YWCA-NYC Perez Center for People with Disabilities A Guide ...

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A Guide for Creating Inclusive Recreational Programs

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The YWCA-NYC SummerTeens: Inclusive Summer Day Camp was designedand operated in collaboration with the New York State Developmental

Disabilities Planning Council and the New York City Department of Youth andCommunity Development.

Recipe For Fun was written by Ken Struve,Director,YWCA-NYC Angela Perez Center forPeople with Disabilities

The YWCA-NYC would also like to acknowledge the research and technical assistanceprovided by Bonnie Dasher-Andersen,of Solbakken Technology Partners.

The YWCA-NYC SummerTeens: Inclusive Summer Day Camp was madepossible by generous support by the New York State Developmental

Disabilities Planning Council, the New York City Department of Youth andCommunity Development,and the Verizon Foundation.

YWCA of the City of New York

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Introduction

An Overview of the YWCA-NYC CampHow to Use This HandbookAre You Ready? A Checklist Review

1. Fundamental Principals

Chapter 1 ObjectivesWhy Is It Important To Develop Leisure And Recreation Skills?What is Inclusion?The Goals of InclusionThe Benefits of InclusionSome Hints for Successful InclusionGuiding Principles When Thinking About an Inclusive Program

First Do No HarmCommunicateCreate Cooperative FunNormalize,Normalize, and NormalizeA Brief Glossary of Terms

2. Understanding Differences

Chapter 2 ObjectivesService Providers are People,Too!Disability Etiquette TipsUsing Sensitive LanguageWhat is a Developmental Disability?What is a Learning Disability?What is Autism?What is Mental Retardation?

3. Getting Started – Capacity Building

Chapter 3 ObjectivesOrganizational/Program Mission – Buying InPriorities and StructureYour FacilityStaff and LeadershipSystems

Table of Contents

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4. People Power

Chapter 4 ObjectivesWho Will You Serve?Location and TransportationWhat’s Inside Your Building?StaffWhat’s Inside Your Budget?Budgeting for StaffBudgeting for Other Than Personnel CostsOutreach and RecruitmentThe Selection Process – Applications, IEPs and InterviewsScholarships

5. Creating an Inclusive Recreation Program

Chapter 5 ObjectivesIntroducing Yourself to Your Participants – First ImpressionsIntroducing Yourself to CaregiversBuilding a Team - Finding VolunteersWhat Makes a Volunteer Successful?Training and Giving Recognition to VolunteersBuilding a Team – The Recreational TherapistBuilding a Team –Training StaffProviding SupportsCommon Types of SupportsEncouraging and Supporting FriendshipsKeeping Things PositiveEncouraging CommunicationMaking ModificationsWhat Is Success? What Is Meaningful Participation?Some General ModificationsGiving InstructionsSpecific ModificationsManaging BehaviorSome Recommendations for Working with Participants with AutismOther Recommendations for Working with Participants with AutismBehavior Strategies for Working with Autistic Youths

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404041–434343444546474849505151515152535455565758

6. Training Materials

Inclusive Recreational Program Training Outline for StaffExercise 1 – “Expand Your Horizon (Steve’s Story)”Exercise 2A – “You’re the Director!”Exercise 2B – “You’re the Assistant Director!”Exercise 3 – “Open Our Doors to Everyone”Inclusive Recreational Program Training Outline for CampersInclusive Recreational Program Training Outline for ParentsWorkshop Evaluation

7. Checklists and Forms

YWCA-NYC SummerTeens Application FormScholarship ApplicationBase Knowledge Check ListStaff Knowledge SurveyCamper SurveyParent Survey

8. Other Resources

The Organizational/Program Assessment QuestionnaireYW-NYC Integrated Summer Day Camp Planning ModelThe Community Access SurveyThe Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) SummaryBibliographyGeneral Works on Inclusive Recreational PracticesOn Learning DisabilitiesOn AutismOn Mental RetardationWebliography

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An Overview of the YWCA-NYC, the Angela Perez Center & its Camp

The New York City YWCA,one of the oldest YWCA’s in the United States,has been a pioneer forsocial and political change since 1870. In the many decades since its inception, the YW-NYC hasestablished services and programs based upon a philosophy of inclusion for women,men,youngadults and children of every walk of life that have literally revolutionized life for the peopleof New York. The YW-NYC’s philosophy throughout our history has been based upon aninclusive posture toward providing health and fitness,arts and culture,workforce preparation andeducational programming for children and young adults with and without disabilities and theirfamilies.

This year, with funding from the New York State DevelopmentalDisabilities Planning Council (DDPC), and in partnership with NewYork City’s Department of Youth and Community Development(DYCD), the YW-NYC developed, implemented and assessed the firstyear of a three-year demonstration project, SummerTeens: InclusiveSummer Day Camp.The project was conceived as an extension of theYW-NYC’s Networking Project for Young Adults with Disabilities,which,funded through the DYCD, provides mentoring, counseling andprogrammatic activities designed to support the development of self-determination and independent living skills among its participants,including independent travel skills, personal goal-setting, as well asimproved skills for self-advocacy and self-expression. TheSummerTeens: Inclusive Summer Day Camp was administered throughthe YWCA’s Angela Perez Center for People with Disabilities,named indedication of the late activist Angela Romano Perez, who was alifelong champion of people with disabilities and instrumental in thefounding of the YW-NYC’s longstanding Networking Project for YoungAdults with Disabilities. This year, SummerTeens: Inclusive SummerDay Camp had as its goal the inclusion and full integration of 12–15 year old adolescents withdevelopmental disabilities into our mainstream summer day camp.We completed our pilot year inthe summer of 2000.

The Inclusive Summer Day Camp provided a variety of integrated recreational experiences foryoung people with and without developmental disabilities. Activities were physically andintellectually stimulating.They were devised to promote self-respect and respect for othersin a team and included swimming, basketball, dance, theatre, arts and crafts and more. Sixcounselors, at a ratio of 1:4 for all campers, a recreational therapist, nurse and certifiedinstructors all supported the inclusive activities of the camp.

Introduction

From a CounselorAt first it was difficult to get the campers

with special needs to interact with the

other campers, but as camp went on many

of the special campers started to open up.

For example, Y.H. (a special needs

camper) refused to participate in any of

the activities. Once the campers found out

she loved Britney Spears, it was easy

because many of them liked Britney. This

enabled all of the campers to see they had

something in common and were not so

different from each other. Y. actually stood

up one morning and sang a Britney song

for all of us!

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In preparation for the camp, the YWCA-NYC consulted withother mainstream and special needs recreation providers,technical assistance providers, and recreational therapists todevelop strate-gies to support the integration of our specialneeds campers.This manual is our first attempt at summarizingwhat we learned.We have relied upon the expertise of othersin the field as we wrote this manual and give credit and thanksthroughout.We consider the text to be a work in progress, andlook forward to the suggestions from interested youths,caregivers and service providers as we continue to revise themanual in the coming year.

The YW-NYC’s Perez Center for People with Disabilities hopes that you will find our experi-encesuseful.We can tell you that the camp was in some ways more challenging than we could haveexpected, and more rewarding in its results than we could have dreamed. If only you could haveseen the year-end dance celebration! It was, as one mom put it,“a miracle.”

How to Use This Handbook

This handbook is like a cookbook.As you read each chapter you will discover the ingredientsnecessary for a successful inclusive recreation program.We’ve tried to list the “ingredients” in theorder that you might need them.Add your own dash of fun,individuality and style and you’ll createa program that will be fun for children and adults alike.

Some chapters, like Chapter 2,Understanding Differences and Chapter 5,Creating an InclusiveEnvironment, are geared toward helping direct service providers improve their hands-oninteractions. Other chapters, such as Chapter 3, Getting Started—Capacity Building andChapter 4, People Power, may be of more assistance to program developers within yourorganization.Taken as a whole, it is our intention to provide a complete picture of how to get aninclusive recreation program up and running.

To this end,we’ve included our “Are You Ready?”checklist at the finish of the chapter.You can usethis checklist to assess your organization’s level of understanding of many of the most importantissues concerning inclusive recreation.The checklist also shows the chapter(s) in this handbookwhere you can find more information about a specific topic.

Additionally, at the start of most chapters you’ll find a Summary Box, which reviews the mainobjectives of the chapter.You can use this summary to remind yourself of the most importantpoints.

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Are You Ready?

Use this survey as a helpful tool to assess your organization’s level of understanding and readiness ofmany of the most important issues concerning inclusive recreation.Like the YW-NYC,you can certainlybegin your program without being expert in every aspect of inclusive pro-gramming before youbegin—but it’s helpful to know what there still is to learn! The checklist shows the chapter(s) in thishandbook where you can find more information about a specific topic.

Yes No Chapter

Can you define the term “inclusion”? 1

Can you list 3–5 five goals of inclusion? 1

Are you familiar with the benefits of inclusion to children 1with and without disabilities?

Have you agreed on several guiding principles that will be 2the foundation of activites in your inclusive recreation program?

Do you have resources to use to gain a better undertanding 2of special needs children?

Are you aware of the federal definition of “developmental 2disability”? (This may vary, depending upon your funder.)

Are you familiar with the characteristics of learning disabilities? 2

Do you know what mental retardation is? Autism? 2A learning disability?

Do you know what cerebral palsy is? Spina bifida? 2

Does your organization have a clearly articulated mission? 3

Is there organization-wide support for your inclusive recreation program? 3

Has your organization set short and long range goals 3and priorities for your project?

Do you have a set of measurable objectives, activities and 3performance indicators for your inclusive program?

Does your organization have effective leadership committed to 3making your inclusive program a success?

Does your organization have experience working with 2, 3young people with disabilities?

Does your program staff have a commitment to learning new 3, 4, 5ways of working with young people with special needs?

Introduction

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Yes No Chapter

Do you have organizational systems, such as a fund development 3plan, a budget process, and adequate financial management, in place?

Are you familiar with the eligibility requirements of your funding source? 4

Have you determined which special needs population(s) you will 4serve with your inclusive recreation program?

Have you assessed how you can use public transportation to make 4your program more accessible?

Have you assessed your facility’s accessibility? 4, 8

Do you have sufficient financial resources for staff and other 4non-personnel costs?

Do you have a plan for recruiting participants? 4

Have you developed a selection process for applicants? 4

Do you have a procedure for obtaining and using participant’s 4Individualized Education Plans (IEP)?

Do you have a financial assistance plan such as scholarships? 4, 8

Have you developed well-written informational material about your program? 5

Do you have plans to provide awareness training for all participants 5, 6in the program? For caregivers?

Have you thought about including caregivers in your planning? 5How will you build and maintain strong relationships with caregivers of participants with and without special needs?

Do you have a volunteer recruitment plan? 5Do you have selection criteria for choosing volunteers? 5

Do you have a training plan for volunteers? 5, 6

Have you thought of ways that you can recognize volunteers for their efforts? 5

Are you considering hiring a recreational therapist? 5

Do you have a training plan for staff members? 5, 6

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Yes No Chapter

Have you thought about how you can provide different types of support to help make your program successful? 5

Is your staff able and willing to encourage and support emerging 5friendships between program participants?

Is your staff willing to learn how to modify activities to promote a 5positive, safe environment for participants?

What are your criteria for success in your program? 5

Do you have resources to help in managing inappropriate behavior when working with young people with autism? or learning disabilities? 5or mental retardation?

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Introductory Objectives

• To set out the principle that leisure skills are essential to promote healthy development in young people with special needs.

• To define inclusion.• To define goals of inclusion.• To define the benefits of inclusion.• To determine some guiding principles.

Why Is It Important To Develop Leisure And Recreation Skills?

Participating in leisure and recreational activities contributes to increases in skill levels in manyareas.Recreation provided in a safe and non-threatening environment for individuals with specialneeds,facilitates growth in important ways.For example,an increase in constructive play skills hasbeen shown to contribute to a decrease in negative and inappropriate behavior. Satisfyingexperiences and social skills learned from leisure activities certainly contribute to a sense of self-worth.This, in turn, may contribute to a greater chance of success when people with disabilitieswork and live in the community. Finally, enjoying leisure and recreational activities is essential fora good quality of life and positive relationships with family and friends.

