This week we were lucky enough to have a gentleman come in and talked about virtual schools. He is actually a teacher at Wisconsin Virtual Learning. Wisconsin Virtual Learning serves grades K-12 and right now has approximately 900 students attending.
What is a virtual school you might ask? I had the same question myself when I heard he was coming in to talk to our class. A virtual school is based online and you can do it right from your home. Wisconsin Virtual Learning provides computers for each individual attending their school along with all of the learning materials needed. What I found interesting was even for Science classes and disecting animals, they all come straight to your house in a package. How gross would that be?
There are currently 14 virtual schools in Wisconsin and only accept individuals during open enrollment which usually happens in Feburary. There are many positive aspects about attending a virtual school. For instance, each child has their own individualized curriculum that they work on themselves. This is great opportunity for a child with a disability of any kind to work at their own pace and not be pushed through grade levels along with their peers like in a regular public school. He also stressed that there are more social aspects that are available through virtual schools. If there are activities going on during the day on a particular day, you can go to those activities but still be attending school and getting your schoolwork done for that day. It is also very flexible.
What I took away from this presentation and will keep with me while I become a CTRS is that there are so many different options out there for individuals. Not every person is the same and there is endless ways of getting a child to learn with going "out of the box" instead of following traditional activities. The biggest thing I learned is don't be afraid to try new things. It could be the best thing that has ever happened to someone or in this case in just one school, 900 individuals.
More about Wisconsin Virtual Learning
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Downhill Wheelchair Biking
I found this website and I thought it was really neat! It is truly amazing at how much a person can do with a wheelchair. This is so extreme!
This activity would be hard to facilitate without the actual company. There are two bikes that are available to order that come in a variety of colors that you can choose from. Other equpiment you would need would be: a standard racing helmet, protective clothing, and protective pads which all of these items would be available at a motorcross racing store. I would say that the population for this activity would have to be people who are not only wheelchair users but at least at the mental/developmental level of a 18 year-old. This looks pretty extreme!
The purpose of this specific website link I posted was to give wheelchair users, along with able-bodied MTB riders, the opportunity to enjoy the thrills of off-road downhill 4 wheel mountain bike riding.
http://www.roughriderz.co.uk/downhill.html
This activity would be hard to facilitate without the actual company. There are two bikes that are available to order that come in a variety of colors that you can choose from. Other equpiment you would need would be: a standard racing helmet, protective clothing, and protective pads which all of these items would be available at a motorcross racing store. I would say that the population for this activity would have to be people who are not only wheelchair users but at least at the mental/developmental level of a 18 year-old. This looks pretty extreme!
The purpose of this specific website link I posted was to give wheelchair users, along with able-bodied MTB riders, the opportunity to enjoy the thrills of off-road downhill 4 wheel mountain bike riding.
http://www.roughriderz.co.uk/downhill.html
Chair Bungee? What is that?
I found this really cool website that talks about Chair Bungee. Chair Bungee is when a person straps the harness to both the body and the wheelchair, clipping onto a bungee cord, and then rolling off the edge. This sounds quite dangerous but it is actually really safe!
The population would be people who use wheelchairs to assist themselves and would have to be in a developmental age group old enough to be able to sustand the impact of bungee jumping. The equipment needed would be supplied through the company who does chair bungee, so you would only have to pay a fee in order to do it.
When I saw this, I knew I had to post this! Who would have ever thought? I don't think I would be able to have the guts to do this! Check it out! Here is the link and it comes with a really cool video!
http://www.extremechairing.com/sports/bungiing.html
The population would be people who use wheelchairs to assist themselves and would have to be in a developmental age group old enough to be able to sustand the impact of bungee jumping. The equipment needed would be supplied through the company who does chair bungee, so you would only have to pay a fee in order to do it.
When I saw this, I knew I had to post this! Who would have ever thought? I don't think I would be able to have the guts to do this! Check it out! Here is the link and it comes with a really cool video!
http://www.extremechairing.com/sports/bungiing.html
Kid's On the Block and More!
This past Tuesday we had a professor (Dr. Navar) come in and taught us how to use the Kid's on the Block puppets. I remember having Kid's on the Block come to my school when I was younger and so this was really neat to see what it all entails in order to have a presentation. It surely takes a lot of work to facilitate just one puppet itself!
More Information on Kid's On The Block - Click Here!
The other topic we discussed that followed Dr. Navar's presentation was other uses of puppets and how we could incorporate them into a multigenerational setting. Our group talked about using hand painted puppets. We thought this would be really fun for all populations and ages. We came to the conclusion that it would increase their self-esteem, social skills, and of course, their expression. We thought that you could maybe base the program off of their favorite memory in their life and have them paint a puppet on their hand that represents that memory. After they were all done they would be able to go around the room and talk about their memory and why they painted their hand the way the did.
