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Recreational Therapy Archives

1958 JHPER: National Recreational Therapy Section News

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(Editor: Bernath E. Phillips from "52-'58)

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(1952)23:6:23-24;7:46;8:46;9:46;10:46

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Originally published in the June 1952 Journal of the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (JHPER), v23, issue 6, pages 23-24...

RECREATIONAL THERAPY

A new section of the AAHPER Recreation Division, formed at the April 1952 Convention by B. E. PHILLIPS

HERETOFORE the Recreation Division of the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, a Department of the National Education Association, has consisted of three sections, namely, Public Recreation, Voluntary and Youth Serving Agencies, and Institutional and Industrial Recreation. At this year's April Convention of the AAHPER in Los Angeles, action was taken to divide the latter section into two autonomous sections- Industrial Recreation and Recreational Therapy.

Reasons for the Change

This action on the part of the Recreation Division, approved by the Board of Directors and the Representative Assembly, was dictated primarily by the facts that (1) the fields of institutional and industrial recreation appear to have few interests in common and (2) there has been a significant growth especially during recent years in the field of hospital recreation. This paper reports salient facts relative to the newly formed Recreational Therapy Section.

The Recreational Therapy Section was formed primarily for the purpose of providing additional opportunities for recreation personnel at such institutions as public and private hospitals, training and boarding schools for the exceptional and mentally retarded, rehabilitation centers, and camps, to become and remain well-informed on trends and developments in the field of Recreational Therapy.

Conferees felt that personnel engaged in Recreational Therapy had much to gain from affiliation with a professional association having a membership of nearly 20,000; consultation and placement services; nationally recognized professional publications; well established liaison with such professional associations as the American Medical Association; machinery already established through its parent organization, the NEA, for influencing Federal legislation; and a record of more than 65 years of outstanding service in the fields of health, physical education, and recreation.

Officers of the New Section

B. J. Ludquist, Veterans Administration Hospital, Palo Alto, California, and Major Kenneth A. Hill, California Veterans Home, Napa County, California, chairman and secretary respectively, of the former Institutional and Industrial Recreation Section, were elected to the same offices of this newly formed Section. The author was appointed News Editor for the Section. The following Operating Code, adopted at the California meeting, contains a statement of purposes and describes the organization and operation of the Section:

Operating Code of the Section:

A. Name

The name of the Section shall be the Recreational Therapy Section of the Recreation Division of the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation.

B. Purpose

C. Organization

D. Conduct of Business

Membership in the Section

The reader will note from the above that membership in the Recreational Therapy Section is open to any member of the AAHPER. Members of the Association who would like to be identified with the Section should let this fact be known by writing Major Kenneth A. Hill, section secretary (California Veterans Home, Napa County, Calif.), or J. Bertram Kessel, consultant in recreation and outdoor education for the Association (AAHPER, 1201 16th St., N. W., Washington 6, D.C.). Interested persons who are not members of the Association are encouraged to make application for membership on the blank provided at the top of this page, signifying on the blank an interest in Recreational Therapy. Plans for Recreational Therapy News Starting with the September 1952 issue, it is planned to provide space in this Journal each month for news items of particular interest to those engaged in Recreational Therapy. Suggestions as to the content of this news section should be mailed to B. E. Phillips, Editor, Recreational Therapy Section, 3411 N Street N.W., Washington 7, D.C. The name of the Section shall be the Recreational Therapy Section of the Recreation Division of the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation.

B. Purpose

C. Organization

D. Conduct of Business

1. There shall be a regular biennial meeting of members of the Section at the time and place of the biennial meeting of the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. 2. The Section shall work cooperatively with the corresponding sections in the Districts in carrying out special projects and in arranging the program and meetings of the Section at the National Convention. 3. The Section shall send its biennial report to the Executive Secretary of the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation for presentation to the Board of Directors. The report shall be sent to the Executive Secretary at least one month before the biennial meeting. The report should include recommendations of the Section. 4. Recommendations arrived at during the biennial meeting may be submitted to the Board of Directors of the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation through the Executive Secretary. 5. The Section may appoint committees to carry on approved projects.

Membership in the Section

The reader will note from the above that membership in the Recreational Therapy Section is open to any member of the AAHPER. Members of the Association who would like to be identified with the Section should let this fact be known by writing Major Kenneth A. Hill, section secretary (California Veterans Home, Napa County, Calif.), or J. Bertram Kessel, consultant in recreation and outdoor education for the Association (AAHPER, 1201 16th St., N. W., Washington 6, D.C.). Interested persons who are not members of the Association are encouraged to make application for membership on the blank provided at the top of this page, signifying on the blank an interest in Recreational Therapy.