What is Inclusion?

Inclusion is all about providing the opportunity for children and young adults of diverse abilitiesto come together in natural community settings to meet, study and play together. Theprerequisite for successful inclusion is organizational planning for changes in the way servicesare developed and delivered to all young people.

Inclusion is not a specific program or a specific setting. The YW-NYC’s facilities andorganizational culture is not intrinsically different from a great many other organizations in themetropolitan area.The YW-NYC,with support from the DDPC and the DYCD,simply decided tocommit to providing inclusive recreational programming. You can do it, too. It takesorganizational commitment to seeing children, no matter what their special needs are, aschildren first, and as deserving of our time,work and financial support.

An afterschool or holiday program or camp with an “open enrollment” does not guarantee thatyoung people with special needs will attend, or that, being in attendance, relationships betweenchildren with and without disabilities will take hold. But when programs create theopportunities and relationships do occur, it takes well-trained and supportive staff and attentiveeffort to nurture them.

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1. Fundamental Principals

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The YW-NYC believes that these new young friendships arethe foundation of mutual respect among people who haveevery kind of ability. These friendships and the mutualrespect that results are the foundations of futureunderstandings and affection — one of the most powerfulremedies to discrimination that we know.

In inclusive programs, young people meet, study, and playtogether. In other words, inclusion is not “same room, sametime,”as if two different and irreconcilable groups of young people existed in parallel zones.It wasour experience that despite the diversity of needs our campers had last summer,by and large,kidswere kids — staff just needed to be attentive,to adapt circumstance to allow all an opportunity toshow what they could do and to encourage opportunities for interaction.

The YW-NYC staff learned how to provide many support services.We learned about the buddysystem and about the importance of re-thinking activities along cooperative, as opposed tocompetitive, lines.We learned that inclusion, at its heart, was about allowing all participants tobecome valued members of our program – a simple summer day camp.As service providers, theonly limit to integrating children with disabilities into mainstream activities is a lack of ingenuity.Our overriding concern, shared especially by the parents of the special needs campers, was tomake sure that the campers felt as if they were a true part of the group.We tried anything that weor the parents or the campers could think of!

The Goals of Inclusion

• The notion that children are children first is a foundation for everything else relatedto inclusion.

• All children should have fun and experience success.They should feel that they arevalued.

• Children with disabilities should be able to participate and contribute in activities as fullyas they wish and as is appropriate.

• Children with and without disabilities form relationships with one another, teach andlearn from one another, and this is the basis for mutual respect and understanding.

• Participants, parents and staff all gain an understanding of acceptance, compassionand tolerance for diversity.

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Inclusion – Providing the opportunity for children and young adults ofdiverse abilities to come together in natural community settings to meet, studyand play together.

DEFINITION

F r o m a M o mI can tell you that children with

disabilities are underserved. If inclusive

programs like the YW’s summer camp

didn’t exist, there’d be nowhere for my

son to go.

The Benefits of Inclusion

The benefits of participation in inclusive recreational activities are experienced by young peopleand their caregivers and are shared by those with and without special needs. These benefitsinclude: expanding lifelong leisure skills; encouraging friendships and creating a sense ofbelonging; building physical fitness and strength; and enhancing personal growth, life skills andyouth development.

Young people with disabilities experience many benefits frominclusive activities. These include the development offriendships, a sense of belonging to a community, and abroadening of opportunities for participation in activities that isnot usually available. Other benefits are increased social skillsthrough increased social interactions with peers and adults,increased self-esteem,and the opportunity to “show that he orshe can do what others do.”

The benefits to young people who do not have disabilities include: the acquaintance withdiversity, and development of understanding, acceptance,compassion and tolerance for diversity;decreased anxiety and an increased confidence in the ability to learn new ways to solve socialchallenges;and increased ability to respond with confidence and understanding to peers who maylook or sound or think differently with confidence and understanding.

Some Hints for Successful Inclusion

• Relax. Good humor always helps.

• Establish a key staff position. The YW-NYC camp had a recreational therapist onhand who had responsibility for overseeing the hour-to-hour activities of all the campers.Arecreational therapist is a trained specialist, who with the participant as leader, conductsindividualized assessments to determine goals, objectives and appropriate supports forresultant activities. In our experience, this person is critical to what we called the “real-timereview and revision” of program activities. As interactions went well, this staff personencouraged the effort; as interactions could be improved, the recreational therapist maderecommendations and supervised the ensuing changes.

• Build on Strengths. Look for what the whole group can do,rather than what may limitthe group.

• Offer choices. There’s an activity and a role for everyone.All young people can play allgames, so be creative.

• Ask before helping. At the YW-NYC camp we began to refer to this as being“campercentric”.Always ask the young people with special needs what they need.Youngpeople need different levels of support, and different levels of support with respect todifferent activities, so don’t presume.

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Fundamental Principals

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• Staff should be alert and attentive to the myriad possibilities of peer interactionand promote it. Look for burgeoning friendships and encourage them. At the YW-NYCcamp, an unlikely (or so we thought!) gin rummy duo formed. Staff encouraged therelationship by providing cards during free time. They also allowed the boys tooccasionally opt out of other regularly scheduled activities in order to continue theirplay together.

• Don’t patronize. Allow for individuality and encourage independence. Participantswith disabilities are often on the receiving end of inadvertently belittling behavior.Again,always ask what, if anything,you can do to help.Talk to special needs participantsjust as you would the mainstream participants. Encourage all participants to do forthemselves and to take on appropriate responsibilities.

• Allow time for all participants to get to know each other.We had no successat manufacturing relationships.We learned that providing time for young people to justwatch for a bit (it’s still participation) was extremely helpful and added to their level ofcomfort.

• Provide attentive but unobtrusive support. Providing attentive but unobtrusivesupport will often focus on structuring the opportunities and then suggesting the waysthat young people can fit right in.Very often, an inclusive setting is foreign turf to youngpeople,so gentle guidance can be very helpful to smooth the way to interaction.We foundthat with this type of support participants joined in when they were ready.

• Practice the buddy system.We will describe this in more detail later on,but essentiallyit’s about encouraging partnerships between young people with and without disabilities.The YW-NYC camp did not require partnering, but strongly encouraged it.Volunteers, inaddition to peers, are also terrific resources as buddies.

Guiding Principles When Thinking About an Inclusive Program

In our pilot year, we came to certain principles that guided us in our inclusive day camp:

First Do No HarmIf you want to encourage inclusion, avoid the type of activities listed below:

• Avoid games that progress by eliminating participants. Dodge ball or musical chairs areexamples of games that are structured in this way and that emphasize exclusion.

Campercentric – Acknowledging that a happy camper is the expert inher/his own needs. Don’t presume to know what’s best.Youth with specialneeds and their caregivers know what’s best for that individual.

DEFINITION

• Avoid embarrassing or shaming participants. Picking captains who then choose sides isprobably not the way to go.

• Avoid situations where many stand-by, while a few are busy.

• Avoid activities that have a high chance of injury. Hiking on rough terrain may not bethe inclusive activity you’re after.

Communicate

Always ask the young person what, if any, modifications might be made, before making them.This is a simple courtesy. It acknowledges the young person as an expert on his/her owncircumstances and needs.Asking the participant first empowers and encourages him/her toparticipate in designing their own fun, and the participant can explore new points of view.At the YW-NYC, we tried hard not to presume that we knew best.

Create Cooperative Fun

Take the stress off competition and emphasize cooperation. All games can be changed,adapted, or modified to encourage cooperation and inclusion. However, it is true that if thegames are well known, young people may resist change or feel that the endeavor to changethe rules is artificial. Don’t let this get you down.When necessary, change the rules and call itsomething else! For example, King of the Mountain (where just one person can win) canbecome How Many Little Angels on the Head of a Pin (the more the merrier).Use good humoras a tool for encouraging interaction. Don't pressure young people when their desire not toparticipate is clear.

Normalize, Normalize, and Normalize

Despite the many changes taking place in the YW-NYC camp, we were determined tomaintain a fun-as-usual approach, and took this as our overriding goal. It takes great effort to“do it right” when creating an inclusive recreation program. You must hire and train staff,publicize the program,do outreach, recruit both participants and volunteers,consult with theexperts to learn strategies of inclusion, practice these strategies as you run the program, andevaluate and revise as you go along. All of these activities can become barriers to thenormalization of a recreation program. Staff can come to feel overwhelmed by theexpectations and sheer newness of it all.Young people can begin to feel that they are part ofan experiment, rather than being just regular kids.

Our goal was to provide a camp experience where participants would later recall the otheryoung people that they met and the games they played together and the fun they had — notthat they were participants in a pilot project.

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A Brief Glossary of Terms

Assistive Technology – Refers to any device that may be used to assist an individual in fullparticipation. Devices may be: everyday items found in stores, such as a watch with an alarm orVelcro,or specialized items such as a hand-powered bicycle or a racing wheelchair.

A u t i s m – A brain disorder that typically affects a person's ability to communicate, formrelationships with others, and respond appropriately to the environment. Some people withautism are relatively high functioning, with speech and intelligence intact. Others are verylow functioning, mute, or have serious language delays.

Campercentric – Acknowledging that a happy camper is the expert in her/his own needs.Don’t presume to know what’s best.The youth with special needs and/or her caregiver knowswhat’s best.

Capacity Building – The process expanding an organization’s repertoire of activities andservices, as a result of assessment, planning, and implementation.

Cerebral Palsy – “This is an umbrella term used to describe a group of chronic disordersimpairing control of movement that appear in the first few years of life and generally do notworsen over time.The term cerebral refers to the brain's two halves, or hemispheres, and palsydescribes any disorder that impairs control of body movement. Faulty development or damageto motor areas in the brain disrupts the brain's ability to adequately control movement andposture. Symptoms differ from one person to the next, and may even change over time in theindividual. Some people with cerebral palsy are also affected by other medical disorders,including seizures or mental impairment”. American Cerebral Palsy Information Center,www.cerebralpalsy.org

Developmental Disability – A severe and chronic delay as a result of congenital oracquired cause that manifest itself by the age of five years of age and is likely to continueindefinitely. An individual with a developmental disability will require a combination ofinterdisciplinary or generic supports for an extended period of time or lifelong.

Developmental Delay – Children who have developmental delays do not acquire skillsthat are typical of their age by that age. Early intervention programs have proven to be highlyeffective with children who have virtually any type of developmental delays.

E p i l e p s y – A condition where seizures occur when nerve cells discharge their electriccurrent in an abnormal manner, much like a "short circuit". The person may loseconsciousness, and have shaking movements of all limbs, or smaller attacks may occur, withjust staring spells, an unusual behavior, or movements of one arm or leg.When seizures occurrepeatedly, the person is said to have epilepsy. Seizures may occur as an acute warning thatthere is an underlying problem that needs attention.

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External Supports – Refers to people brought in to an activity specifically to support anindividual with a disability.

I n c l u s i o n – The opportunity for children and young adults of diverse abilities to cometogether in natural community settings to meet, study and play together.

Learning Disability – A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involvedin understanding or in using spoken or written language,which may manifest itself in an imperfectability to listen, think, speak, read,write, spell or to do mathematical calculations.

Mental Retardation – Three specific criteria define mental retardation, all of which must bepresent:1) a person’s intellectual functional level,or IQ,is below 70-75;2) the person experiencessignificant limitations in two or more areas of major life activities, for example, self-care, mobility,and economic self-sufficiency; 3) the condition is present before the person reaches 18 years ofage.The effects of mental retardation vary quite widely.

Natural Supports – Refers to other participants already enrolled in an activity who canprovide any necessary support (such as walking with buddies) where it occurs naturally.These are called “natural supports” because they are typically (or naturally) found in theactivity and are not there solely for the benefit of the individual with a disability.

