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Re-creating vs Recreation:
A Philosophical Approach by Violet R. Zehr Violet Zehr is Senior Citizen Supervisor with the Des Plaines Park District. She is a Registered Nurse and Social Therapist working toward a degree in nutrition. She has worked in the field of psychiatry for many years and has developed a belief in holistic medical approaches that emphasize the effects of nutrition, exercise and positive thinking on physical and mental health. Among other affiliations, she is a member of the National Health Federation, the Association of Humanistic Gerontology, Consumers Health Group, and the Hospice of the Northshore. In addition she serves on the boards of the Association Home Health Care organization, and the Des Plaines Senior Center. Old age is not a disease, it is a triumph over problems, disappointments, illnesses and separation. A Senior is a person who is passing through one of life's many transitional stages, not passing out of society altogether. Programs designed for Seniors should look at this total changing person and how these individuals fit into the society as a whole. Typically, an aging citizen is going through a series of stages with unique emotional problems, physical changes and intellectual challenges. Professionally directed activities and counselling must deal with helping the Senior to most effectively utilize his own resources to cope with these changes. In addition to these individual considerations, programming should be directed toward breaking down certain myths and prejudices surrounding this age group. In order to understand the changes in this transitional phase and how to deal with them, it is useful to look at the whole personality as a pie. Sections of the pie represent interaction through various activities and relationships (i.e., family, career, friends and recreation). As one passes through the normal stages of aging these sections change in size, importance and may even disappear. Friends die. Children grow up and leave. Careers end in retirement. As these changes occur the individual must satisfy his need for emotional and intellectual input and output in new ways. Replacement of these "sections" is also important in fighting isolation. The old relationships and activities not only served to maintain an input/output energy cycle, they also provided essential ties to society as a whole. As these ties are broken and the person's input/output energy cycle is disturbed, counselling and directed activities can help re-establish these vital elements of the personality. A positive program of assistance with problem definition and resolution can provide the resources for the individual in this transitional stage to continue to live a productive and meaningful life. The first step in helping Seniors to deal with the changes in this stage is to help them to define their own unique needs, Self-definition is the key to this stage. Self-definition is important because it serves as part of the solution and not just as a preliminary step to solving the displacement/replacement dilemma. A program of professionally assisted self-definition of needs can establish the energy input/output relationship from the outset. Vital input can be given by guidance personnel providing a directional stimulus (a reminder that it takes strength, not weakness, to ask for help with a problem) and a forum for discussion and interaction. By responding with their own output, the Seniors are establishing the circular energy cycle that the entire program is designed to reconstruct. Peer interaction and reinforcement is a very strong tool and has the added value of providing a sense of homogeneous group membership. By allowing the Seniors to define their own needs, the direction of programming will tend to steer clear of the traditional tendency to focus only on leisure time. This traditional perspective tends to neglect all the other "sections" or aspects of the individual's personality. In youth, leisure time is only one segment of the person's daily life. Why as they age does this segment receive such disproportionate attention? The traditional "pastiming" method of dealing with Senior needs ignores all the other factors in their lives that are also changing. It presumes that one "slice" represents the entire pie. This limited viewpoint and its effect on programming can be very counter-productive. "Pastiming" usually consists of professionals developing, planning and running various leisure activities for groups of senior citizens. The programming is one-directional and requires no energy input from the participants. This perspective encourages seniors to adopt a passive "receptacle" role. Doing all of the thinking and planning for them ultimately gives them everything they need to become helpless. Negative inabilities are stressed rather than positive contributions. The individual's sense of self and dignity is ignored by this approach. Once needs are defined, a positive and active approach to support activities can be developed. Approach problems realistically but not negatively. Watch your semantics. Words guide thoughts which in turn guide attitudes Illinois Parks and Recreation 15 November/December 1980 and actions. Think of a Senior's day as "freed up for new activities," not "empty." They are not "forgetful," they just