Plans for Recreational Therapy News

Starting with the September 1952 issue, it is planned to provide space in this Journal each month for news items of particular interest to those engaged in Recreational Therapy. Suggestions as to the content of this news section should be mailed to B. E. Phillips, Editor, Recreational Therapy Section, 3411 N Street N.W., Washington 7, D.C.

Originally published in the September 1952 JHPER, v23, issue 7, page 46.....

Suggestions Invited

This issue of the Journal is featuring "Recreational Therapy," as is indicated by the cover page. No reader of this column will want to miss Dr. Paul Haun's feature article "Recreation in the Mental Hospital: A Philosophy" which appears on page 7. In the tentative plans for the next ten issues of the Journal, more feature articles on Recreational Therapy are scheduled. In addition, related articles such as "Swimming for the Handicapped," will appear from time to time. This column will appear regularly in the Journal. Members of the national professional staff of the Association and the Section Editor solicit your suggestions in the following specific areas: (1) Authors for feature articles on Recreational Therapy in the Journal. (2) Topics for feature articles on Recreational Therapy in the Journal. (3) Types of information you would like to see in this column. (4) News items and ideas worthy of dissemination through this column. This column can be no better than you, the readers, make it. To assure its success, mail your suggestions to the Section Editor at your earliest convenience.

Word Is Getting Around

Since the formation of this Section was reported in the June issue of this Journal, the following professional publications have carried announcements of the event: American National Red Cross, Recreation Suggestions Exchange Bulletin, August 1952. American Psychiatric Association, Mental Hospital Service, Mental Hospitals, June 1952. American Recreation Society, Hospital Section, Newsletter, June 1952. Association for Physical and Mental Rehabilitation, Journal, July August 1952. The Institute of Living, Digest of Neurology and Psychiatry, August 1952. Veterans Administration, Special Services Information Bulletin, IB 6 235, June 1952. The following have indicated that announcements of the formation of the Section will appear in early issues of their publications: National Recreation Association, Recreation. National Rehabilitation Association, Journal of Rehabilitation. At this writing, approximately six additional professional periodicals are expected to carry the announcement.

Here's a Start

During the past two months your Section Editor has been receiving an increasing number of requests for information and materials on Recreational Therapy. Usually these requests are general in nature. They are normally referred to Dr. J. Bertram Kessel, the Association's Consultant in Recreation and Outdoor Education, for reply. To obviate unnecessary correspondence, the following reference suggestions are offered:

For additional references on Recreation for the physically handicapped, single copies of A Bibliography on Recreation for Physically Handicapped Children and Adults, 1949, may be obtained free from the Librarian, National Society for Crippled Children and Adults, Inc., 11 So. La Salle St., Chicago 3, Ill.

To learn of trends in Recreation in state mental hospitals, the following pamphlet may be purchased at 25 cents (postage free) from the American Psychiatric Association, Mental Hospital Service, 1785 Massachusetts Ave., N. W., Washington 6, D. C.: Blain, Daniel and Pat Vosburgh, Recreational Trends in North American Mental Institutions.

For specific information relative to recreation in military hospitals, write Miss Lillian Summers, National Recreation Consultant, Service in Military Hospitals, The American National Red Cross, National Headquarters, Washington 13, D. C.

For specific information relative to Recreation in Veterans Administration hospitals, write the Assistant Administrator for Special Services, Attention: Director, Recreation Service, Veterans Administration, Washington 25, D. C.

Subsequent columns will contain more complete reference lists as well as announcements of educational and employment opportunities in Recreational Therapy, as they are reported to the Section Editor.

NATIONAL WORKSHOP ON RECREATION Jackson's Mill, W. Va.

Thirty recreation leaders representing local, state, federal, public, private, hospital, labor, park, industry, professional, service, and educational recreation agencies, organizations, and departments met at the 4-H camp, Jackson's Mill, West Virginia, between May 17 and 25, to discuss and produce a series of guiding principles for recreation in the United States. Their efforts resulted in a publication titled Recreation for Community Living, which will be available from The Athletic Institute, 209 South State St., Chicago 4, Ill., for $1.25 per copy, by the end of September. A glossary and a list of problems suitable for graduate research are included. Directed to the layman as a citizen and a worker and to various major institutions and agencies in the United States, the study offers historical and current pictures of recreation as background material, with the major emphasis on the guiding principles. Situations, illustrations, and principles are set down concerning the role of recreation relative to the clergyman, teacher, farmer, industrialist, librarian, public official, physician, social worker, parents, and others. Recreation principles are also presented on such aspects as community organization, personnel, program, areas, facilities, finance, and interpretation. Attending the workshop were: Jackson M. Anderson; Theodore P. Bank; Charles K. Brightbill; Mrs. Rollin Broown; Theresa S. Brungardt; George D. Butler; Reynold E. Carlson; Ellis H. Champlin; Milo F. Christiansen; Pauline des Granges; Charles E. Doell; Alfred K. Eckersberg; Harry D. Edgren; Gerald B. Fitzgerald; George Hjelte; J. Bertram Kessel; Olga M. Madar; Harold D. Meyer; Doris Plewes; E. H. Regnier, Jr.; G. Ott Romney; Walter Roy; John G. Scherlacher; Clarence O. Smith; Julian W. Smith; Dorothy b. Taaffe; J. K. Tett; and Sterling S. Winans.