Recreational Therapist – A trained specialist, who with the participant as leader,conducts individualized assessments to identify goals and objectives, and conductsappropriate supports for recreational activities.

Sensitive Language – The practice of using language with sensitivity. As a generalpractice the best approach is to describe the person first, not the disability. A disability isalways secondary in importance to the person before us. For example, not “the blind girl,”butthe “girl who is blind.”Also, ask yourself whether the disability needs to be referred to at all.It’s surprising how often it actually doesn’t.

Spina Bifida – Spina + Bifida literally means “spine”+ “split in half.”But the spine does notreally split in half; it just does not finish closing during a baby’s development in the mother’sbody.There are three kinds of Spina Bifida: 1) Spina Bifida Occulta, where the bones of thespine fail to close — this is the least severe; 2) Meningocele, where the protective coveringsof the spinal cord protrude, which may cause minor disabilities; and 3) Myelomeningocele,where the protective coverings of the spinal cord and spinal nerves protrude — this is themost severe and causes nerve damage and more severe disabilities.

T B I – This acronym stands for traumatic brain injury. When such an injury results inlimitations consistent with the criteria that define a developmental disability, it is consideredas such.

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Introductory Objectives

• To better understand and appreciate people with disabilities throughexposure and familiarity.

• To provide tips on disability etiquette and the use of sensitive language.• To define developmental disability.• To define learning disability.• To define autism.• To define mental retardation.

Service Providers are People Too!

Our feelings about people with disabilities, as with much else, take shape from personalexperiences, or the lack of them. They are filtered through our intellectual, emotional andmoral selves.There are some commonalities in how we tend to feel when we meet peoplewith disabilities.We’re curious;we get nervous;we’re uncertain of how to act or react (Oh No! Isaid “See ya later” to a child who’s blind); we feel at a loss.

It’s best to relax.Anxiety can make any social encounter difficult, so the more at ease we canbecome the better these situations tend to go.Very often, ease comes with familiarity and withexposure. There is no magic formula for getting to know other people. We found that what’sobvious is typically what works best.

• Courtesy is key to developing any new relationship.• Ask questions,but don’t pry, you will discover shared interests and interesting differences.• Speak to the person and not to their assistant, if s/he has one.• Speak in a normal tone — don’t raise your voice or shout unless you’ve been asked to

do so.• Don’t assume that you have to lead the conversation;you can let the person with a disability

direct the conversation.• Don’t use a wheelchair as furniture to lean on.

These are some simple tips that can ease the way to discovering who the other person is.Thereare more in the upcoming section.

At the YW-NYC,we came to believe that understanding and appreciating differences was largelythe equivalent of meeting and respecting a new acquaintance or truly making a new friend.Allof us share some needs: to feel independent; to be valued as a part of a group; to have friendshipand love in our lives; to have opportunities, and to be treated with dignity and kindness.Thesecommonalities, if they’re recognized and respected, form the basis for whatever else happensamong people.

2. Understanding Differences

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The Resources for Living Independently Center of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania provides soundadvice in a document called When You Meet A Person With a Disability that we haveexpanded and adapted here. We have also included etiquette tips from the City of SanAntonio,TX Disability Etiquette Handbook, produced be the City of San Antonio DisabilityAccess Office, which can be found online at www.ci.sat.tx.us/planning/handbook (seeChapter 8, Other Resources).

Disability Etiquette Tips

• Relax. Remember a person with a disability is a person like anyone else.

• If you don't know what to do or say, allow the person who has the disability to helpput you at ease.

• When introduced to a person with a disability, it is appropriate to offer to shake hands.People with limited hand use or who wear an artificial limb can usually shake hands.Shaking hands with the left hand is an acceptable greeting.

• When meeting a person with a visual impairment, always identify yourself and otherswho may be with you.When conversing in a group, remember to identify the personto whom you are speaking.

• To get the attention of a person who is hearing impaired,tap the person on the shoulder or wave your hand. Lookdirectly at the person and speak clearly, slowly andexpressively to determine if the person can read your lips.Not all people with a hearing impairment can lip read. Forthose who do read lips, be sensitive to their needs byplacing yourself so that you face the light source and keephands, cigarettes and food away from your mouth whenspeaking.

• Speak directly to a person who has a disability. Don'tconsider a companion to be a conversational go-between.

• When speaking with a person in a wheelchair or a person who uses crutches, placeyourself at eye level in front of the person to facilitate the conversation. (You will finda difference of opinion on this, though. Some people who use wheelchairs think this issimply unnecessary.As always, it’s best to ask the person if you’re unsure.)

• Explore your mutual interests in a friendly way.The person likely has many interestsbesides those connected with the disability. In other words, talk about the disability ifit comes up naturally, without prying. Be guided by the wishes of the person with thedisability.We know that, in a program setting, it is sometimes relevant to ask specificallyabout disability-related issues, and that is appropriate.

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From a CounselorSeeing the other campers help the

special needs campers with activities,

especially with the dance steps, was

astonishing. The fact that the teen

group included students with special

needs wasn’t even an issue to anyone.

It was just a joy.

• Listen attentively when you're talking with a person who has difficulty speaking.Be patientand wait for the person to finish, rather than correcting or speaking for the person. I fnecessary,ask short questions that require short answers,a nod or a shake of the head.Neverpretend to understand if you are having difficulty doing so. Instead, repeat what you haveunderstood and allow the person to respond.The response will clue in and guide yourunderstanding.Give whole,unhurried attention to the person who has difficulty speaking.Don't talk for the person,but give help when needed.

• Appreciate what the person can do.Remember that difficulties the person maybe facing may stem more from society's attitudes and barriers than fromthe disability itself.

• Offer assistance if asked or if the need seems obvious, but don't overdo it or insist onit. Respect the person's right to indicate the kind of help needed. Once you’ve madethe offer, wait until it is accepted.Then listen to, or ask for, instructions.

• Be considerate of the extra time it might take for a person with disability to get thingsdone. Let the person set the pace in walking and talking.

• Leaning on a person's wheelchair is similar to leaning or hanging on a person, and isgenerally considered annoying. The chair is part of the personal body space of theperson who uses it.

• Don't move a wheelchair or crutches out of reach of a person who uses them.

• Never start to push a wheelchair without first asking the occupant if you may do so.When pushing a wheelchair up or down steps, ramps, curbs or other obstructions, askthe person how he or she wants you to proceed.

• Never patronize people who use wheelchairs by patting them on the head or shoulder.

• Finally, don't be embarrassed if you happen to use accepted, common expressions such as“See you later,”or “Did you hear about this?” that seem to relate to a person's disability.

Using Sensitive Language

Language is a very powerful tool, but it can be a very blunt and hurtful instrument as well. Ourbest advice regarding the use of appropriate and respectful language is — describe the personfirst, not the disability.A disability is always secondary in importance to the person before us, butthe language we use sometimes gives another impression.“The blind woman,”“the autistic child,”“the disabled girl,” these are all examples of giving priority, in language, to the disability.

When referring to a person with a disability, we suggest that you first ask yourself whether thedisability needs to be referred to at all. It was surprising to us how often it actually doesn’t.Oftenit just happened to be the quickest and least thoughtful depiction.If a person’s disability does needto be referenced,put the person first:“a woman who is blind,”“the child with autism,”“the girl

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Understanding Differences

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with a disability”. These constructions, if we’re unused to making them, take a moment’spause and another word or two. But it makes quite a difference to the person whom we’redescribing. Sensitively practicing just this one rule will help to avoid much needless offense.

There are, of course, other words and phrases that reflect poorly on the speaker, though noton the person with a disability.Words and phrases like “retard,”“wheelchair bound,”“cripple,”and “crip” demonstrate ignorance and are at best inadvertently insulting.They should not beused. A person who uses a wheelchair is not bound by it, but liberated by it. The word“handicapped” has been discarded and people with disabilities have elected to use “with adisability” in its place.A person with mental retardation should not be coarsely reduced to asingle trait.

What is a Developmental Disability?

During our day camp’s pilot summer, we served teens whose developmental disabilitiesincluded mental retardation, autism and learning disabilities. Many people use the termdevelopment disability, without having a clear understanding of its definition.The term is anumbrella under which diverse conditions are gathered. We looked to the recently revisedfederal definition as a standard.

The federal definition of a developmental disability focuses on the impact that the conditionhas on a person’s life, rather than on common organic traits.The federal government identifiesa developmental disability as:

• A severe, chronic disability of an individual five years of age or older.

• Attributable to a mental or physical impairment or combination of mental andphysical impairments.

• Manifested before the individual attains age 22 and is likely to continue indefinitely.

• Resulting in substantial functional limitations in three or more of the following areas ofmajor life activity — self-care, receptive and expressive language, learning, mobility, self-direction, capacity for independent living, economic self-sufficiency.

• Reflecting the individual's need for a combination and sequence of special,interdisciplinary, or generic services, supports, or other assistance that is of lifelongor extended duration and is individually planned and coordinated.

• Regarding children from birth to age nine, with a substantial developmental delay,specific congenital or acquired conditions, which then have a high likelihood of aresulting developmental disability, if services are not provided.

Developmental disabilities include, but are not limited to:

Autism Cerebral Palsy Developmental DelayEpilepsy Learning Disability Mental IllnessMental Retardation Neurological ImpairmentOrthopedic ImpairmentPhysical Impairment Spina Bifida Traumatic Brain Injury

What is a Learning Disability?

The regulations of Public Law (PL) 101–476, The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act(IDEA), define a learning disability as a “disorder in one or more of the basic psychologicalprocesses involved in understanding or in using spoken or written language,which may manifestitself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or to do mathematicalcalculations”.

The National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY) in its FactSheet Number 7, Learning Disabilities, states, “learning disabilities are characterized by asignificant difference in the child's achievement in some areas, as compared to his or her overallintelligence”. Students who have learning disabilities may exhibit a wide range of traits, includingproblems with reading comprehension, spoken language, writing, or reasoning ability.Hyperactivity, inattention and perceptual coordination problems may also be associated withlearning disabilities.Other traits that may be present include a variety of symptoms,such as unevenand unpredictable test performance,perceptual impairments,motor disorders and behaviors suchas impulsiveness, low tolerance for frustration and problems in handling day-to-day socialinteractions and situations.

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Developmental Disability – A severe and chronic delay as a result ofcongenital or acquired cause that manifests itself by the age of five years of ageand is likely to continue indefinitely. An individual with a developmentaldisability will require a combination of interdisciplinary or generic supportsfor an extended period of time or lifelong.

DEFINITION

F r o m a M o mSometimes it’s the way other people see my daughter

that’s really hindering, not so much her disability.

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Learning disabilities may occur in the following academic areas:

Spoken language Delays, disorders, or discrepancies in listening and speaking.Written language Difficulties with reading, writing and spelling.A r i t h m e t i c Difficulty in performing arithmetic functions or in

comprehending basic concepts.R e a s o n i n g Difficulty in organizing and integrating thoughts.Organization Skills Difficulty in organizing all facets of learning.

Difficulty with basic reading and language skills are the most common learning disabilities.Learning disabilities often run in families.

Fact Sheet Number 7, Learning Disabilities, also states that between 5% and 10% of the generalpopulation may be affected by learning disabilities. Finally, service providers should not confuselearning disabilities with other disabilities like mental retardation or autism or behavioraldisorders. Attention disorders, such as Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) andlearning disabilities often occur at the same time,but they are not the same conditions.

What is Autism?

Autism is a brain disorder that typically affects a person's ability to communicate, formrelationships with others and respond appropriately to the environment. Some authoritiesestimate that it affects as many as 1 in every 500 children. It is believed that there may be asmany as 400,000 people with some form of autism in the United States.

Some people with autism are relatively high functioning, with speech and intelligence intact.Others are very low functioning, mute, or have serious language delays.Autism makes someseem closed off and shut down; others seem locked into repetitive behaviors and rigidpatterns of thinking.