have a great deal more to remember. Yes, they are closer to death than most of the population—all the more reason to utilize each day to actively participate in life. This issue of mortality often needs to be addressed directly. Discussion groups led by various speakers in related fields (philosophy, archeology, anthropology) can provide useful forums for discussion that will allow Seniors to pace themselves and bring out their issues of concern. Interaction with other people in similar circumstances will not only give them a satisfying outlet for their own concerns (output) but the reinforcement and feedback will provide a positive input. Seniors, like any other segment of our society grouped by age, have strengths and weaknesses. Focus on strengths and deal realistically with limitations. Matchmaking, not usually thought of as a program responsibility, can be an effective tool. It is a system of pairing individual abilities and interests. Pairing strengths and weaknesses can create a necessary emotional bond of reinforcement, as well as a unit having increased ability to function. Mr. Smith is losing his eyesight and no longer feels comfortable driving a car. Mr. Jensen is very forgetful and not a very good money manager. If they are encouraged to do their shopping together, they will probably save money, get to and from the supermarket conveniently and safely, come home with all of the items on their respective lists—and—have a delightful outing once a week! Providing a mechanism for pairing mutual interests through a hobby exchange can help people with mutual interests find someone to share their enthusiasm. (Perhaps a younger person, who would benefit from the greater experience that the older people will have had!) Hunching over a bingo card will not improve the circulation to the brain. Of course, one needs to take physical limitations into account when planning activities. But programming can be planned to help Seniors deal with gradually increasing obstacles to mobility. Exercise classes, massage technique lessons and memory seminars can supplement other activities and complement them. A professional's expertise in these areas can help make Seniors' hours fuller and more meaningful when they are away from recreation facilities, not just when they are there. A Senior's increasingly "freed-up" time is the golden opportunity to expand, not limit, his involvement with the community. Often the task is to facilitate the channeling of the special and unique things Seniors have to offer to the community. Professional and trade expertise, volunteer time, intellectual perspective weathered by time and learning, extensive life experience, and insight are all valuable commodities in any market place or community. Age carries with it the badge of survivorship. Many lessons and crises must be weathered to attain the privilege of old age. Vast stores of knowledge and experience have been gathered along the way. With positive guidance toward re-creating the input/output energy cycle, a Senior can continue to utilize these special gifts and actively contribute to society. By aiding him or her to do his or her own analysis of needs, planning, and participation, the professional working with the Senior will be helping him or her be able to reap the reward of feeling alive. Recreation and the Aged: A National Perspective by Joseph D. Teaff The last fifteen years have seen many exciting developments in leisure services for the elderly. These developments have come as a result of national, state, and local efforts to develop a comprehensive network of services to meet aging needs. Let us look very briefly at where we have come and look at where we might be headed in the next fifteen years. COMMUNITY LEISURE SERVICES The Older Americans Act of 1965 set into motion widespread efforts to develop comprehensive community services for the aging. Funds have been provided to help states develop state offices on aging and regional offices within states to help plan, develop, and coordinate a variety of services. Key service systems supportive of leisure services have been the development of transportation, housing, and nutrition services. Transportation services have been funded to provide door-to-door transport to doctors' offices, food stores, banks, and leisure services. The capacity to purchase vans and other vehicles has enabled many socially isolated older persons to participate in on-going community functions at churches, senior centers, recreation centers, and clubs. Leisure service personnel have grown to depend upon transportation services to help them meet the leisure needs of the hard to reach elderly. Publicly supported housing for the elderly has resulted in the construction of specially designed housing to meet the health, safety, and leisure needs of older people. The provision of social spaces in many housing sites has stimulated the development of on-site leisure services as well as community leisure service involvement by community recreation and park personnel and other social service agencies. Nutrition services for the elderly have truly decentralized the multi-purpose senior center concept. With the meal as a focal point, a variety of health, housing, transportation, education, and leisure services have been clustered. At the heart of the nutrition site programming is the provision