Originally published in the October 1952 JHPER, v23, issue 8, page 46....

AART Convention

It has been estimated that more than a dozen occupational groups are active in rehabilitation. The American Occupational Therapy Association, founded in 1917, and the American Physical Therapy Association, founded in 1921, were the only therapist organizations in existence prior to World War II. The Association for Physical and Mental Rehabilitation was organized by Corrective Therapists in 1947; the American Recreation Society established a Hospital Section in 1948; and the National Association for Music Therapy came into being in 1950.

The American Association of Rehabilitation Therapists, established at Topeka, Kansas in 1950, held its Third Annual Convention in New York City, September 2-5. The large majority of the more than 500 members of this association are employed as manual arts and education therapists in Veterans Administration hospitals. The membership does include therapists with other major interests, however, such as those of music, speech, occupational, physical and recreational therapy. In fact, active membership in the association is open to all who are graduates of accredited colleges in fields applicable to rehabilitation therapy or who can otherwise meet the qualifying experience requirement for membership. Provision is made also for student and associate membership.

Objectives of AART

The stated objectives of the AART are: (1) to promote the use of curative and technical modalities within the scope, philosophy, and approved medical concepts of rehabilitation; (2) to advance its practice; (3) to establish and advance the standards of education and training of rehabilitation therapists; and (4) to encourage and further research.

Among other things, the AART advocates the uniting of the several therapy associations into one organization, the defining of the various areas of specialization, and the eventual registration and licensing of all therapists.

At the September convention of the AART, for which there were approximately 250 men and women registrants from all sections of the country, several fine professional papers were presented. Selections from these will be published in forthcoming issues of the association's monthly Bulletin.

New AART Officers

The following are newly elected officers of the AART: President--James Burrows, Executive Assistant, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, VA Hospital, Hines, Ill.; First Vice President--Merle Clayton, Chief, Educational Therapy, VA Hospital, Ft. Custer, Mich.; Second Vice President--Arthur Sandbank, Manual Arts Therapist, VA Hospital, Bronx, N. Y.; Recording Secretary--William Okun, Manual Arts Therapist, VA Hospital, Bronx, N. Y.; Corresponding Secretary--Zola Bond, Educational Therapist, VA Hospital, Hines, Ill.; Treasurer -Clarence Heft, Chief, Educational Therapy, VA Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio; Assistant Treasurer- James Lentz, Chief, Educational Therapy, VA Hospital, Long Beach, Calif.; Secretary to Medical Advisory Board--Blossom Vigdor, Educational Therapist, VA Hospital, Hines, Ill. "Love Against Hate" At the April convention of our Association in Los Angeles, Karl Menninger, M.D., educational director of The Menninger Foundation, Topeka, Kansas, spoke at a general session on the topic, The Function of Work and Play in Mental Health." His was an outstanding contribution, much of which is expressed in Chapter 7, "Play," of his text Love Against Hate, (New York: Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1942.)

Those Recreational Therapists who have not already done so should not only read but should study this chapter which is a clear and concise treatise on the foundation upon which their profession is based.

Originally published in the November 1952 JHPER, v23, issue 9, page 46...

Recreational Therapy's Role

In the September 1952 issue of Mental Hospitals, Dr. Lucy D. Ozarin, Hospital Psychiatric Section, Veterans Administration, in her article "Can We Define Disciplinary Roles?" expresses a point of view which appears to be worthy of our continued examination.

Dr. Ozarin states: ". . . our sister professions are making a grave error if they are ready to become substitute psychiatrists instead of members of a professional discipline with their own special sphere of tradition, competence and skill--and if they are ready to sell their birthrights for a mess of psychotherapy. Rather, their own skills and techniques, modified and adapted according to the need, can broaden both the scope of available treatment for patients and the professional competence and area of usefulness of the individual staff members. . . . Rather than seeking to imitate the techniques of other professions it is hoped that each discipline will strive to develop its own methods and skills."

Specialized Graduate Training

Although several institutions of higher learning offer courses of instruction in areas related directly to recreation for the handicapped, three such schools now offer graduate training leading to the Master's degree in this general area. The three are Springfield College, University of Minnesota, and Columbia University.

