Advocacy update: securing access: NTRS and NRPA help students with disabilities excel in academic settings by providing recreational opportunities.

In the last four years, the Somerset County Park Commission's summer camp has focused its programming on helping children with learning disabilities or Aspergers Syndrome to maintain the proper skills for school. The results have proved so successful that some schools are now paying for some of these children to attend the camp as part of an "extended school year" program.

Dina Trunzo is the manager of therapeutic recreation at Somerset County Park Commission in New Jersey, and she has noticed an influx of schools sending children to Camp Okee Sunokee since the commission started its new focus. Schools in her county are beginning to realize the potential of these programs for children who behave inappropriately on the playground or exhibit negative behavior.

The program not only helps the children develop social and recreation skills, but helps them develop their academic and functional skills as well, leading to successful inclusion in school and community activities. "We were able to provide an environment for them to feel comfortable to work on the development of their social skills; not feel ostracized from the other kids," Trunzo says.

Unfortunately, this type of partnership is not the standard nationwide. But a current revision of an established bill could provide the therapeutic recreation (TR) field with another opportunity to target children with disabilities, and provide them with the skills they need to be successful in life.

"It's going to open up opportunities not just for camps, but for recreation therapists to come into the school and work with programs within the schools," Trunzo says.

Revising the Rules

Currently, federal law guarantees millions of children with disabilities the right to attend public schools and to receive free, appropriate public education. These public schools must make accommodations and modifications to ensure that every child receives an education that is the most suitable for them. In order to ensure that a student with a disability has an appropriate educational plan in place, the school and the parents develop an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).

The IEP includes information about the child's present levels of performance on various tests and measures. The IEP also includes information about goals and objectives for the child, specifically how educational problems will be addressed. The IEP should also include ways for parents and educators to measure the child's progress toward the goals and objectives.

On Nov. 19, 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was enacted into law. Through the years, the statute was amended and renamed several times. On June 4, 1997, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was enacted and became the main federal law to help improve education for children with disabilities.

IDEA was reauthorized and signed into law on Dec. 3, 2004, with most provisions of the law taking effect this past July. The new law directed the Department of Education (DOE) to disseminate new regulations for implementing the law. As such, on June 21, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services of the DOE published proposed regulations to implement the new IDEA. Comments were accepted until Sept. 6, and the revised regulations are anticipated sometime in 2006.

NRPA and specifically the National Therapeutic Recreation Society (NTRS) have been actively involved in the rulemaking process by attending public meetings and submitting formal comments on the proposed regulations.

Recreation and therapeutic recreation (TR) are presently "related services" under IDEA. Recreation services include provision of opportunities and professional support to individuals to enable participation in recreational sports and activities, enrichment and social activities including community service, clubs and youth councils, and the exploration of career activities.

Fran Daly, NTRS representative for NRPA's Board of Trustees, has testified at one of the eight hearings held nationwide. Daly says that TR specialists should be considered when schools write their IEPs, so that children can benefit from recreation therapy and thus, do better in school. "They don't fully identify it as a primary service, because they don't see it as part of the education curriculum," she explains. "[We have to] more clearly identify what is meant by recreation and therapeutic recreation services under the regulations so that it's much more specific and much more clear to the institutions as to what kind of services we can provide."

A therapeutic recreation specialist may consult with families, work with school officials to design and implement IEPs during school and after-school programs, and design and provide extended school-year programming for students with severe disabilities. Therapeutic recreation specialists help students with disabilities, including youth with behavioral and emotional disabilities, by increasing their independent functioning and facilitating their transition to adult life.

The Center for Recreation and Disability Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found the following outcomes for people with psychiatric and learning disabilities who use therapeutic recreation services:

1. Improved communication and cooperation skills;

2. Improved cognitive functioning, including skills; such as decision making, problem solving and increased attention span;

3. Development of friendships with others; improved social skills and increased level of trust in others;

4. Improved ability to make independent choices;

5. Enhanced self control and ability to follow rules, directions and procedures;

6. Increased adaptive behaviors and reduction of inappropriate behaviors;

7. Increased community integration and age-appropriate behaviors;

8. Refined gross and fine motor skills including balance and agility;

9. Improved coping skills to relieve anxiety, stress and tension;

10. Decreased manifestations of stress and depression;

11. Heightened self-awareness and self-esteem; and

12. Self-reported increased quality of discretionary time use.

While the comment period has ended, NTRS continues to advocate for TR to be considered an educational service under IDEA. "This should be something that is provided to the parents as an option," Daly says, adding that currently, parents are not generally given this option when discussing treatment of their children with the school.

"We're confident that something will change as a result of our comments; we may not get everything, but I think we feel that one of the successful things that we've done is put ourselves on the map with the DOE and the Office of Special Education, and that this will continue to help us clarify [the issue]. The more we educate at this level, the more we can get them to advocate for us at the state level."

Under the new IDEA law, therapeutic recreation specialists have a unique opportunity to offer their skills to help students with disabilities secure access to recreation services that can be essential to their social and educational development. These specialists can connect with local school systems and seek out opportunities to participate in IEP development and implementation.

"Right now, it would be hard for a recreation therapist to go work within the school," Trunzo says. But if IDEA includes the necessary language to include TR specialists as an option, "it opens up the opportunity for the children, and that's the most important thing here."

Action alert

Even though the comment period has ended, publicize your TR programs on the local and regional level to your congressional representatives. Educate them on the successes of your TR programs so they can make the informed decision in 2006.

Monica Hobbs Vinluan is the senior policy associate for health and wellness issues for NRPA's Division of Public Policy. She has more than six years of legislative and policy advocacy experience, working on various health promotion issues.