of opportunities for older people to engage in a variety of activities of choice in an environment conducive to a continuity of leisure lifestyle as well as the opportunity to expand a leisure repertoire. Nutrition sites all over the United States have become the focal point for a nutritionally balanced noon meal, served in a social setting, among aged peers. Leisure services are at the heart of this program's success. A variety of federally supported leisure services have taken hold in nutrition sites and senior centers, most notably exercise programs and the arts. The Office of Human Development and the Administration on Aging (AoA) have developed and widely disseminated a series of Illinois Parks and Recreation 16 November/December 1980 exercises appropriate for a variety of levels of physical functioning. The National Council on the Aging (NCOA) and AoA have cooperated in gathering information on arts programs from all over the United States and disseminating these model programs to a variety of agencies. Community leisure services in a variety of forms have provided older persons with many opportunities for life choices and changes in a multiplicity of settings. The opportunity to be socially integrated within a community has provided a continuum of possibilities enabling older persons to remain at home rather than to be placed within an institutional setting. INSTITUTIONAL LEISURE SERVICES Recent federal and state regulations have mandated the provision of activity programs in a variety of long-term care settings, such as nursing homes and homes for the aging. Special short course training programs for activity directors have resulted in the upgrading of leisure services in long-term care settings. The requirement of individual health care plans based upon an assessment of social, psychological, physical, and leisure functioning has forced activity directors to individualize their programs and still meet group needs. The focus on individual programming of leisure services within long-term care settings is resulting in the increasing professionalism of leisure service personnel. Many states are increasing the level of training required for entry level leisure service positions and requiring more upgrading and updating of personnel through continuing education. The salaries being paid to leisure service personnel can be predicted to increase as educational standards for entry and retention are upgraded. The individual program development thrust has been coupled with an increasing awareness of the environmental impact that leisure services can provide. Group programs that bring community groups and individual volunteers into long-term settings continue to provide one of the best resources for normalization and community integration. Leisure services provide the vital link for continuity with the past, a focus on the present, and an optimism about the future. THE FUTURE OF LEISURE SERVICES FOR THE AGING The past fifteen years have seen many developments in the area of leisure services for the aging. Building upon these past developments is the challenge for all of us as we face the future. Recreation and leisure service curricula must make every attempt to integrate knowledge about aging into their professional core courses. A course on leisure and aging should be the goal of every curriculum. Wherever possible, courses in the psychology, sociology, and health aspects of aging should be introduced. College educated recreation graduates should be encouraged to apply for leisure service positions in community and institutional settings. While the initial salary may not be the most desirable, quality performance and the impact upon the older individual and the environment will convince administrators that they cannot be without those services. Community leisure service personnel can be the catalyst for the development of a variety of community based services for older people. Recreation and park departments can be instrumental in helping to coordinate community efforts to build senior centers through bond funds. Community leisure services should attempt to integrate young and old into ongoing programs while, at the same time, providing special programs for the elderly at their request. Leisure service personnel should be in the forefront as advocates for the elderly. Our programs are living demonstrations of the ability of older persons to create, to learn, to move, to perform, to serve in so many areas. Consequently, the leisure services professional visibly helps to overcome the many negative stereotypes of aging. Our involvement in the development of a truly national leisure service delivery system for the elderly can assure that we ourselves will have accessible services when we need them. In common with our elderly constituents, we all desire to remain in our own homes and have accessible community leisure services when we become old. We all desire to have individual programs in long-term care settings should we need such a setting and to have the best educated and trained leisure service personnel to meet our needs. An enlightened self-interest, coupled with a vision of what might be, will enable our aging to be one of continual growth and optimism. It would seem imperative that each of us seize the opportunity to be a leisure advocate for the aging and ultimately for ourselves.