Most children with autism seem to have tremendous difficulty learning to engage in the give-and-take of everyday life. Children with autism also take longer to learn to interpret whatothers are thinking and feeling. Subtle social cues, whether a smile, a wink, or a frown, mayhave little meaning.To a child who misses these cues,“Come here,” always means the samething, whether the speaker is smiling and extending her arms for a hug or squinting andplanting her fists on her hips.Without the ability to interpret gestures and facial expressions,the social world may seem bewildering.To compound the problem, people with autism haveproblems seeing things from another person’s perspective. Most five-year-olds understandthat other people have different information, feelings and goals than they have.A person withautism may lack such understanding. This inability leaves them unable to predict orunderstand other people’s actions.

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Some people with autism also tend to be physically aggressive at times, making socialrelationships still more difficult. Some lose control, particularly when they’re in a strange oroverwhelming environment, or when angry and frustrated. Others are self-destructive,banging their heads, pulling their hair, or biting their arms. As service providers, it is veryimportant to learn about the habits of the young people you will serve.

What is Mental Retardation?

The literature suggests that about 3% of the general population have mental retardation. One outof ten families in the United States is directly impacted by mental retardation.Three specific criteriadefine mental retardation, all of which must be present:

1 . A person’s intellectual functional level, or IQ, is below 70–75.

2. The person experiences significant limitations in two or more areas of major life activities,for example, self-care,mobility and economic self-sufficiency.

3 . The condition is present before the person reaches 18 years of age.

Many, many causes of mental retardation have been discovered, and in about a third of thecases the cause is unknown.Generally speaking, the known causes can be grouped into a fewcategories:

• Genetic conditions.

• Stresses during pregnancy (malnutrition or the mother smoking or drinking duringpregnancy).

• Problems at birth (stress injuries to the infant’s brain) or in childhood (ingestion oflead by the child or whooping cough or measles).

• Poverty (malnutrition or environmental health hazards).

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Objectives

• To define capacity building. • To define organizational commitment (buying in) as the first step in the

process of expanding your program to provide inclusive recreation.• To identify the purpose(s) of your new program and its fit within your

organization’s mission. • To identify planning, as well as the setting of short and long term priorities,

as keys to the success of any new program. • To define a successful planning model.• To determine your facility’s accessibility.• To identify adequate and competent staff as critical to your success. • To determine what constitutes adequate organizational systems for your

program’s success.

To those of us who busily administer programs, capacity building may seem like anabstraction. It’s actually about the very real need to self-assess and expand skills, andsometimes even facilities, in order to serve broader populations. To plan an inclusiverecreational program, the YW-NYC first had to clarify its purpose and take stock of its abilities— what we knew and what we did not, what our building could support and what it couldnot.Then we had to commit to change.That commitment very often required an allocation offunds and valuable staff time.

Getting Started – Capacity Building is a brief overview of an approach to self-assessment andchange. The YW-NYC discovered some very good tools to guide us in our self-assessment. InChapter 8, Other Resources we’ve included two such tools — the Organizational/ProgramAssessment Questionnaire developed by The Support Center of America, and the CommunityAccess Survey developed by The Institute for Community Inclusion/UAP at Children’s HospitalUMass Boston.

3. Getting Started – Capacity Building

Capacity Building – The process of self-assessing and then planningfor change in order to expand an organization’s repertoire of activities andservices.

DEFINITION

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In this chapter, we’ll be looking at the following topics:“Organizational/Program Mission —Buying In”, “Priorities and Structure”, “Your Facility”, “Staff and Leadership”, and “Systems”.Chapter 4, People Power, connects these topics to concrete decisions that the YW-NYC tookregarding what we could do and for whom.

Organizational/Program Mission – Buying In

Getting organizational commitment to an inclusive recreationalprogram is the important first step in the process. Executive,management and direct service staff will approach ideas for newinclusive programs with varying degrees of insight, enthusiasm,concern, even mistrust. New projects may prove controversial.Some staff will understand the value of the endeavor becausethey’ve seen the effects of such efforts in the lives of youngpeople. Others may be anxious about change, but connect tothe idea on an emotional level. Some welcome innovation.Many have little or no experience with inclusive recreationalprograms and need to understand more about the process, itspurpose and implications before they can endorse it.

It’s crucial that the purpose of the new program fit within your organization’s mission.Thegoals of both should be clearly articulated and agreed upon.The program team for your newinitiative should have structures that reflect those of your organization and include:

• Staff with clearly defined roles

• Clear lines of authority and reporting

• A clear decision-making process

• Well-organized meetings.

For there to be a clear understanding of what your primary program activity will be, staffneeds to be engaged and their opinions considered — their commitment to a new projectwill depend on this. Staff will be more likely to buy into a new project when:

• They feel able to express their opinions (even if unpopular)

• There is trust and a history of effectively problem-solving in teams

• Creativity and innovation are rewarded

• There is follow through on good ideas

• Conflicts are confronted and worked through in a supportive atmosphere

• There are good formal and informal lines of communication established.

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Meetings at which the new projects are proposed or planned should allow sufficient time fordiscussion of key elements that include:

• The organization’s purpose for undertaking the project

• Who will be served and how the group will benefit

• How the organization itself will benefit

• Who will have to do what, and what they’ll need to know to do it

• Projections of costs and timeframes for development and delivery of services.

Priorities and Structure

Planning and the setting of short and long-range priorities are some of the keys to the successof any new program. Elements of effective prioritizing typically include:

• Establishment of a 3- to 5-year plan

• Annual planning for program and budget goals

• Program evaluation that is routinely conducted as part of the planning process

• Organization/program team agreement on how it will respond to change and competition.

The YW-NYC defined and refined its program priorities by applying our funder’s planningstructure to determine measurable objectives, activities and program indicators for the daycamp. Rather that talking abstractly here, we think an actual comparison of where the YW-NYC’s planning started (the narrative) with where it finished (the measurable objectivesmodel) is helpful. This process can be arduous, be we strongly recommend that you gothrough something of the same.

Here are extracts from the narrative in our original proposal:

The YWCA will adapt its urban summer day camp(s) to include and integrate ten(10) youths with Development Disabilities by the summer of 2000. An additionalten (10) youths with Development Disabilities will join our camp(s) by the summerof 2001 and another ten (10) will join by the summer of 2002…

The YWCA will provide extensive and timely outreach to parents of adolescents, withand without disabilities, by making presentations to Network Project participants

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Getting Started - Capacity Building

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and other prospective participants, their parents, as well as public school staff andadministrators…The YWCA will design and deliver yearly training to staff and parents of adolescentswith and without disabilities by making regular presentations and providinginformational materials to parents, as well as providing ongoing TechnicalAssistance and Awareness training to camp staff. As the YWCA gains experience inserving an integrated camp population, we will also develop a training manual toprovide to other community recreational organizations, detailing the conversion ofmainstream day camps to successful inclusion and integration of children withDevelopmental Disabilities.We will disseminate the results and lessons of our pilotby way of DYCD’s extensive network of program providers through discussions,forums, mailings and Technical Assistance (TA) as well…etc.

What is largely missing in this excerpt are specifics that can be measured. From this then, webuilt a priorities plan, based on the DDPC’s planning model, as illustrated below:

Measurable Objectives Activities with Timeframes Performance Indicators

The exercise methodically translated the sometime vague assertions of our proposal intomeasurable outcomes. A condensed version of the first plan, developed within the DDPC’smodel, is provided below for your reference.A full and final version, for year one, is given inChapter 8, Other Resources.

Measurable Objective #1 - Outreach and Planning

Activities Between February and July 2000

• Develop and circulate information describing YWCA/DYCD initiative to integratemainstream summer day camps.

• Develop ten (10) openings by summer 2000 in already existing YWCA mainstreamsummer day camps for young adults with Developmental Disabilities.

Performance Indicators per Year

• 100 calls to current and prospective Networking Project participants;20 calls to familiesof current and prospective Networking Project participants; 10 meetings withparticipants and their families; 10 meetings with community recreation organizations; 10children with Developmental Disabilities enrolled in the YW-NYC summer day camp.

Measurable Objective #2 – Development of Integration Strategies

Activities Between February and July 2000

• Consult with existing mainstream and special needs day camps as well as agenciesproviding technical assistance and services to children with Developmental Disabilitiesand their families, by the summer of 2000.

• Collaboratively develop appropriate strategies of integration, application of assistivetechnologies and integrated camp activities, by the summer of 2000.

• Identify integrative day camp activities equally appropriate for young adults with andwithout Developmental Disabilities.


• 30 calls to organizations with exemplary programs and local experts on recreational programming for disabled youth; 15 meetings with organizations with exemplaryprograms and local experts on recreational programming for disabled youth; 20 calls tocommunity recreation organizations; 10 meetings with community recreationorganizations.

Measurable Objective #3 – Training

Activities Between April and November 2000

• Develop and provide training on integration strategies and implementing the strategiesto summer camp staff, before the summer of 2000.

• Develop and provide Awareness training to participants and their parents, before thesummer of 2000.

• Develop and provide training sessions for YWCA/DYCD administration and support staff.

• Disseminate information to other organizations indicating our experience.

• Offer technical assistance and Awareness training to other organizations seeking tointegrate day camp activities, through discussions, forums, mailings, and TechnicalAssistance, by the summer of 2001.

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• 2 training sessions for summer camp staff; 2 Awareness training sessions for campparticipants and their parents; 2 Awareness training sessions for YWCA/DYCDadministration and support staff; 50 calls to community recreation organizations; 3mailings to community recreation organizations; delivery of technical assistance andawareness workshops to leadership and staff to an expected 5 other community basedrecreation organizations.

Measurable Objective #4 – Evaluation of Inclusive Day Camp

Activities Between July and November 2000

• Develop and administer customer satisfaction survey instrument for day campparticipants and families.

• On yearly basis, refine integrated day camp activities in accordance with customersatisfaction evaluations.

Performance Indicators

• 40 Customer Satisfaction Surveys for participants distributed, collected and analyzed;40 Customer Satisfaction Surveys for participants’ parents distributed, collected andanalyzed; yearly activities update, indicating program enhancements and refinements.

Measurable Objective #5 – Community Support

Activities Between July and November 2000

• Provide Awareness training sessions for all campers and their parents,by summer of 2000.

• Disseminate information and training manual to community-based organizations.

• Dissemination of information to parents, schools, planning bodies.


• 2 Awareness training sessions for campers and their parents; 3 mailings to DYCD fundedcommunity recreational organizations; delivery of technical assistance and Awarenessworkshops to leadership and staff to an expected 5 other community based recreationorganizations funded by DYCD; distribute training manual to DYCD funded communitybased organizations; 1 mailing to parents, schools and planning bodies.

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Measurable Objective #6 – Secure Ongoing Funding

Activities Between November 2001 and November 2002

• Appeal to YWCA’s network of funders, beginning in 2002, to sustain and expandscholarships.

• Seek corporate sponsorship of YWCA integrated day camp and costs of disseminatinginformation.


• Solicit funding from at least 15 foundations from within the YW-NYC network of funders;solicit corporate and other financial sponsorship from at least 15 prospective sponsors.

As you can see, the point here was to make the narrative as concrete as possible. Theseoriginal measurable objectives, activities and indicators were later refined and the sixobjectives were reduced to five. Most significantly, “Training” and the “Development ofIntegration Strategies” were combined and then re-organized into three categories ofactivities: acquisition of information, provision of training to YW-NYC staff, and provision oftraining to other community based organizations.As noted above, the YW-NYC’s final revisionof this planning model is provided in Chapter 8,Other Resources.We believe it is a very usefulmodel, or template, for planning and program development.

