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IF recreation had a credo to which all of its professional leaders subscribed, it would surely contain an article devoted to the conviction that all persons are equally entitled to recreational opportunities regardless of ability or disability. The champion athlete, the super-intellect, the socially and politically advantaged have no greater need or right to the benefits of a recreational experience than the physically disabled child or adult, the deaf and blind, the emotionally ill and retarded, or the aged and homebound. Indeed, we might all agree that the disabled have a greater need for recreational opportunities and services than their able-bodied contemporaries. Unfortunately, our actions on this score have not always been in consonance with our convictions when it comes to making the crucial day-by-day decisions which will effect services to the disabled members of our communities. All too often we are guilty of shortchanging the disabled either by omission or commission; perhaps out of ignorance or fear, or both, we have tended to draw upon the many myths and prejudices which in former days had served to shield us from the shame of our hypocrisy. Nowhere has this hypocrisy been more evident than in the employment policies and practices of the park and recreation field. While we have not openly discriminated against the disabled, we have subtly closed the door at a time when our manpower projections indicate a clear need for new workers. This author is aware of one recent graduate from a recreation curriculum of a major university who was unable to find employment for more than a year while most of his classmates were able to choose from numerous job offers. Perhaps the major reason for his difficulty was the fact that he was a paraplegic confined to a wheelchair. It took the efforts of many individuals working on his behalf before a job was found. Yet, once an employer gave him the opportunity, he proved to be an outstanding worker. This young man is but one of many handicapped persons who have been thwarted by attitudinal barriers which still exist in our profession—barriers which must be overcome. It is time we brought our deeds into closer harmony with our espoused convictions and undertook a concerted effort to review our practices and put our collective houses in order. To this end, the National Recreation and Park Association, with a grant from the Social and Rehabilitation Service Administration of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, undertook a one-year project to "stimulate new careers for the handicapped in recreation and parks." The project co-directors, Dr. Diana Dunn and Mr. David Park of the National Recreation and Park Association, conducted six major regional workshops throughout the nation. The meetings were attended by guidance counselors, special educators, representatives of state Governor's Committees on Employment of the Handicapped, vocational rehabilitation counselors, recreation and park educators, practitioners, and leaders. The project was conceived to perform a catalytic function which would lead ultimately to jobs and services for the disabled and handicapped. It attempted to bring four critical problems into sharper focus: 1. There is a manpower shortage in the recreation and park field, and it is increasing geometrically. 2. Handicapped persons are a virtually untapped reservoir of potential manpower. 3. Handicapped persons can contribute substantially to manpower required in the recreation and park field. Illinois Parks and Recreation 14 November/December,1971 4. An interdisciplinary communication chasm is inhibiting the efficient use of handicapped individuals in the recreation and park field.
Disabled Population Increasing
Two major nationwide surveys (Public Health, 1963-65, and Social Security Survey of Disabled Adults, 1966) place the number of disabled, with chronic activity or work-limiting conditions, at 12-16% of the total population. Some writers place this figure as high as 20% which would mean that 40 million Americans have activity-limiting disabilities. In a recent study by Paul C. Mall of Amundsen-Mayfair College, he states that there are "5,900,000 children in the United States under the age of twenty-one who are permanently physically disabled. This is 10% of the total child population (under twenty-one) of the United States. The estimate for the State of Illinois would be in excess of 539,900 permanently physically disabled individuals under the age of twenty-one." According to Mall, the State of Illinois is estimated to have 15,250 newly created permanently physically disabled individuals each year. This does not begin to take into account the mentally ill, retarded, aged, etc. It is clear from these and other studies that we are faced with an ever-increasing number of disabled persons who deserve and expect an equal opportunity for recreation programs and services. It is of equal clarity that we do not have the manpower to provide those services (Hawkins and Verhoven, 1967, 1970; Peters and Verhoven, 1970). Hawkins and Verhoven (1970) predicted that by 1980, in older citizen recreation alone, there will be a need for 14,510 personnel. We can begin to solve these problems by employing handicapped workers in our park and recreation programs. We should tap this reservoir of human potential with full confidence that disabled and handicapped workers can contribute substantially to our programs. The National Recreation and Park Association project headed by Dunn and Parks is in the process of compiling recommendations which grew out of the six regional workshops. It is anticipated that these recommendations will provide a useful outline for action on the national as well as state and local levels. One of the early results of these efforts is the recommended creation of a special subcommittee of the President's Council on Employment of the Handicapped, devoted exclusively to recreation services and employment opportunities. Such a subcommittee will provide a national vehicle for the promotion of programs and the dissemination of information. However, we know from experience that national programs cannot succeed without concerted "grass-roots" support at the state and local level. We therefore call upon the Illinois Park and Recreation Society, the Illinois Association of Park Districts, and the Illinois Therapeutic Recreation Society to join forces in creating for the handicapped and disabled in the State of Illinois. It is further recommended that this multidisciplinary committee : 1. Seek to work in close harmony with the Governor's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped. 2. Establish a recruitment program to find qualified disabled and handicapped workers to fill existing job vacancies at all levels of employment. 3. Encourage the establishment of new programs and services for the disabled and handicapped, and where possible, hire handicapped and disabled personnel to conduct these programs. Illinois Parks and Recreation 15 November/December,1971 4. Develop recruitment programs to invite disabled and handicapped high school students to consider careers in parks and recreation. 5. Work with universities and colleges in developing and adapting training programs for disabled and handicapped. Through these efforts, we can begin to bring our actions into closer harmony with our convictions while solving some of the growing manpower problems in parks and recreation.
Jerry Kelley is a Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, Office of Recreation and Park Resources, University of Illinois. Illinois Parks and Recreation 23 November/December, 1971
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