Dr. Joseph D. Teaff is Associate Professor, Department of Recreation, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, teaching courses in therapeutic recreation. He has a master's degree in Service to the Aging and a doctorate in Leisure Education, both from Columbia University. His experiences in aging include work in the Duke University Aging and Human Development Program and at the Philadelphia Geriatrics Center. He has consulted with area agencies on aging. Title III and Title VII programs, and senior centers. Illinois Parks and Recreation 17 November/December 1980 Recreation and the "Frail" Elderly a new approach by Janet Proctor Janet C. Proctor, a former librarian who went astray, holds an M.S. from Simmons College, Boston, MA, and first began working with senior citizens nine years ago. She is Social Service Coordinator of the Carbondale Senior Citizens Center and helped develop the ElderWise Adult Day Care located in the Center. Professional memberships include the National Council on Aging, the Association of Illinois Senior Centers, and the Jackson County Inter-Agency Association. She supervises SIU-C students from recreation and social welfare in their field placements and enjoys backpacking, jogging, and Broadway plays. There is a growing interest in services to the frail elderly, with the National Institute of Senior Centers, a division of the National Council on Aging, currently studying existing programs for frail elderly within multipurpose senior centers. How can recreational opportunities be provided for those who have had problems participating in traditional senior recreation programs? One model offering a solution to recreational and other needs of frail elderly is Adult Day Care.
In July, 1979, the Illinois Department on Aging (IDOA) began Community Care programs funded through Title XX of the Social Security Act. The goal is the prevention of premature institutionalization of frail elderly. Under these social service funds, day cares funded primarily through Community Care are "social model" programs. Some day cares for senior adults have other funding sources and may be more medically or rehabilitation oriented; these are often attached to hospitals or nursing homes. The social model of Adult Day Care offers socialization for older persons who have become isolated through physical disability and/or mental confusion. It offers respite for families dedicated to maintaining their elders in their own home as part of the community. It also affords frail elderly greater access to other services in the community. Adult Day Care is day time care for persons aged 60+ who need supervision or personal assistance in order to live independently. Acceptance in the IDOA Community Care programs requires a doctor or RN's recommendation and evidence of need according to an IDOA assessment instrument. Day care centers are generally open Monday through Friday, although a few now operate on Saturdays. Hours are scheduled to accommodate working children, spouses, or other caretakers. Although IDOA day care guidelines are still in the development stage, program "basic ingredients" comply with the State's Title XX Comprehensive Annual Services Plan definition. Direct care and supervision of adults aged 60 and over outside the individual's home for any portion of a 24-hour day in order to provide personal attention, promote social, physical, and emotional well-being, and offer alternatives to institutional care1 The overall goal of the adult day care program is to help promote independence of the participants. Senior adults in a day care program have the same range of physical, mental, and emotional needs as those in institutional settings, so the day care is almost a "microcosm" of a nursing home. Many programming considerations are the same, but a primary consideration in adult day care must be how the participant lives the hours he or she is not in day care. To serve the very frail who most need the program, the client to staff ratio needs to be small (preferably about 5 to 1). Opportunities for individual attention and for staff to escort participants to other community services must be provided. Also, what sound like simple components in the IDOA service definition can become enormously complicated. For example, adult day care transportation may involve wake-up calls to clients that remind them to get ready. In addition, the driver may need to go into the 1 State of Illinois. Title XX: Comprehensive Annual Service Plan. Program Year July 1, 1979-June 30, 1980.11.15. Illinois Parks and Recreation 18 November/December 1980 home to help the client see that appliances are off, to help with a coat or sweater, to lock the door, and to physically assist the client onto the vehicle. While participants may need assistance with bathing, hair care, foot care, eating, self-care training, etc., recreation is the cornerstone of the social model day care. To meet the needs of the varied clients, recreational opportunities must be as diverse as possible. Opportunities to choose between group or individual activities, lively or quiet ones, physical or intellectual pursuits, are provided. Opportunities for decision-making are vital for the very frail participants, who may have very limited opportunity for decision-making in other areas of their lives. The "reluctant client" is a reality in a program which may be a family's last ditch effort to maintain an older person at home. Some participants have been given a choice: either day care or the nursing home. Staff must be skillful in helping to identify interests and in motivating clients to choose activities they