A graduate curriculum inn Physical Education and Recreation in Rehabilitation was established at Springfield College in 1947. Approximately 50 men have been graduated from the program in the five years since its inception, Veterans Administration hospitals having employed more than half of them. Others have secured employment in private and state hospitals, crippled children's homes, public schools, colleges, insurance companies and research organizations. Those desiring more specific information on the Springfield College course may write to Mr. Harvey E. Williams, Advisor in Rehabilitation, Graduate Office, Springfield College, Springfield, Mas sachussetts. During the past two years the University of Minnesota has graduated three men and one woman with the Master's degree in Hospital Recreation. Three of these persons have secured supervisory positions in hospital recreation programs and one has been drafted into the armed forces. During the current school year, there are six persons pursuing this curriculum. Dr. G. B. Fitzgerald, Director of Recreation Training at the University, states that courses of study leading to the Master's Degree in Hospital Recreation are offered in the Medical School, the College of Education, the School of Social Work, and the Division of Recreation Leadership. Fred Chapman, state supervisor of patients' programs, State Hospitals of Minnesota, and J. Lloyd Baird, assistant area director, Special Services, Veterans Administration, St. Paul, Minnesota, teach the specific courses in Hospital Recreation.

Dr. Josephine L. Rathbone, associate professor, Department of Health Education and Physical Education, Columbia University, who was instrumental in establishing the curriculum in Physical Education and Recreation in Rehabilitation at Springfield College, has recently instituted two areas of specialization at Teachers College, Columbia University, namely: Recreation in Rehabilitation and Physical Education in Rehabilitation. As at Springfield and Minnesota, strong undergraduate course prerequisites must be shown for acceptance, careful screening of candidates is effected, and requirements for graduation include clinical observation and practice. The continued refinement of these three curriculums promises to constitute a significant development in our professional field.

Originally published in the December 1952 JHPER, v23, issue 10, page 46....

Hospital Section of the ARS

The Hospital Section of the American Recreation Society, established in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1948, held its fifth annual meeting in Seattle, Washington, September 28-30, 1952, in conjunction with the National Recreation Congress. At the business meeting, special committee reports were approved for on research, standards, publications, training, membership, nominations, and basic concepts of hospital recreation.

Several panel discussions pertaining to professional preparation, in-service training, utilization of volunteers, planning programs, adapting activities, and determining interests and capacities of participants were held. Participating in these discussions were leaders from Federal Agencies, such as the Veterans Administration, the American National Red Cross, and state, community and private institutions providing care for physically and mentally handicapped individuals.

At the meeting, a Consultation and Information Service was provided for hospital recreation workers. Selected reports and discussion summaries will be published in forthcoming issues of the ARS Bulletin and News Bulletin of the Hospital Recreation Section.

At this annual meeting it was reported that membership in the Hospital Recreation Section now numbers 215, an increase of 23 members for the year. The large majority of these members are American Red Cross recreation leaders in military hospitals, and recreation leaders in Veterans Administration and state hospitals.

Newly elected officers of the section are: Chairman--C. C. Bream, Jr., Chief, Recreation Division, Recreation Service, Veterans Administration, Washington 25, D. C.; Vice Chairman--Miss Dorothy Taaffe, Recreation Supervisor, American Red Cross, U. S. Naval Hospital, St. Albans, Long Island, N. Y.; Secretary--Fred Chapman, Supervisor, Patients Program Services, Minnesota State Hospitals, Division Public Institutions, St. Paul, Minn. An

Experiment in Recreation

The Department of Public Welfare of the State of Illinois has issued a revised edition of its publication, An Experiment In Recreation with the Mentally Retarded (by Bertha E. Schlotter and Margaret Svendsen; published by National Mental Health Funds, 1951). Although the material presented pertains to institutionalized patients, the approach to evaluation and the basic philosophy expressed therein would appear to have pertinence for those who work with the mentally retarded, irrespective of locale.

The reporting of response of mentally retarded children to various play activities and the classification of well known "standard" activities by type and mental age would be invaluable as reference material, particularly to the student or recreation worker who has an interest in, or is working for the first time with, the mentally retarded.

Olympic Games for Paraplegics?

The September 1952 (Vol. 1, No. 8) issue of New Era contains a report on the Inter Spinal Units Sports Tournament which was held during the summer in the village of Stoke Mandeville, near London. Fifteen teams with 150 competitors, including four paralyzed veterans from Holland, participated. Games and contests included in the tournament were netball (basketball-type game), snooker, billiards, javelin throwing, table tennis, and archery. In subsequent tournaments it is planned to include swimming and other sports.

This tournament was initiated in 1948 and promoted since then by Dr. Ludwig Guttmann, distinguished British neurologist, director of the Ministry of Pensions, Spinal Injury Center at Stoke Mandeville, and consultant to the World Veterans Federation on its rehabilitation program. Dr. Guttmann's dream is an Olympic Games for paralyzed people.

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