Your Facility

You will, of course, also need to carefully consider your facility’s accessibility with respect toproviding inclusive recreational programs. Look very carefully at your building and/ormeeting place from the prospective of young people who may have a variety of disabilities.Aspects of your facilities that may need to be reviewed include:

• Your location

• Your facility’s accessibility via public transportation and parking

• Pathways leading to your building

• Access via doorways, stairs, corridors and lobbies

• Elevators and bathrooms

• Swimming pools

• Emergency accommodations.

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The Institute for Community Inclusion/UAP’s Community Access Survey in Chapter 8, OtherResources, provides an extremely thorough checklist that, like the YW-NYC, you can adapt toyour purposes. Details of the YW-NYC’s facility review are in Chapter 4, People Power.

Staff and Leadership

As part of your needs assessment, you will need to determine whether:

• You have competent staff: they either know how to do the job you’ve proposed, or canbe trained to do so, given the constraints of your budget

• Staff have clearly defined roles and written job descriptions

• There is a reliable evaluation process in place

• You will be able to assign (or afford) sufficient numbers of staff to provide the staff-to-youth ratio of support needed for the special needs populations you are consideringincluding

• You will be able to provide ongoing professional development/training to staff

• There is an appropriate system for rewards and recognition

As important, your new inclusive project will need effective leadership to succeed. Anindividual or a team dedicated to the program goal can provide that leadership.As you assessyour capability to begin a new program, apply the following measures.

The role of an effective leader is built upon some shared characteristics, which include abilitiesto:

• Search for opportunities and take risks

• Inspire a share vision

• Value and encourage cooperation and help people feel capable

• Lead by example

• Recognize contributions and celebrate accomplishments

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From a Mom of a Special Needs CamperI was amazed! Some mornings it was my child

who was the best behaved of the bunch! He was

the role model. What a treat!

Systems

Finally, no new program will endure without organizational systems in place that support itsactivities. If you are a small non-profit, these systemic responsibilities may fall to already over-worked program staff. Larger organizations can often afford to assign the labor to specialistsacross many departments. In either case, organizational structures like those listed belowmust exist and the activities have to be done by someone.They include:

• A realistic fund development program

• Fund development activities that secure adequate resources for your program

• Maintenance of accurate and timely financial records

• A budget process that ensures effective allocation of resources

• Financial management that adequately attends to items like cash flow, cost allocationand analysis

• The effective use of technology, computers and management information systems.

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Objectives

• To provide some guidelines about deciding whom you will serve. • To look at three budgetary considerations that you will need to think

closely about.• To explore the use of public or subsidized transportation.• To look closely at issues of accessibility as regards your building. • To explore the use of a recreational therapist as part of the staff of

your inclusive recreation program. • To explore recruitment and outreach activities. • To explore the application process. • To determine the possibility of providing some type of scholarship aid.

Who Will You Serve?

Who you decide to serve derives naturally from the capacity of your facilities and staff to provideappropriate quality activities. Capacity building is discussed in Chapter 3, Getting Started, withan eye towards assessing organizational capabilities and prospects for expansion.The informationin that chapter provides the foundation for this one. Of course, if you have received funds todevelop inclusive recreational programs, your funder may define your target population. In ourcase,the Developmental Disabilities Planning Council,naturally enough,was supporting inclusiveactivities for teens with and without developmental disabilities.

In this chapter,we want to recount how the YW-NYC went about assessing its own ability to servespecial needs populations with developmental disabilities that might include cognitive andphysical challenges of great diversity.We will also review the outreach and selection process thatthe YW-NYC used,once we determined who we might serve.

Not surprisingly, the YW-NYC found a direct correlation between our ability to include variousspecial needs populations and the funding that we had available to commit to the project. Overtime,we found ourselves focusing on three core challenges.They were our ability to:

• Provide transportation

• Adapt our building, the site of program activity, as needed

• Provide staffing support at appropriate levels

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These considerations,within the context of budgetary constraints, are explored below.

The YW-NYC decided whom it could serve by first taking stock of its location and physicalaccessibility.We knew that the target population would be teens with developmental disabilities.This designation,as we have seen,can encompass an extraordinarily diverse set of needs.And eachof these needs can require different supports.We started by thinking about how participants mightget to our facility.

Location and Transportation

The YW-NYC building is located in mid-town Manhattan,just yards away from three major subwaylines.A bus stops directly in front of our building as well.This was useful as we assessed our abilityto serve special needs campers. We were conveniently located near trains and buses forparticipants who traveled independently or were accompanied by caregivers to our program. Itturned out that several mothers would use the subways in just this way.

Next,we determined that we would not be able to provide adapted transportation to participantswho could not otherwise attend.The program budget simply could not support it. Independentadapted vans costs an average of $300 per round trip and can accommodate only four people whouse wheelchairs at a time. In sections to follow, we provide the calculation that shows that theadditional cost would have been about $6,000, far too great a percentage of the total budget.

Instead, the YW-NYC chose to utilize already-existing staff ofanother program, the Networking Project for Young Adultswith Disabilities, to assist caregivers of campers-to-be throughthe long enrollment process into the city’s paratransit system,Access-A-Ride. This paratransit system provides door-to-doortransportation to people with disabilities in New York City.Theidea was that once campers became comfortable and capable,they could use Access-A-Ride to arrive and depart from ourcamp. One parent opted for this support and, as aconsequence, her son with autism learned important travelskills and now travels independently using the city’sparatransit system.

On the whole then, we could not afford to providetransportation within the existing program budget, but, utilizing staff from other projects, wecould offer sustained support to participants and parents around the development ofindependent travel skills. (In effect then and as with the pool lift described below, the cost wasabsorbed by the departmental budget.) Like the YW-NYC, you may find that not providingtransportation amounts to a barrier to participation for prospective participants who havemobility impairments or who do not yet travel independently. It did mean that the YW-NYC’spool of candidates was much smaller.

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What’s Inside Your Building?

The YW-NYC building is fully accessible to those who use wheelchairs. No stairwell prohibitsentry without there being an elevator as an alternative. Likewise, our halls and doors are ofsufficient width and key signage is in symbols and tactile so that those participants who havevisual impairments can use them. Please see The Institute for Community Inclusion at Children’sHospital in Boston Community Access Survey, in Chapter 8, OtherResources, for a thorough review of facility-related topics that needto be considered.

As with many recreational programs, a fun part of our weeklyactivities had always been swim-ming sessions.We did not have a liftfor our pool.The options were to eliminate swimming as an activityso as not to segregate campers; decide not to serve teens who hadmobility impairments that would prohibit them from using thepool;or to purchase a lift to facilitate inclusion.We did not considersegregated swimming activities to be an option. Quality pool liftscan be purchased and installed for about $4,500 and this cost was not anticipated when wesubmitted our initial budget to the funder for approval. The YW-NYC instead reviewed itsdepartmental budget and elected to spend discretionary funds to purchase the lift,expanding ourservice capacity.

Finally, we reviewed our health and fitness and our arts and crafts facilities.The YW-NYC is veryfortunate to have extensive dedicated space and equipment in both regards, all under one roof.Wealso have staff in attendance who are expert in their fields and who instruct camp activities.

After this review,we concluded that the building itself,with the addition of the lift,could supporta wide variety of special needs populations. Next, when considering whom we might serve, weturned our attention to staffing considerations.

Staff

The staff-to-participant ratio was our primary concern.The staff for the our day camp was plannedto be a mixture of specialists,additional counselors with special training,as well as instructors andcoordinators who had run the mainstream camp in the past.

Our first year budget provided for three new counselors, to be added to the three who were al-ready assigned to the mainstream camp.We also budgeted for a full-time recreational therapist anda fulltime nurse to be on hand throughout camp activities. So, the staff-to-participant ratio for all25 campers, which we could afford, was 1:4. This did not count additional activity-specificinstructors.We learned from experts in the field that this is a sufficient support ratio for almostevery camper with special needs.

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People Power

From a Mainstream CamperMan did I like to go swimming! I

learned how to float and how to do

the Australian crawl and I learned

how not to splash other people.

The instructors were cool and so

was the whole camp!

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We also allocated resources to develop and deliver training sessions to all direct service staffregarding the special supports that they might be called upon to offer the inclusive group.An over-view of this training is presented in Chapter 5,Creating an Inclusive Recreational Program.With the staff support levels described above and the training planned for, we believed that wecould responsibly include most teens who wanted to join us.

We also knew that we could not and would not simply screen out young people who requiredcontinual care from a paraprofessional or personal care assistant. Instead we would expect thatthe teen’s attendant accompany her/him throughout the camp,as was necessary.

What’s Inside Your Budget?

It should be clear by now that for inclusive program activity,many of the changes you may chooseto make and the supports you’ll need to provide come with a price tag.We have reviewed threeareas where this was particularly so for the YW-NYC — location and transportation, facilityaccessibility, and staffing.We believe that if you are planning an inclusive recreational program inthe New York City area, your costs and the constraints that these costs place on your ability toserve special needs populations may closely resemble ours.So it may be helpful if we take a closerlook at some specific costs that you may encounter.We’ll start with staffing and then move on toother costs.

Budgeting for Staff

The YW-NYC’s experience is that inclusive recreational activities are staff intensive. As wasdescribed above, to support a group of 25 participants, ten of whom had developmentaldisabilities; we budgeted for three new counselors, which we added to the group of counselorsalready assigned to the inclusive program on the mainstream side. Before we recruited campcounselors,we made a decision to pay a little above the usual wage, in order to attract counselorswith expe-rience.The total cost for inclusive counselor support was almost $5,000 as illustratedbelow.Here was our calculation for costs:

Counselors

Had mainstream fees not picked up the cost of the three mainstream counselors, the inclusiveprogram would have had to assume their costs as well, doubling counselor support expenses.

Hours per week No. of weeks No. of counselors Rate per hour35 4 3 $10

35 x 4 x 3 x $10 = $4,200$4,200 + $500 (approx. 12% part-time fringe cost) = $4,700 approx.

Other staff hired especially for the YW-NYC project included the camp nurse and the recrea-tionaltherapist.We had initially thought that we could hire a per diem nurse for $25 per hour, but wewere wrong.The going rate in the NYC area is $35 per hour for a registered nurse.The nurseworked the same hours as the counselors.The total cost of the nurse was $5,500 as illus-tratedbelow.

Registered Nurse

We had under-budgeted for the recreational therapist as well, believing that we would find agood candidate for $18 per hour.We did not and had to increase the hourly rate to $25. Likethe counselors and the nurse, the recreational therapist worked 35 hours per week.The totalcost for the recreational therapist during camp operations was almost $4,000, as illustratedbelow.

Because we also needed the therapist to plan and lead staff training sessions on inclusive recrea-tional practices, the YW-NYC added an additional 40 hours at the same hourly rate for theseservices, at a cost of about $1,100 including fringe.

Recreational Therapist

For our five-day a week, four-week day camp, direct service staff (counselors, a nurse and arecreational therapist) cost about $15,600. Remember that this excludes the cost of alreadyexisting staff whose wages were picked up by program fees,and it also does not include programover-sight and supervision, for which we allocated approximately $4,500.

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35 x 4 x 1 x $35 = $4,900$4,900 + $600 (approx. 12% part-time fringe cost) = $5,500 approx.


35 x 4 x 1 x $25 = $3,500

$3,500 + $400 (approx. 12% part-time fringe cost) = $4,000 approx.$4,000 + $1,100 (for training sessions) = $5,100 total cost

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Supervision and direct staff services, for a 1:4 staff to camper support ratio, combined for a totalcost of approximately $20,000, or about $800 for each of the 25 program participants.Your costper participant may vary according to the supports you need to put in place, which, as is theoverarching point here, is linked to who you will serve.