will enjoy. Client input through participant councils, informal group meetings, and individual interviews is utilized in program planning. One son of a day care client looked over the calendar of activities offered in the center and commented, "My, but they must get awfully tired." Indeed, staff may sometimes get so caught up in providing a flurry of activity that we forget the need to also respect the person's right to do nothing. A rest area where participants can put up their feet and just relax often offers the best opportunity for socialization on a one-to-one basis. A number of adult day care clients live with families, and families need consideration in programming. A family support group may help families accept the changing needs of their elders. Often families admit being embarrassed by their frail elders and they have thus limited their own recreational involvement. Some activities planned for participants and their families help overcome these feelings of embarrassment. A Fourth of July breakfast for clients and families was a success at one center. One daughter discovered that her mother ate without assistance in this social setting, while she had been spoon fed at home. The daughter was thrilled when her mother took her on a tour of the center and pointed out pictures of herself engaged in various activities. Some families who initially thought "Mother won't like day care" have been a little shocked to discover mother likes it a lot. Time apart also relieves some potentially dangerous situations where families have become increasingly frustrated with trying to cope with a very confused or physically disabled person. This can help prevent neglect and abuse. The adult day care program also offers the person who has been the dependent member of his or her family the opportunity to initiate activities and to choose his or her leisure companions. One client, wheelchair bound and speech impaired by a stroke, lives with his wife and mother-in-law. His wife usually finished his sentences for him. At first attending only "to help out a new program" and scheduled two days a week, he soon began to call to come more often. In the adult day care environment he was suddenly free to go at his own pace. He began to initiate checker games with other men, to enjoy watching baseball games in the T.V. lounge, and to talk politics and current events. Initially surprised by her husband's new found sense of independence, his wife soon began to resume some of the community activities she had given up to care for him. Participants in day care also enjoy opportunities to be of service, volunteering to assist each other, to prepare United Way mailouts, and to make cards for clients who are ill. A community of mutual concern can develop within the day care center, with clients mutually nurturing one another. Alert clients who are physically limited may enjoy helping supervise confused clients on an outing. Physically well, confused persons may enjoy helping return lunch trays of their "handicapped" friends. A few adult day care programs are located within multipurpose senior centers. This offers increased opportunities for socialization and the challenges of combined programming for well and frail elderly. Joint parties and volunteer projects can help reduce jealousies and create a real continuum of care. The active elderly person one day may be the person in need of day care the next. Above all, in recreational programming for adult day care, opportunities for spontaneity must abound if the program is to be responsive to the individual needs of clients. A sing-a-long begun by a participant, a request for an outing, a chance to share a reminiscence with a young volunteer, a walk out-of-doors on a beautiful afternoon (even though something else was scheduled)—these can be the moments of joy. How do clients really feel about adult day care? One man who had been homebound for years before the adult day care center in his community opened expressed it well as he entered the door each day singing, "Hallelujah! I'm back in glory land." Illinois Parks and Recreation 19 November/December 1980
Activity Therapy in Long-Term Care Facilities Today Marilyn Lamken, a Minnesota native who moved to Illinois in the early 70s, has been a junior high teacher, a social rehabilitation director and an activity director. Active in state and local activity organizations, she is president of the Illinois Activity Professionals' Association and dedicated to upgrading standards of activity therapists in Illinois. Madge Schweinsberg is an Activity Director. Weekday mornings at 9:30 she can be found beginning to gather her Plaza Nursing Home residents in the fifth-floor lounge for the morning program. Gathering them is no small part of her job. Her people are old, infirm, confused, recalcitrant, independent. Some come with eagerness, but others have to be prodded, wheeled, led, or reminded repeatedly. A koffee klatch starts her program. As residents serve, they chat and unload their irritations from the previous day. Then Madge greets them formally and asks them questions about the date, the weather, the day's highlights, and world news. This often leads into reading and discussion of selected items from the newspaper. After exercises to wake up the body, the talk may return to current events as compared to past situations, and will likely touch upon history, literary themes, religion, psychology, the arts, science and sports. Madge makes sure the discussion moves along, firmly believing an important part of her job is to keep her residents as mentally active, as tuned in to the world as possible.
