Recreation-Oriented Assistive Devices for People with Disabilities

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

TECHNOLOGY:
"Recreation-Oriented Assistive Devices for People with Disabilities"

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

PART I -- Introduction

In the 21st Century play and recreation adaptation and play and recreation assistive technology will open up enriched lives for tens of millions of people with disabilities who had lives of abject play and recreation poverty.

1900 to WORLD WAR II. During the first half of the 20th Century recreation adaptation and recreation-assistive technology allowed many people with disabilities to participate in standard play and recreation activities. People with hearing, physical, and visual impairments benefited the most. But, the fact is that this adaptation and assistance reached a very small proportion of the population, from five to ten percent.

WORLD WAR II AND AFTER. During and following WW II there was a period of development, testing, and demonstration of recreation adaptation and recreation-technology. The effort grew to include all types of recreation and for all types disabilities. The foremost gains were made in behalf of people with physical disability, especially people with spinal cord injury. The wheelchair sports movement made huge gains in nations and world wide which achieved a pinnacle in the "Paralympics," "Stoke Mandeville Games," and similar recreational sports events and programs around the world.

1960s. Starting in the 1960s significant gains were in recreation adaptation and recreation-assistive technology serving people with developmental disabilities, especially people with mental retardation. President John F. Kennedy, touched by disability as was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, fostered the Arts, Physical Education, and Recreation program by the U.S. Government and on the voluntary side, established the "Special Olympics," "Let's Play to Grow," and "Very Special Arts" programs.

NOTE. Unfortunately, the "Let's Play to Grow," which was a superb program of home and family play and recreation activities received only a limited response and was, for all intents and purposes, dropped. There is a gap in special play and recreation programming that needs attention.

COMMUNITY-BASED, 1975-78. A national survey was conducted by the "National Institute [USA] on New Models of Community-Based Special Recreation for Handicapped" (1) to determine the range of play and recreation activities that people with disabilities were pursuing.

The survey found that recreation adaptation and recreation-assistive technology had been created/invented for arts, camping, crafts, cycling, dance, drama, fishing, fitness, games, gardening, hobbies, hunting, music, play, radio/tv, reading, sports, travel, and writing.

Special recreation consumers, parents, professionals, and volunteers had proved that with creativity, determination, adaptation and assistive-technology every person, regardless of disability, can experience the virtual essence of every recreation activity.

Special recreation pioneers in adaptation and assistive technology have proved that people with disabilities can climb mountains, can achieve the pinnacle in the performing and visual arts and in letters, and can gain world acclaim in sports.

In 1986, "The International Directory of Recreation-Oriented Assistive Device Sources" (2) was published providing a hard copy directory included:

21 types of functional problems were provided with solutions;
22 disability groups were served;
340 recreation-assistive devices were identified to use in 95 recreation activities;
240 resources were cited (device manufacturers, device distributors, and information/referral sources).

During the 20th Century we learned that it is possible with ingenuity, creativity, and determination to remove all obstacles to participation in play and recreation for people who are disabled.

HOME COMMUNITY. We now that many recreation adaptations and recreation-oriented assistive technology can be created in the home community. But, we also know that people with disabilities live recreation lifestyles that are vastly suppressed because of the failure to facilitate recreation adaptation and recreation assistive technology.

The availability of recreation-oriented devices reflects the extraordinary progress made in rehabilitation and recreation for, with, and by people with disabilities in the post-World War II to 2000 era.

The list of special recreation adaptations, devices, and technology keeps growing. As recreation device experiment after experiment succeeded, two major barriers to recreation participation became, first, lack of information on devices and resources; and, second, in institutional and community based rehabilitation and recreation the lack of application of recreation-assistive device technology.

The first solutions to the lack of information were solved through traditional compilation of information and publishing in hard copy. This traditional methods has been supplanted by the world wide web which has increased access to information and technology a million-fold. A major resource for recreation-oriented assistive devices is on the world wide web, ABLEDATA. Then, there are a myriad of other sources that can be consulted through the internet such as Accent on Living.