Budgeting for Other Than Personnel Costs

Other costs to think about as you consider yourorganization’s capacity to serve young people withspecial needs include transportation and facilityaccessibility. These are specific to an inclusiveprogram approach.With regard to transportation, asimple calculation showed that, for the YW-NYCInclusive Summer Day Camp, providingtransportation for campers via ambulettes to oursite was impossible. For example, if we providedjust one adapted van per day, for four camperswith mobility impairments, for the duration of thecamp (20 days), the additional cost would havebeen $6,000, or approximately 1/5 of our totalbudget. Instead, the YW-NYC chose to offersupport to caregivers,assigning staff to assist families throughout the enrollment process into thecity’s paratransit system,Access-A-Ride, which provides door-to-door transportation to peoplewith disabilities.This staff time was an in-kind donation of services — meaning that the YW-NYCassumed the cost.We estimate that approximately $500 of staff time was contributed to this effort.

The YW-NYC did offer to reimburse caregivers for twenty day’s use of Access-A-Ride, which costs$1.50 each way.For the ten special needs campers’ transportation costs,we budgeted $600.

Adaptive equipment is also a consideration.We noted above that the YW-NYC did not have a poollift,but recognized the need for one as we planned for the inclusive camp.The lift would facilitatethe pool’s use for participants with mobility impairments or who were non-ambulatory. It wouldalso allow the entire camp to stay together, avoiding segregating the group in a way that we sawas unacceptable.We deemed the $4,500 that the lift cost to purchase and install as an ap-propriateexpense for our activities.We did not need to purchase poolside transfer chairs, which roll fromthe locker room to the pool deck.The cost per transfer chair would have been about $300 each.

You may need to make similar improvements to your facility. Some, like the installation of ramps,can prove as expensive as a pool lift. Others will be relatively inexpensive such as tactile buttonsfor elevator panels that should not cost more than $200.

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Approximate YW-NYC Program CostsTo serve 25 young people for four

w e e k sCounseling Support (3) $4,700

Registered Nurse (1) $5,500

Recreational Therapist (1) $5,100

Program Oversight andSupervision $4,500

Total $19,800(This excludes existing staff wages.)

More costs that you may encounter, specific to an inclusive recreational program, can includescholarships or financial support. In our case, the cost of scholarships for the SummerTeens:Integrated Summer Day Camp was covered by an outside funder. If you can,we recommend thatyou offer some financial support as well. Many parents of young adults with special needs haveburdensome expenses that are associated with providing medical and social supports for theirchildren. Very often, these families are unable to afford even modest program fees. Financialsupport may make all the difference between a young person joining you or not.

Finally, you may need to make extensive outreach efforts to alert other service providers andcaregivers about your new initiative.The YW-NYC’s efforts are detailed below and, like us, youshould allocate extra funds for materials, printing and mailing, as well as for staff time for thedevelopment of informational materials and follow-up phone calls to prospective participants.

Outreach and Recruitment

Once you have defined the parameters of whom you will serve, you should be prepared to putextraordinary efforts into your outreach campaign.Why is this so? The YW-NYC, the new kid onthe “inclusive” block, had a lot to prove to parents who were wary, as well as to other serviceproviders who did not know us as particularly inclusive, and to Special Educators who had con-tact to a great many young people who could benefit from participation.

It’s not that we were unknown. In fact, we have a long andrespected track record as a provider of independent living skillstraining to special needs teens in our Networking Project forYoung Adults with Disabilities.But parents of special needs teenslooking for a camp were not necessarily the same parents whoknew of us through programs like the Networking Project.Moreover, the rarity of inclusive programs (we were told that wewere the only one in Manhattan) surely put the onus on the YW-NYC to get the word out.

Our initial goal was to identify at least 80 young people with developmental disabilities,who alsofell within the range of special needs described above, for possible participation. We saw ouroutreach taking three paths — mailings,presentation and via our website.

The YW-NYC first called an organization called Resources for Children with Special Needs(see Chapter 8, Other Resources) to ask for advice about how to best connect along thesethree paths to youths with disabilities and their families.

Every year, Resources for Children with Special Needs hosts a Special Camp Fair. More than70 representatives from camps in the tri-state area gather there to share information witheach other and with interested young people and parents.Thousands of people attend thisFair, which takes place in February in preparation for summer enrollments.The YW-NYC was

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encouraged to join as a service provider and we did. It was a unique opportunity for us to speakdirectly to a great many young people and parents about our program.They received informationpackets and we were able to collect names and phone numbers for follow-up activities. Westrongly recommend that any organization that wants to spread the word about its inclusiverecreational program do the same.

We sought other opportunities to present to interested groups and,in particular,contacted SpecialEducation Transition Coordinators regarding their periodic borough-wide meetings.The YW-NYCattended two such meetings and spoke directly to service providers within the NYC Board ofEducation.We distributed approximately 100 information packets at these meetings.We also madea presentation at the Youth Entrepreneur Day Exposition and at the Federation of ProtestantWelfare Agency’s Citywide Camp Meeting.

As regards mailings, our outreach coordinator, hired especially for recruitment for the daycamp, put together mailing lists of other service providers and designed informational fliersfor distribution.Over the four months prior to the start of the camp,we mailed out more than300 information packets, including repeated mailings to Special Educators citywide. Finally,the YW-NYC website posted information about the camp and recorded about 1,000 hits overthe spring and summer.

By using many different types of media,the YW-NYC reached out to countless professionals,youngpeople and to parents, in an effort to spread the word of our new inclusive recreational camp.Keyavenues of outreach that you should also try include:

• Pre-existing groups of young participants and/or caregivers known to you throughother programs that serve similar populations, though not in an inclusive setting.

• Resources for Children with Special Needs,which hosts the annual Special Needs Camp Fairand added our promotional literature to their distribution packages. If you’re about to runan inclusive camp,you positively have to attend this fair.

• NYC Board of Education Special Education providers, who have daily contact with theyoung people that you are seeking to recruit.Ask to attend their meetings to present and beprepared to do several mailings to their attention.

• Other special needs service providers in your area. For example, we forwarded muchinformation through Achilles Kids, a non-profit organization with which we have a closerelationship,and provides adapted physical activities to youngsters with disabilities.AchillesKids has ongoing contact with thousands of young adults with special needs.

• Use of reference guides such as Information and Advocacy: A Directory of Resources forNew York City Children and Their Families, produced by Resources for Children withSpecial Needs. In this directory we found hundreds of organizations, key contacts andphone numbers that we then used as the basis for mailings and phone introductions.

• Including inclusive program information into regular mailings and catalog,helping to get theword out to all of your members.

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• If you have a website, it’s a good idea to post pertinent information about your newproject there as well.

• If your budget permits, be sure to follow-up mailings with more mailings to the sameproviders. Repeated phone calls also help fix your program as a referral possibility inothers’ minds.

By asking participants and parents who later contacted the camp how they heard about us,wewere able to determine that our outreach efforts at the Special Needs Camp Fair and to Boardof Education Special Education providers were particularly effective. We recommend that,budget permitting, you try each of these avenues of outreach to connect to new populations.These efforts take time and money.When you plan your new inclusive program,budget for thestaff and materials that you’ll certainly need to do effective outreach.

The Selection Process – Applications, IEPs and Interviews

The YW-NYC’s first step in the development of our selection process was to learn what othersdid.We met and spoke with various other program providers and asked them what informationthey collected before selecting program participants. There were many approaches, but allincluded specific questions regarding applicants’ abilities and interests, specifics about theirdisabilities and about the supports they needed as a result. Most providers also posed questionson relevant medical histories, as well as social and skills development.

For the YW-NYC program, we chose to err on the side of fulsomeness.We included questionson all of the above topics, as well as queries about additional recreational programs that theyoung person may be participating in.We talked with caregivers about their teen’s interests.Wealso asked caregivers to describe their goals for their young person in inclusive settings. Weconsidered this as a first step in enlisting parents’ commitment to the project.

The last piece of information that we requested on our application (see Chapter 7,Checklists andForms) was the attachment of the prospective camper’s Individualized Education Program (IEP).The IEP,as defined and utilized by the Board of Education of the City of New York, is a plan.

“Written by the School-based Support Team/Committee on Special Education, thestudent’s teacher, the parent(s) and other per-sons involved in the student’s educationthat describes the stu-dent’s level of functioning and learning styles and the specialeducation services and goals necessary to address specific academic, social, emotional,physical and management needs.”

In other words, it is an extensive and regularly revised record of the young adult’s disability andconsequent supports.Within the IEP, there are assessments and recommendations from the hostof team members listed above, providing a many-faceted picture of the young person.

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At first we thought that requesting this document was redundant, given the extensivequestioning already in our application. We also thought, to put it plainly, that the requestmight be unduly intrusive. But while the IEP should not and cannot substitute for theinformation collected on the program application, or for an interview with the family, it is avaluable supplement. The IEP can be used to augment the information that the parentprovides, and to check for accuracy.We recommend that other program providers request theIEP as well.

After we received applications, we scheduled meetings with all candidates and parents. Onegoal of the interview was to review information provided in the application form, withemphasis on areas where we were unclear about details. A second goal was to learn moreabout the young person’s interests with an eye on how we might support her/his personalgrowth and development. We also discussed concerns about our abilities to provideappropriate supports given the staff-to-camper ratios that the YW-NYC could afford and wetalked about behavioral challenges that might be beyond our abilities to manage or that mightendanger others. (see “Staff”section above). Information gathered in this interview, in additionto what was supplied in the application and the IEP, formed the basis of our selection process.

Of course, another goal of the interview was for the prospective campers and familymembers to get to know us, and to ask whatever questions they might have about ourintentions and activities.We always took this meeting as the opportunity to tour the buildingas well, and to show families the facilities where activities would take place.

After completion and review of the application and of the interview, the YW-NYC camp teamcame together to review cases.The team included the mainstream camp director, the inclusiveprogram director and the program outreach coordinator.We began by first asking ourselveswhether we could provide all the supports that prospective participants and their caregivershad requested. We were determined to expand our recreational activities and, given thestaffing ratios cited above and our building’s accessibility, we did not have the occasion tothink we could not. Our outreach coordinator would have researched alternative camps andmade appropriate refer-rals had such a case arisen.

In our pilot year, neither behavioral nor medical conditions among the candidates gavecaregivers or YW-NYC program staff doubt as to our ability to open our camp to all whoapplied.Happily, the number of final applicants matched the number of program slots we hadavailable. Had applications exceeded our capacity, we would have turned to a first-come-first-serve review as the last method of selection.

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Scholarships

We close this chapter by reiterating the importance of offering financial assistance, if it’s at allpossible.The lack of financial assistance can otherwise become an inadvertent screening tool.Families providing medical and social supports to their children with special needs usuallyabsorb extraordinary expenses.With little remaining resources, they may not be able to joinyour program, if they are fee-based, without financial support. We know that most of ourparticipants would not have been able to join YW-NYC, had an outside funder not generouslyprovided scholarships.

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From a CounselorThe continuation of camps like this one is crucial for dissolving the many

misconceptions that some people have against kids with disabilities. Everyone

here just got along and had fun!

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Objectives

• To identify the first steps in creating a successful inclusive program. • To explore what awareness training to provide to program stakeholders.• To explore the essential partnership between your program and the

parents of all participants. • To provide information about how to successfully work with volunteers. • To clarify the role of the recreational therapist.• To provide information about staff training regarding new skills and practices. • To provide information regarding overcoming programmatic barriers.• To suggest ways that providers can encourage and support friendships

among all participants. • To detail the many ways that modifications to activities can be made.• To discuss successful behavior management techniques.

Introducing Yourself to Your Participants – First Impressions

We think that the first step in creating a successful inclusive program is making your newestparticipants, those with disabilities, feel welcome. Participants’ and parents’ first impressionsmay determine whether they will truly consider your program as an option. You may firstmeet prospective participants at recruitment fairs, like the one described in previouschapters, hosted by Resources for Children with Special Needs, or at an open house or aprogram orientation. In any case, you should be ready to provide information to participantsand their families about the terrific program that they are considering.Your language shouldbe inviting, clear in its inclusive intentions, and clear about the youngsters with and withoutspecial needs that you are targeting for participation. Your literature should also spell outwhat exactly your program activities will be.