The skilled nursing facility provides for an activities program, appropriate to the needs and interests of each patient, to encourage self care, resumption of normal activities, and maintenance of an optimal level of psycho-social functioning. The key employee in the above Federal Regulations and Guidelines is the activity therapist. The activity therapist is the nursing home employee who at one time or another assumes the role of recreation therapist, occupational therapist, social worker, and teacher. But often to a greater degree than any single one of those professionals, he or she is involved in the total life of residents in a nursing home. This is because the nursing "home" is just that: the place where people live, and stay for a long time. They are there because they need care. Unlike a hospital, however, residents have a wide range of freedom and mobility. The activity therapist attempts to meet each resident at his or her personal level of need and abilities. The activity therapist's chief area of responsibility is in planning and implementing a multi-dimensional program to reach all residents. Written procedures developed by the activity person include goals and objectives based on residents' needs and interests. A variety of clubs, committees, and groups as well as parties, church services and outings are offered to allow for individual choice. Service projects are provided. Materials and supplies for independent activities are made available. Calendars publicizing all activities are prepared that are prominent and readable for the nursing home resident. To this point the activity therapist's job is similar to that of the recreation therapist's. Once regarded solely as the bingo-and-crafts-lady, the activity therapist is now an integral member of the nursing home care team. He or she meets regularly with nurses, the administrator, the dietician, doctors, the physical therapist and the social worker as well as the family and resident him/herself to plan goals and approaches. He or she presents data to other staff to aid them in their care, just as other staff members give him or her information needed to effectively plan individualized activities. As a team member, the activity therapist charts on each resident, noting progress toward goals as well as a myriad of other information. The nursing home is considered a medical facility, with all the attendant regulations that come with that designation, so charting is
Illinois Parks and Recreation 20 November/December 1980 complex and time-consuming. Writing skills are needed not only for clear and accurate charting, but also for writing policy, procedures and lesson plans. Besides skills in writing, judgment and leadership, certain personal qualities are needed for activity therapy; among them is "creativity." Said Rosa Scott, "What takes the greatest amount of my time and energy is trying to keep different activities going to fit people's needs. Then as their awareness increases, you have to go on to something on a higher level."2 Creating and adjusting programs/activity therapy demands such flexibility if residents' goals are to be met. The activity therapist must be able to motivate residents who would otherwise tend to literally sit there and die. "Motivate" also takes on another dimension as the therapist plans the logistics of moving residents from one place to another. Therapy occurs as people move, and patience is essential in getting the handicapped and aged to move. Large or small group activities are the most visible things activity therapists do, but one-to-one work is the most time-consuming. "And the most difficult problem there is is the one-to-one with residents who are incapable of ordinary communication,"3 pointed out Activity Director Cindy Sharp. Communicating is a large part of the activity therapist's role, another Activity Director stressed. "You must have good communication with the residents and the staff and the family. You are a public relations person. You solve problems."4 Activity Therapy is a relatively young occupation. Nonetheless, those in the field are called upon to assess, adjust programs, develop resources and carry out therapeutic models for restoration and rehabilitation. Activity directors often must hire, fire, supervise staff, deal with all types of nursing home residents, and relate effectively to the public. The demands of the job are higher than either the status or pay, and local and state organizations such as the Illinois Activity Professionals' Association have been formed with one goal being to try to bridge that gap. Present state standards for education of activity