Last week in class we had four presentations on fun activities and the new innovative equipment that has come out.
The first group was Boating and Kayaking. The very first action that they had us preform was to rearrange our tables so that they were all facing the front of the classroom lengthwise, and then they had us sit on top of them! We were supposed to be pretending that we were kayaking. :} This was fun and just something new to get us all out of the everyday classroom presence that we have during the week. During the presentation, I learned that there are a few different kinds of kayaks such as a one person covered or top, double, wide and narrow, and different specialty kayaks. The presenters also talked about having partners with people who may have a server mental disability or vision impairment.
Websites: http://www.kayakhelp.com/kayaking-strokes.php and http://www.adaptivepaddling.org/book.htm
The group also covered adaptive sailing. This was completely new to me! There are sail boats that are made for only one person to manage that are actually really cute and small. These boats are designed for people with disabilities; the joystick that is used to control the movements of the boat is made to be moved with any part of the body be it the mouth, foot, or chin. These dinghies are specially made so that it cannot tip over! How cool is this! AND I learned that there was a new "joystick" made where the boat's movements are controlled through breathing in and out of a specially designed pole used to automatically control the rutter by a person's breath. That is ingenious!! :}
This is a youtube video that shows this amazing innovation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hosNDp6bIk
My favorite part of the presentation was the very end when we pretended to kayak while listening to "Just Around the Riverbend" from Pocahontas!! :}
The second group was my group! We talked about adaptive horseback riding. There has been a lot of research done on how being with, caring for, and riding horses helps to increase muscle strength, flexibility, balance, and coordination. We also taught the class how to "Horse Whisper!" We taught the sweet spots on a horse and how to communicate and bond with the horse, but the best part was that we brought in stuffed animal horses for everyone in the class to practice on!! :}
The next group taught the class about the adaptive equipment used with art. A lot of the equipment were items that I had seen or heard about from other places, but one thing that did stand out to me was the adaptive mouth paint brush. I had heard and even seen these before, but I did not know that the section placed in the mouth was curved to fit perfectly into the artists mouth. A technique that was shone in a youtube video used with people who paint while having a visual impairment was that the artist would first paint an outline of the picture with paint that raised. Then the artist would be able to paint with whatever colors he or she wanted.
This is the link to the youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P84bfFpVWE
The group also talked about museums that allowed for people who may have visual impairments. The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art are two places that provide braille labels, large-print booklets, verbal imaging tours, and even have art pieces that are able to be touched. I think that these provisions are very important to have, but many don't even think of these simple things.
The last group to present taught about High Ropes Courses and the adaptive equipment that is used for people who have disabilities. I learned that this is not something that is new, and that the equipment used is simply adding ramps and pulley systems. There are some adaptive accessible chairs and harnesses that are used as well. The group was able to find personal stories of how one organization called Adventure Education was able to help in the lives of people who have disabilities:
“While I was at AE I realized that it is okay to trust others, and that I can rely on other people than myself. I've never really been able to do that so I couldn't communicate my emotions. Now that I'm home I don't put on the mask that I wore constantly. I am not afraid of people seeing me be weak. They [AE] showed me that we are all weak at some point and that we do need the ability to be honest about what’s hurting us. Now that I know how to talk to others about my troubles I am encouraging my friends and family to do the same. My friends/family and I have never been so close and it’s helped me with all of my other problems. Thank you sooo much AE!!" – Britney
The other important things that struck me were that many of the people who were able to participate in the high ropes courses said many times that they would forget about their disability or that it would be left on the ground with their wheelchair. This is something that makes me excited to be a Therapeutic Recreation Specialist!
~Sarah
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