The YW-NYC’s day camp scheduled a wide variety of activities,which changed hour to hour overthe course of a day. Some of these activities included dance, weightlifting, swimming, aerobics,painting,quilting,games,karate and theatre activities.When we first met candidates for our camp,we made sure to have sample activity schedules on hand to supplement our recruitment literature.We wanted to be sure that interested parties got the clearest possible picture of what our programwas all about.

This process is about establishing a comfort level with participants and parents who mayotherwise be wary or skeptical of your abilities to successfully manage an inclusive recreationprogram.The more people know about your quality program, the more comfortable they willbecome.

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5. Creating an Inclusive Recreation Program

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Once you have identified who will join your program, we stronglyrecommend that you provide awareness training to all participatingcampers, in age-appropriate language. In our pilot year, we made afalse step that may be helpful for you to know about.Specifically,weplanned an awareness training session, to take place on our firstprogram day, and bundled it into our general orientation. Our errorwas that we tended to start from disability-centered issues in ourpresentation, rather than from the more accurate topic of“differences”and how we all benefit from belonging to communitieswith many differences.

Taking our cue from the subdued response, we reconsidered our approach. It was too direct andmade our campers a little uncomfortable — just the opposite of our intention.At next year’s campsessions we will shift toward a group discussion, rather than presentation, and will developicebreaker exercises that are fun and focus in a participatory way on how strength is derived fromdifference.

These icebreakers and discussions are still aimed at creating an atmosphere where the group canexplore topics that may include:

• A reiteration of what your inclusive program is all about — what it will do,what it values.• A getting-to-know-you exercise so that campers can share their experience with other

young adults with special needs.This can be simple, such as asking what participants didover the summer for fun. It will establish a base for future discussions.

• A conversation about the different kinds of abilities that people have and the challenges that they face (emphasizing equally those with and without disabilities in the group).

• The extraordinary value of having empathy.• A review of basic do’s and don’ts for campers, including disability-specific information.

This might include language and etiquette tips, like asking before helping a special needsparticipant.

• An explanation of the use and value of the buddy system.• The importance of everyone having a role in your program.

These first impressions are crucial to the creation of an open environment where participantscan express their concerns or fears. It’s the first step toward overcoming attitudinal barriers,which are often more limiting than architectural barriers.

Introducing Yourself to Caregivers

Parents are your partners. Parents of special needs and mainstream youths alike are essentialpartners who contribute greatly to the success of your program.You must make every effortto build strong relationships with parents, especially those of children with special needs, inadvance of the start of your activities. This is critical to recruitment and ongoing success,because parents will naturally be wary of organizations with little or no track record as aninclusive program provider.

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From a Mom of a SpecialNeeds CamperThe program gave my son a

chance to just be a teen —

without the labeling. All he wants

is to show that he can do what

other boys can do.

We discovered that it is hard to over-emphasize the importance of providing clear informationto caregivers, in as much detail as they request.We recommend that you assign a staff person tomaintain continuing phone contact, in addition to any regularly scheduled meetings with thefamilies. Parents' anxiety is lessened when they are provided with clear information about yourprogram’s philosophy and activities. Be prepared to reiterate and reassure.

Then plan to build on parental involvement throughout the program. Here are somerecommendations that the YW-NYC can provide:

DO’s

• Encourage parents to be as involved as is practically possible on both sides. For example,one parent who worked in the neighborhood volunteered to return for an hour in theafternoon to assist with lunch at the camp. We needed the extra pair of hands and themother needed to be reassured that the camp was working well for her daughter.Both sidesbenefited from this arrangement.

• Invite parents to stay at the beginning of the day to make sure participants and parentsreach a comfort level.

• Plan on having parents’ meetings focused on awareness and other relevant information.

• Encourage caregivers to ask questions.

• Conduct parent surveys so that they can assess the experience from their point of viewand make recommendations for improvement.

• Commit yourself to honestly seeking their opinions and criticisms.Truly try to integrate theirsuggestions when it may improve participation for all campers.

• Ask parents what they need as support for their young adult's participation. Commit toworking with parents to meet those supports.

• Program activities sometimes evolve,or schedules change.Respond to caregivers who alertyou to new circumstances that challenge inclusive participation. Respond in practice towhat they have to say.

Don’ts

• Don’t think that or act as if you are tolerating parents’ presence.They are essential toyour success.

• Don’t ask for input and then fail to act upon it.Even if you find that you cannot do what hasbeen suggested, take the time to explain your reasoning to parents.

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• Don’t schedule parent meetings at times when most parents have indicated they’d havetrouble attending. It may fit your schedule, but if it doesn’t fit theirs, there’s really no point.

• Don’t assume you know best about the needs and supports for a parent’s child.Approachdiscussions concerning these topics as opportunities for mutual information sharing.

• Don’t assume that if something works at the start of your program, it will continue towork throughout. Revisit activities and pay attention to interactions as they changeover time: you will find that the kinds and levels of supports that are needed change.Parents will sometimes bring this to your attention first.

Building a Team - Finding Volunteers

Many inclusive recreation programs could not be accomplished without the significantcontributions of volunteers.Volunteers not only provide valuable assistance in an inclusiverecreation program, but they represent a good way to reduce costs.Volunteers can be foundin many sectors of the community, but you will still have to seek them out. Before you startrecruiting volunteers, your organization should develop a recruitment plan.Ask yourself:

• How many volunteers do we need?• Are there any special skills that we would like volunteers to have?• What qualities do we think will make a successful volunteer?• How will we screen potential volunteers?

For recruitment, you may want to create a simple brochure about the program, focusing on yourneed for volunteers. Make sure these materials are in places where many people will see them.Make your poster or flyer effective by using large text,colored paper,and a simple bullet list withyour main points. Long paragraphs of small print are hard to read.

Other ways of finding volunteers are:

• Make a presentation to a local community group where members are likely to show aninterest in your program. During the presentation, pass out a sign-up sheet for moreinformation.

• Contact local agencies and schools by phone. These are a good source of gettingmultiple volunteers from one location. Personal contacts will pay off in the long run.

• Budget permitting, run a public service announcement on a local TV or radio station.

A local resource that you may explore is New York Cares, an organization that connects peoplewho wish to volunteer to the programs and projects that need them.

What Makes a Volunteer Successful?

Energetic and hard-working volunteers will ensure that your program has a positiveatmosphere that promotes increased social and life skills in all participants. The goal is to

have fun — even for the volunteers.

A volunteer should be reliable,encouraging,pleasant and full of energy.In general,it is much betterif volunteers act as assistants to activities when additional supports are required, rather than asaides to specific young people with disabilities.The idea is to avoid pre-empting the group fromproviding the support by jumping in prematurely.A successful volunteer acts as a role model for

all the program participants, encouraging independence andresponsibility.

When situations arise where a volunteer could usefully assist aspecial needs participant, s\he should take his\her cue fromthe participant. Like staff, volunteers must know to ask aparticipant with special needs whether or not they need helpbefore trying to modify an activity. It’s also essential thatvolunteers understand that the support levels appropriate toone activity will not necessarily be appropriate to another.Themany possible roles for volunteers will vary according to the

activities of your inclusive program. Common areas where they may be of assistance caninclude: co-facilitating activities, suggesting modifications, answering questions, settingboundaries, setting up equipment for activities, greeting parents, troubleshooting sources ofconfusion as participants transition from one activity to another, helping with introductionsamong participants, and scheduling.

Training and Giving Recognition to Volunteers

You may find that volunteers have a high degree of enthusiasm but almost no experienceworking with young people with disabilities. For volunteers to be as successful as possible,they will need some form of training and/or orientation.The kind of training or orientationthat you require for volunteers will depend on the activities they will perform.One volunteermay support a group of young people,while another may be a buddy to just one special needsparticipant.

All of your volunteers should attend training or orientation where topics such as those listedbelow might be discussed.These topics are similar to those suggested later for staff, but may becovered in less detail.The goal of such training will be to make volunteers feel welcome andhelp them to become familiar with this new environment.Topics may include:

• An introduction to your program and philosophy of inclusion.

• An overview of the types of special needs that your participants may have.

• A brief overview of relevant rules, guidelines and emergency procedures.

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• Highlights of the program’s activities that illustrate your philosophy. This might includeanecdotes about successful cooperative sports activities or crafts classes.

• Opportunities to hear from the volunteers about their skills, experience, and concerns.

• An overview of disability etiquette and language sensitivity tips.

• Discussion of the golden rule of always offering choices so that all participants can participate at whatever level is appropriate.

• A review of the American Disabilities Act (ADA) and its importance.

• Last,but certainly not least important,encourage your volunteers to have fun enjoying yourprogram’s participants and activities.

For those volunteers who may be working intensively with program participants, additionaltraining might focus on the areas listed below.All of these topics are explored in detail in thischapter and include:

• Sample behavior strategies that work with special needs campers.

• Techniques for team building and problem solving.

• How to modify activities to promote inclusion of all campers.

• Specific techniques for working with individual special needs, such as autism or mentalretardation.

Finally, an essential part to successfully utilizing volunteers is giving recognition.The ways inwhich you can make a volunteer feel valuable are probably limited only by your imagination.

Here is a short list of common sense ideas that you might try:

• Smile and talk to your volunteers! Saying “good morning”,“how are you?” or “have a nicenight”can go a long way.

• Include volunteers in appropriate staff meetings – formal or impromptu.

• Celebrate their contributions in verbally and in a written fashion.

• Make meaningful plans around volunteers’ involvement. No one wants to feel like anafterthought.

• Seek volunteers’advice and incorporate it when it is appropriate and you are able to followthrough.

• Provide meaningful training. It reflects the value you place on their participation.

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Building a Team – The Recreational Therapist

Very early on, the YW-NYC conceived of the recreational therapist’s position as central to thesuccess of our new inclusive program.We sought a candidate who also had prior experienceworking with young people with disabilities. We recommend something of the sameapproach to you. Having a knowledgeable and committed employee directly involved withthe initial planning and subsequent delivery of program activities is invaluable. In our model,the recreational therapist played a comprehensive role and provided leadership in mostsignificant program activities, including:

• The development of inclusive strategies and identification of appropriate program supports,before the program began.

• The coordination of daily activities, including supervision of camp counselors with the ideaof ongoing review and revision of counselor support services.

• The development and delivery of before and after camper and family satisfaction surveys.• The development and delivery of staff base and post-program knowledge surveys, to

establish growth of insight into integrative practices.• Assistance in the delivery of inclusive practices/awareness training workshops to

participants, their families and staff.Having concluded our first year of inclusive programming, we are more convinced than everthat the recreational therapist’s role was and will be essential to our success. Other inclusiveprograms that we learned about adapted similar staffing, sometimes calling this position“shadow counselor,” or “mentor”.

Building a Team –Training Staff

By now we’ve established that running an inclusive recreation program will mean that staffwill be required to work in new ways to provide supports and make modifications. Some ofthese ways may be stressful. Before your program begins, train your staff so that they havetime to become familiar with new concepts, procedures and guidelines. Give them time toreflect, discuss and process these new skills and new information.

The YW-NYC had resources for a half-day training for direct service staff, as well as ongoingon-the-job training provided by the recreational therapist once the camp was in session. But weknow of other service providers who were able to dedicate many entire days to inclusivetraining practices.The extent of training that you can provide will depend upon the availabilityof staff (will they work only when the program is in session, as camp aides do, or are theyalready employed but at other tasks) and the size of your budget.At a minimum, however, westrongly recommend that inclusive practices/awareness training for staff include:

• An explanation of the philosophy and intended practice of the inclusive program.• A survey of staff with regards to their experience with young adults with special needs.This

will establish a base for continuing discussion.• An overview of the sorts of special needs that the participants will have.

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• An explanation of supports and modifications that are commonly practiced at othersuccessful inclusive programs. For example, simplifying instructions to participants withlearning disabilities, and the use of the buddy system to partner young people with andwithout special needs.

• A review of basic do’s and don'ts for participants. This should include etiquette andlanguage, asking before helping special needs participants, and the extraordinary value ofhaving empathy.