directors require only that a person attend a 36-hour approved basic course in activities. This course plus various short seminars provides valuable information, and consultants supply a great deal of further education for the activity therapist. If this education appears to be sporadic and piecemeal, however, it is. Many in the field feel they deserve more professional respect and status, and a higher salary to compensate for the demands and expectations of the job. But the hard reality is that there will not be a professional upgrading unless there is an educational upgrading—that is, a degreed course in activity therapy. About education being an element of professionalism, Greenwood states:
Because understanding of theory is so important to professional skill, preparation for a profession must be an intellectual as well as a practical experience. On-the-job training through apprenticeship, which suffices for a nonprofessional occupation, becomes inadequate for a profession. Orientation in theory can be achieved best through formal education in an academic setting.5
How long can administrators continue to expect activity directors to prepare themselves on the job? When will owners be willing to admit that the activity department affects the quality of their facility to a great degree, and the personnel in that department need to be more than just compassionate and caring? These are questions that concern activity therapists who know they are making a positive difference in the health care field. For the future, an activity therapy college course should give a broad background for the activity therapy graduate in humanities, the arts, sciences, English, sociology, psychology and basic medical prepatory courses. This type of background is essential for an understanding of residents' abilities and disabilities so as to make the approach to activities holistic. Less than 5% of Americans above age 65 are in nursing homes.6 But since the average age of Americans rises every year, nursing homes will serve greater numbers of the aged and also the handicapped once confined to state institutions. The activity therapist is an important figure in the accomplishments of that growing Long Term Care Facility industry. 1 "Standards and Guidelines for Patient Activities," Federal Regulation 405.1131, Skilled Nursing Facility Regulations, FEDERAL REGISTER, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, 1974, Volume 39, #12, p. 84. 2 Scott, Rosa, Activity Director, Bacon Nursing Home, Harrisburg, Illinois; President, Tri-County Care Council. 3 Sharp, Cindy, Piper City, Illinois; President, Northeast Central Activity Directors Association. 4 Lindsey, Dorothy, Activity Director, Memorial Convalescence Center, Belleville, Illinois; President, Belleville Activity Organization. 5 Greenwood, Ernest, "Attributes of a Profession," Social Work 2, No. 3 (July 1957), p. 46. 6The Gerontologist. Vol. 17, #4, 1977. Illinois Parks and Recreation 21 November/December 1980 Community Recreation for the Able Elderly by Peggy Scwab Peggy Schwab is the Senior Citizen Coordinator for the Elk Grove Park District. She has worked in a variety of recreation leadership roles since 1967 and for the last seven years has specialized in senior programming. The number of elderly are growing rapidly in the United States. Every day 5,000 Americans turn 65 and by the year 2020, almost 16% of all Americans will be 65 or older. It is apparent that Americans are experiencing greater longevity and will continue to do so. It is sensible for a child to prepare for adulthood and it is equally sensible for an adult to prepare for his later years when much of his time may include forced leisure. Presently few Seniors are prepared to cope with their leisure time. It seems the younger you are the more attractive retirement appears. People 65 and over span a 35-year chronological age group. Obviously they do not fit into one age pattern. Consequently, they should be thought of as individuals with different physical and mental capacities, different social and economic backgrounds having different interests and experiences. Recreation can provide the opportunity to learn new interests, renew old interests, share talents and improve morale. Through recreation, older people can communicate and enrich their lives. It can be argued that human needs do not change with age. The aged still need RECOGNITION, SOCIAL INTER-RELATIONSHIPS, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, SECURITY, SELF-ESTEEM AND NEW EXPERIENCES. Using human needs as a guide, recreational activities for Seniors in the community can be programed effectively.