SEARS THEN, WEB NOW. In the 21st Century new recreation information technology (world wide web) and new recreation-assistive technology for people with disabilities is reminiscent of Sears, Roebuck and Co. of the 19th Century. In 1895, Sears Roebuck distributed one million catalog and earned US$750,000.

The 21st Century world wide web is like the historic Sear Mail Order Catalog. The Sears Catalog did three things:
1. It informed people about what was available;
2. It created a desire for products that would improve the quality of people's lives; and,
3. It provided access to those products by catalog mail order.

The World Wide Web is the Sears Catalog of the 21st Century for people with disabilities. The WEB will inform people who are disabled about what recreation adaptation and recreation assistive technology is available. The WEB will serve to create a desire to live an enriched recreation lifestyles. Then, the WEB will provide access to new recreation adaptation and assistive technology.

PART II -- Assistive Technology

The information in Part II provides readers a suggestion of the range of recreation activities, disabilities, and functions provided by recreation assistive technology.

A. RECREATION ACTIVITIES: Assistive technology is available on a vast range of recreation pursuits including:

__Aquatics __Archery __Arts __Aviation __Baseball __Body Condition

__Bowling __Card Games __Catch __Communications __Camp/Hike

__Computers __Computer Games __Cycling __Darts __Fencing __Fishing

__Football __Frisbee __Games __Gardening __Golf __Handicrafts

__Ham Radio __Hockey __Horseback Riding __Hunting __Javelin __Jogging

__Kayaking __Motorcycling __Museums __Music __Photography __Print

__Racing __Racquet Sports __Reading __Ring Toss __Skating __Skiing

__Skydiving __Slalom __Sledding __Spongee Polo __Soccer __Television

__Tennis __Theaters __Travel __Volleyball __Writing (2)

B. DEVICES BY DISABILITY: Assistive technology provides adaptation to serve impairments including:

Arthritis, Back Impairment, Blindness and Visual Impairment, Cerebral Palsy, Deafness and Hearing Impairment, Developmental Disabilities, Dwarfism, Extremity Impairment (amputee and LOWER: foot, leg; amputee and UPPER: arm, hand, motor), Hearing Impairment, Hemiplegia, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, Paraplegia, Quadriplegia, Speech Impairment, and Visual Impairment. (2)

C. DEVICES BY FUNCTION: Assistive technology provide serves functions including:

Balance and Support, Bending, Cognition, Communications, Driving, Grasping, Handling, Hearing, Holding, Lifting, Measuring, Mobility, Pulling, Pushing, Reaching, Sitting, Standing, Stooping, Throwing, Visual (reading), Visual (activities, board games, arts and crafts, communications, sports, television viewing). (2)

PART III -- A Resource for Assistive Technology

ABLEDATA: This U.S. Government funded WEBSITE provides information on 60 manufactures, distributors, and resources for recreation assistive technology. This is a first stop for new users but there are limitations:
1. The subject word search may not work; browsing is necessary to find all the products available;
2. The system is not comprehensive nor well organized; and
3. Uncritical selections have been made in the past.

FOOTNOTES

(1) Nesbitt, John A., EDITOR.
The National Institute on New Models of Community-Based Special Recreation for the Handicapped. Published [in the public domain, no copyright] by the Recreation Education Program, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, 1978. Ten (10) Volumes, 1,875 pp. Available through ERIC: Educational Recreation Information Center Microfiche Collection in 1000 US and 25 overseas libraries.

(2) John A. Nesbitt, EDITOR.
The International Directory of Recreation-Oriented Assistive Device Sources. Published by Lifeboat Press, Marina Del Rey, California, 1986. 259 pp. FOREWORD by Robert J. Doyle, U.S. Senator; COMMENTS by Harold Russell, Chair, U.S. President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities; and PROJECT STAFF: Carol J. Walsh, Abby K. Lazerow, Ann E. Wagner, Barbara Smiley, Nadine Nakanishi, Dr. Eugene M. Osher and Mickey A.Christianson.
___

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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