organized adaptive, special, and therapeutic play and recreation activity movements in the USA are diverse but have basic commonalities. They use an extensive range of activities/recreation with people who ill, injured, disabled, disadvantaged, or confined.

The Benefits. They use these activities/recreation to provide individual benefits, to aid in treatment, to enhance functioning (daily living, education, employment, mental health, physical health, and social activity), to aid rehabilitate, and to enrich each person's well being and quality of life.

Dates of Founding. The dates cited as the date of being "founded" often are the dates of the most recent re-organization. For example, there was organized activity in therapeutic recreation at the start of the 20th Century. Various organized activities emerged in the 1910s, the 1920s, and so on. The National Associatio of Recreational Therapy was founded in 1953 but was dissolved as part of a merger in 1966.

The National Therapeutic Recreation Society (NTRS) date of founding, 1966, was actually the date of a merger of pre-existent groups and organizations. The 1981 "founding" of the American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA) was actually the date of the splitting off of a faction from within the National Therapeutic Recreation Society (NTRS). Various "activity" groups have or have had two national organizations simultaneously.

Dispersed. There is no single source of employment information about the respective activity/therapy specializations. Further, the professional patterns of each specializations vary in terms of membership, education, certification or registration, and so on. It may be observed that these activity/recreation bodies are dispersed. There have been and are various "agreements" or "coalitions" and they will continue.

51,450 Adherents. However, drawing on various sources, it may be stated that there are 15 organized movements with 51,450 members and 68 staff. The numbers are an undercount of practitioners. But, they suggest the magnitude of the activities movement. They may be cited as follows.

Category	Members
Animal-assisted activities/therapies, 3 organizations using animals	16,700
Expressive arts therapies (art, dance, drama, music, writing: poetry, prose), 6 organizations	10,480
Play activity/therapy, 1 organization	3,500
Recreation activity/therapy (activity professionals, therapeutic recreation), 3 organizations	19,970
Horticulture therapy, 1 organizations	800
Total Play and Recreation Activity/Therapy Individual Members in USA National Professional Organizations	51,450

NOTE. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, cites a "recreational therapy" work force of 38,000. This number includes 19,970 personnel in the "recreation activity/therapy listing" above. Thus, the 51,450 professional members work force cited above may be increased by an estimated 18,030. This brings the tractable total of all activity, play, and recreation to 69,480 personnel.
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American Art Therapy Association (AATA), Founded: 1969. Members: 4,300.

American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA), Founded: 1966. Member: 1,200.

American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA), Founded: 1973. Members: 800

American Music Therapy Association, Founded: 1950. Members: 3,800. Staff: 8.

American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA), Founded: 1981. Members: 3,750. Staff: 5.

Association for Play Therapy, Founded: 1982. Members: 3,500.

American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama (ASGPP), Founded: 1942. Members: 800. Staff: 4.

DELTA SOCIETY (animal-assistive activities/therapy), Founded: 1977. Members: 6,000. Staff: 22.

Hospitalized Veterans Writing Project (HVWP), Founded: 1946. Members: no data. Staff: 1.

National Association of Activity Professionals (NAAP), Founded: 1981. Members: 2,800. Staff, 3.

National Association for Poetry Therapy (NAPT), Founded: 1981. Members: 380. Staff: 1.

National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC), Founded: 1981. Members: 17,170. Staff: 14.

National Therapeutic Recreation Society (NTRS), Founded: 1966. Members: 2,700. Staff: 2.

North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA), Founded: 1969. Members: 3,700. Staff: 8.

Therapy Dogs International (THI), Founded: 1976. Members: 7,000.

Therapeutic Recreation. The American Therapeutic Recreation Association, founded in 1981, has 3,800 members. The National Therapeutic Recreation Society, founded in 1966, has 2,700 members. The National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC), founded in 1981, serves both the ATRA and NTRS members. NCTRC has 17,170 "certified members."

There are at least 10,670 practicing TRCertified individuals who do not hold membership in either ARTA or NTRS. Further, there are additional individuals providing recreation service to people with disabilities who are not affiliated with ATRA, NCTRC, or NTRS. Thus, the total number practitioners of "therapeutic recreation service" is larger than 17,170.

Activity Professionals. The National Association of Activity Professionals (NAAP) organization has 2,800 members. These 2,800 individuals are working in extended-care residences. However, there are 17,000 nursing homes that employ thousands of "activity specialists or assistants" who do not hold membership in NAAP. The total workforce of activity assistants is far larger than 2,800 NAAP Members.

(1) This article is based on articles in the "Special Recreation Digest," Volumes I to VI, 1984-1989, published by Special Recreation for disABLED International.
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GLOBAL VISION PROJECT:
Global Vision of Rehabilitation and Recreation
for People with Disabilities in the 21st Century
A JOINT PROJECT BY:
Disability International Foundation AND
Special Recreation for disABLED International

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