Some supplies you would need that we discussed were: non-toxic paint, paint brushes, cardboard (settings for the puppet if you wanted to make a scene), colored paper (for scenes, and magazines (also for scenes).
The role of the Recreational Therapist would just be supportive and maybe give a few creative ideas in the beginning to give them ideas. Otherwise I think the Recreational Therapist should just watch the interactions between the individuals and the other participants and record all of the positive aspects.
Here is a link that I found about hand painted puppets that you might enjoy taking a look at:
http://www.facepaint.ws/paintedhands.htm
More Information on Kid's On The Block - Click Here!
The other topic we discussed that followed Dr. Navar's presentation was other uses of puppets and how we could incorporate them into a multigenerational setting. Our group talked about using hand painted puppets. We thought this would be really fun for all populations and ages. We came to the conclusion that it would increase their self-esteem, social skills, and of course, their expression. We thought that you could maybe base the program off of their favorite memory in their life and have them paint a puppet on their hand that represents that memory. After they were all done they would be able to go around the room and talk about their memory and why they painted their hand the way the did.
Some supplies you would need that we discussed were: non-toxic paint, paint brushes, cardboard (settings for the puppet if you wanted to make a scene), colored paper (for scenes, and magazines (also for scenes).
The role of the Recreational Therapist would just be supportive and maybe give a few creative ideas in the beginning to give them ideas. Otherwise I think the Recreational Therapist should just watch the interactions between the individuals and the other participants and record all of the positive aspects.
Here is a link that I found about hand painted puppets that you might enjoy taking a look at:
http://www.facepaint.ws/paintedhands.htm
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Tuesday at the Movies!
This past Tuesday class we watched two videos about people in different populations doing amazing and phnemonal things. Some of things included rock climbing, playing hockey, and sailing. It was really neat to see all of the adaptive equipment out there. Speaking of which, this leads to the question that I am going to answer in my blog tonight which is: "What can a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) learn from these stories?" From this videos I learned that anything is possible, you just have to be open-minding and willing to try out new things. Adapations for ANYTHING are out there and everyday they provide happiness and wellness to each individual who is participating. Also, another thing I learned from the videos was that social supports such as your friends and family is very important in a person's life who has a disability. They encourage that individual so much to follow their dreams and keep living their lives I think it would be very difficult to not have your friends and family as support. However, if that is the position an individual is in, I think a CTRS could be there more for that individual and encourage them more to increase their self-esteem so they become an independent and outgoing person.
Well this is all for now!
Well this is all for now!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Therapeutic... yet innovative!
This past Tuesday in class four groups presented a specific therapeutic program that our instructor had assigned to us earlier in the semester. The programs that were presented were: Therapeutic and Recreational Horseback Riding, Kayaking/Canoeing, Adaptive Painting and Sculpting, and High Ropes Course. My group present the High Ropes Course program and I was instructed that rather than explaining about all of the other programs, I were to blog about how we found and put together our information for our presentation. So here it goes!
At first it was really hard to think of ways to search for information on High Ropes Courses for people who were impaired in any way. Also, it was hard to find ways to make it adapative for people with disabilities or impairments to use a high ropes course. However, as a group we came together, found SOME information on adaptive equipment. This was a little helpful but we soon realized that a high ropes course was adaptable to anyone at anytime really. All you really need is to adjust the straps, width of the boards that you are crossing perhaps, and maybe even the length/height of the course within itself.
After we thought of our presentation this way, it was really easy to come up with ways to discuss with the class and present our project. High ropes courses would be a wonderful thing for an individual who has a disability or impairment to do. There is very little change in doing the activity but a huge change in their confidence and how they feel when they are doing it.
At first it was really hard to think of ways to search for information on High Ropes Courses for people who were impaired in any way. Also, it was hard to find ways to make it adapative for people with disabilities or impairments to use a high ropes course. However, as a group we came together, found SOME information on adaptive equipment. This was a little helpful but we soon realized that a high ropes course was adaptable to anyone at anytime really. All you really need is to adjust the straps, width of the boards that you are crossing perhaps, and maybe even the length/height of the course within itself.
After we thought of our presentation this way, it was really easy to come up with ways to discuss with the class and present our project. High ropes courses would be a wonderful thing for an individual who has a disability or impairment to do. There is very little change in doing the activity but a huge change in their confidence and how they feel when they are doing it.
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