Therapeutic Recreation Pro Tips

Pro Tip: Create Avenues for Feedback

It’s one thing to build a program to be inclusive and adaptive. It’s another to incorporate thoughts and comments from participants and community members.

Fostering and keeping open lines of communication can ensure your adaptive efforts are utilized and improved to evolve and best meet the needs of the community.

Lamy recommends building a comprehensive survey or focus group to capture and incorporate user feedback, ensure your adaptive services or programs are hitting the mark and that community members have a way to weigh in as needed. “It’s also an avenue to understand the gaps in your coverage and what your community is looking for from your team. You want to find a way to keep the lines of communication open,” says Lamey.

Pro Tip: Build a Comprehensive Registration Intake Form

When it comes to understanding a participant’s abilities and needs, a detailed, thorough registration form can give your team a leg up in understanding how, when and why your team will need to adapt for each participant.

“That registration is step one in our adaptive process,” says Bonikowske. “Once someone registers for a program, I reach out to the family to develop an individualized accommodation plan for participation. The intake form is where we learn their allergies, what sensitivities a participant might have, their relevant medications, and any kinds of additional support we should plan to provide. It gives us everything we need to hit the ground running and deliver the best service and support that we can.”