RECOGNITION Providing opportunities that will give the Senior recognition and status among his peers is a major function of Senior programming. Volunteer programs that develop roles for the older person in membership or governance should be established. Projects that involve Seniors in the operation of programs can be the leading of an activity, contribution of a skill, or clerical assistance. A reward system for the volunteer can be in the form of a luncheon or dinner and/or a pin, plaque or certificate which recognizes the individual's service. The desire to achieve recognition through senior citizen clubs and centers tends to be related to the individual's prior work experience. Former blue collar workers seem to be the most active in Senior programs with white collar workers second. Professional and managerial workers are the least active. There is a predominance of men as officers in clubs and advisory boards. Women tend to become more aggressive in their later years while men become more passive. This may be one reason more women are involved in Senior programs than men. When the men do become involved, however, they often become active leaders. SOCIAL INTER-RELATIONSHIPS The most popular and heavily used programs for Seniors tend to be group oriented. Meal programs attract the largest number of participants. Seasonal parties which include social dances, birthday parties, ethnic lunches and diet groups are well attended. Sedentary recreation in the form of cards, bingo, movies, discussion groups and table games can be programmed opposite from physical recreation to give the Senior a choice. Relationships can be developed with the community and other age groups through bazaars and other service projects, so that Seniors do not become isolated. Some Seniors join a center or club for the trips and tours offered. Many are unable to drive and some experience difficulty in walking or climbing stairs. A trip affords an opportunity of getting away and being with others even though it might only be a day's outing in a nearby park. Illinois Parks and Recreation 22 November/December 1980 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY Seniors are not inclined to participate in physical creation unless they have been active all their lives. Exercise in the form of square dancing, dancercise classes and bowling are popular. Tournaments for pool, shuffle-board, horse shoes and golf bring out friendly competition, but experience has shown that activities such as biking, horseback riding, and skating do not appeal to those looking for a new activity. A program of increasing popularity is arthritic exercises performed in the water. This exercise class promotes movement and strengthening of muscles around the arthritic areas. Participants are not required to know how to swim. As a result of these exercises, Seniors report considerable improvement in their ability to move arthritic joints. SECURITY Having someone with whom one can discuss problems contributes to the sense of well-being among the aged. Loneliness is often a major factor in an individual's decision to join a Senior club or center. Seniors prefer to be with their own age group. New friends made at the club center help fill the void created by the loss of a spouse and sometimes lead to the establishment of meaningful relationships. It is not uncommon for romances to flourish and marriages to occur. If a center or club closes, even for a short period. Seniors often feel a loss, have difficulty filling the time usually spent at the center and especially miss the companionship of others. In addition to companionship a club or center's outreach committee can provide friendly visitors service shut-ins and those hospitalized as well as send cheering cards to let the isolated know that someone cares. The monthly newsletter, a part of many senior programs, contributes further to a senior's security by providing formation and activities that will keep them involved and looking forward to the days ahead. SELF-ESTEEM Often the type of activity a Senior selects is based on fulfilling emotional needs. No longer is fulfillment readily available from work productivity, rearing children or achievement in civic or occupational roles. The Senior can, however, adapt his emotional needs and achievements to new services. Achievement and skills in civic or occupational roles can be adapted by serving on an advisory committee or chairing a committee. A woman who loves children can volunteer as a 'Grandmother' at a day care center or hospital. Service projects involving sewing cancer pads or crocheting for a hospital or veteran's organization can fulfill a Senior's self-esteem and at the same time provide a needed service. NEW EXPERIENCES Educational activities other than formal courses are usually well attended if the educational activity is of relevance to coping with daily needs. Health education and practical instruction relating to wills and Social Security are popular. Driver refresher courses and foreign language classes are also well attended. A small percentage of Seniors attending a center or club enroll in formal educational programs. Arts, crafts, music and drama are attended most often by younger Senior women. Most Senior programming has failed to provide creative activities other than musical groups to elderly males. A craft program can be oriented to produce income, therapy, learning or recreation. Harmonic bands, kitchen bands, vaudville shows, fashion shows, plays and choruses all encourage self-expression and stimulate involvement of Seniors in things they may not have done previously.
Numbering in the thousands today, the first Senior Club was organized in Boston in 1870, and the first Senior Center established in New York in 1943. Clubs offered the predominant organization for Senior programs for many years. Since 1965, increasing numbers of Senior centers have been established to provide more comprehensive services and activities. Not all Seniors will be attracted to the Senior club or center. "Too busy with family," "Doesn't appeal to me," "It's just for old people" can be some of the reasons why they say they will not participate. These people may not need the services of the center or a club—at least not at this point. Conversely, lack of transportation, poor health or bad weather may restrict many others who would like to attend. Those who do attend must be given a wide variety of activity so that something appeals to everyone. No longer can recreational opportunities be limited to cards and conversation. Recreational programming for Seniors must include programs to cover the basic needs. Leisure time can be a blessing. A Senior has only to remember that "AGE ONLY MATTERS IF YOU ARE A CHEESE."
Ilinois Parks and Recreation 23 November/December 1980 |
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