• The golden rule of always offering choices, so that a range of “validated”ways for participants to become a member of the group is identified and reinforced.

• The critical importance of always finding a role for everybody in the camp, no matterthe activity.

• A review of key points of the American Disabilities Act (ADA) and its importance toinclusion in all walks of life.

• A review of emergency procedures.

Some of these concepts and practices will seem obvious or natural because they’re commonand kind. But don’t assume that acknowledgement of new concepts will naturally translateinto new and effective practices. It's extra work to practice inclusion successfully and, fromthe start, you will need to communicate that. Plan to reiterate new inclusive concepts and tocontinuously encourage staff to practice what they have learned. At the YW-NYC, therecreational therapist did this job and he also distributed weekly informational handouts todirect service staff to reinforce key themes.

Finally, because the YW-NYC hired its direct service staff especially for the camp, we had theopportunity to seek candidates who enthusiastically expressed commitment to the conceptand practices of inclusion. Lukewarm commitment showed in interviews and, above all else,it was our signal that the candidate before us would not be the best choice. If key staff havedisabilities, reflecting the integrated make-up of your program, we think that that is asignificant advantage as well. The organization should be prepared to make reasonableaccommodations for staff with special needs.

Providing Supports

In addition to architectural and attitudinal barriers to participation, which we have exploredin previous chapters, programmatic barriers can prevent young people with disabilities fromjoining your new recreational program. We’ll begin our look at how you might overcomecommon programmatic barriers with an overview of common sorts of supports. We’veadapted material from Don’t Forget the Fun, published by The Institute for CommunityInclusion/UAP at Children’s Hospital UMass Boston, to provide a succinct overview of thesorts of supports that maximize inclusive activities.

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Common Types of Supports

In Chapter 1, Introduction, we wrote about guiding principles that our program came toapply to our activities and it’s important to review them here:

• First do no harm. Avoid activities that progress by eliminating participants, or thatmay embarrass participants, or tend to leave many standing-by, or that have a highchance for injury.

• Communicate. Always ask the young person what, if any,modifications might be made,before you make them. Asking the participant first empowers and encourages a youngperson to participate in designing his or her own fun.

• Create cooperative fun. Take the stress off competition and emphasize cooperativeactivities instead.All games can be changed,adapted,or modified to encourage cooperationand inclusion.Use humor as a tool for encouraging interaction.Don't pressure young peoplewhen their desire not to participate is clear. Cooperation, rather that competition, is key toproviding a psychologically safe environment where all participants can feel comfortableand experience success.

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Type of Support Description

Natural Supports Refers to other participants already enrolled in an activitywho can provide any necessary support (such as walkingwith buddies) where it occurs naturally. These are called“natural supports” because they are typically (or naturally)found in the activity and are not there solely for the benefitof the individual with a disability.

External Supports Refers to people brought in to an activity specifically tosupport an individual with a disability.

Proactive Advertising Programs inform individuals of their philosophy and and Philosophy inclusive practices by printing it on program literature

and advertising.

Access and Not only are the most obvious areas made accessibleAccommodations (such as a ramp at an entrance), but the less obvious

areas well (such as signage in high contrasting colors,allowing life vests in pool).Making modifications for individuals with disabilities topromote successful participation for all.

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• Normalize, normalize, normalize! We made this our golden rule.Our emphasis was always on providing opportunities for young people to simply have fun together.Whilewe provided supports and made modifications, we nevertheless kept the program’s focuson group activity and interaction.

Don’t Forget the Fun also sets out helpful hints for success.They are:

• Examine the activity carefully. You may find that supports already exist orrequire minimal effort like a slight modifying of the rules for an activity.

• Pay attention to the abilities of the participant as they pertain to thea c t i v i t y . A person who needs assistance with a writing project may well be able towork independently when doing a craft project.

• Be prepared. Talk with the person with the disability or his/her parent(s)beforehand about his/her needs.The law does not require that a person let a providerknow before that he/she has a disability. Knowing this information beforehand willincrease the chances that appropriate supports can be put into place so that theparticipant will have the most fun.

• Integrate supports in the least separating manner. As much as possible,don’t make the individual feel as though they stand out. An aide might be associatedwith the whole group rather than identified as a helper for just one child.

• Support the support. Everyone who is providing support needs someoneavailable to him/her to address issues or answer questions. Often, support personneljust need someone to talk with to get some encouragement or positive feedback.

As service providers, when we work with young people with disabilities, it is crucial that werecognize and focus upon the strengths of participants and find creative ways to use thosestrengths. This is another way of saying — always emphasize ability first. It’s crucial topromote peer relationships, facilitating them as you see the beginnings of friendshipsdeveloping.The buddy system can work well here, remembering that the young person withthe disability can be the leader in such partnerships as surely as s/he can be the recipient ofattention.

Encouraging and Supporting Friendships

The buddy system is about encouraging participants with and without disabilities to becomepartners. Some inclusive programs practice this as a formal method. Others use the buddysystem as a flexible practice, encouraging/insisting on it as it is perceived to be useful.At theYW-NYC, we preferred to use buddies as a natural support, and avoided assigning buddiesformally. It seemed to us that this would not be natural: after all — young people don’t makefriends according to how project staff assesses their needs, or by a blueprint provided in anIEP! Instead we nurtured relationships and, as they developed, made suggestions to buddiesabout how they might help each other. In short, whenever possible we encouragedrelationships where buddies were actually friends, and vice versa.

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One of the roles of your staff should be as nurturers,“connectors”This includes introducingparticipants with special needs to those without, and then supporting those relationships.TheInstitute for Community Inclusion’s Institute Brief gives excellent suggestions for nurturingfriendships in recreation and social activities.We include them here as a valuable resource:

• Create an environment in which everyone feels accepted,valued, and respected.

• Use staff orientation and meetings to emphasize valuing differences and respecting others.Train staff to recognize natural opportunities that can foster relationships.

• Choose games and group activities that enable kids to discover common interests such as afavorite song or band, favorite clothing store, favorite foods, movies and video games,cultural traditions, favorite athletes and celebrities.

• Keep all activities varied and interesting. Coordinate activities so that all participants areengaged in age-appropriate ones. Survey young people to ensure that activities areappealing.Encourage participants to take the lead in modifying activities.

• Create opportunities for participants to interact with same-age peers, regardless of ability.

• Young people may be able to figure-out how to relate to each other and feel moreconfident to act naturally without an adult nearby. It is important for adults to recognizewhen their presence is not needed, or may even interfere with the development of afriendship!

• Cooperative learning activities such as learning a new sport, creating a newsletter, orplanning a field trip encourage participants to talk to each other, and also to discussideas, make team decisions, and work toward a common goal.

Keeping Things Positive

• Respect all participants. Recognize and explore preferences. Present instructionand information in ways that each participant can understand.Pay attention to individualresponses to activities. Recognize cultural and religious diversity. Encourage respect foreveryone.

• Respect choices. Pay attention to participants’likes and dislikes.Respect the choice notto participate in some activities.Encourage small steps toward involvement in activities thatinitially may seem difficult or confusing.

• Keep rules simple and clear. Communicate rules in a manner that everyone canunderstand.If needed,demonstrate or illustrate how rules can be followed.If young peoplehelp create rules, they are more likely to follow them.

• Make expectations clear. Review the schedule beforehand. Inform participantsof changes promptly.

• Be consistent. Do not excuse inappropriate behavior because an individual has adisability.Try to stick the same rules and expectations for everyone.

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• Be fair. Consider how everyone can participate, even partially in games, events orprograms.Keep in mind that effective program leaders reach out to all types of learners.

• Maintain dignity. Respect the dignity of all participants. Discuss issues andconcerns privately and confidentially.

• Tune in to feelings. Everyone has feelings. Help individuals to identify andcommunicate feelings before conflict arises. Demonstrate ways to appropriate resolvedifferences. If you are feeling at a loss or losing patience, ask for help from other staffmembers or outside resources.

Encouraging Communication

One of the best ways to create a successful recreation program is to encourage communication.Get folks talking — campers,staff,volunteers and parents.Rather than infer what campers mightneed, talk to them and ask questions, provide the opportunity and venue for people to cometogether and talk.

Here’s a free-time activity that you can try that promotes communication. Form a circleand have the counselor start telling a story about school. "Man, when I was young, I hadsuch trouble with math.When my math teacher gave a test, nobody passed!" Then goaround the circle and encourage others to share some school story.This is a terrific wayto open communication, share challenges and build relationships.You should also try tosurvey the group about what they'd like to do in free time.This brings everyone into thediscussion and decision-making process.

Sometimes lunch can be a segregated hour. Depending upon how you organize youractivities, groups can go their own ways and only re-group later. This is okay, but it’spreferable to encourage a group lunch. So, why not try a weekly pizza party? If yousupply the pizza, we bet all the participants will stick around and eat together. Just asmall change to facilitate conversation among all the participants.

Making Modifications

Before we begin an exploration of possible program modifications, we believe it is importantto think about two questions:

1. What is success? 2. What counts as meaningful participation?

What we discovered during our pilot year was that the best and truest definition of successfor our recreational camp was: success = fun. If all our campers were enjoying their timetogether,we knew we were on the right track and we called that success.Your program mightuse that as a benchmark as well.

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As for meaningful participation,we learned that being a spectator is a perfectly legitimate form ofparticipation. Everyone needs down time, whether they have disabilities or not. For participantswith special needs, it is especially important to say that watching is fine. Accepting being aspectator keeps the probability open of more active participation at a later time.With time andcomfort,participants with disabilities will do just that.

Modifying activities is not an exact science. No matter how hard you try to anticipate everyneed and contingency, your program, like the YW-NYC’s, will not think of everything inadvance. Thoughtfulness and trial and error are the keys to success. Sometimes themodifications for activities will require some imagination on your part and sometimes, onceyou’re in the situation, it will be clear and simple what could be done. Keep your eyes openand remember — there really is no reason why modifications can’t be advantageous to everyparticipant in your inclusive recreational program.

Before we present lists of typical modifications for activities,we want to reiterate the golden rule.Always ask the participant with a disability what, if any, modification would work for her/him.Listen to what they and their peers have to tell you. Often enough, young people involved in anactivity will have insight into what will work best,when we are stumped.Finally,asking the groupto think about modifications as a group puts value on teamwork and builds terrific interpersonalskills in your young participants.If you make modifications and it improves participation and yourparticipants are having fun — you did it!

Some General Modifications

The literature regarding specific activity modifications is full of wonderful suggestions.TheInstitute for Community Inclusion’s Institute Brief, for example, gives the followingrecommendations:

Field Trips• Prepare participants with details of the trip.• Provide written communication of events/trips in the person’s native language,

including Braille.• Ensure that the activity site and transportation will be accessible.• State trip rules simply and positively.

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Assistive Technology – Refers to any device that may be used to assistan individual in full participation. Devices may be:

• Everyday items found in stores such as a watch with an alarm or Velcro.• Specialized items such as a hand-powered bicycle or racing wheelchair.

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Arts and Crafts • Use an assortment of items to modify a craft such as name stamps, thick

paintbrushes, precut shapes, large beads and stickers.• Simplify directions by taking one step at a time.• Pair up participants so that they can assist one another.• Be prepared to have backup activities for those who lose interest.

Free Time• Make materials available to facilitate interaction and conversation among peers.• Provide semi-structured activities for those who may need them.• Remember to praise individuals for following the rules.

Arrival/Departure Activities• Remind participants of each step that needs to be taken when arriving or leaning

the program.• Pair-up participants during transition times as well as during structured activities.• Have impromptu games available to keep participants together during “downtime.”

Group Games• Choose games that emphasize cooperation, not competition.• When forming teams, rotate groups so that participants have a chance to make

new friends.• Have players come up with modifications for teammates or themselves.• Remember, the goal is to have fun.

Giving Instructions

In the above,The Institute Brief touches on a topic that the YW-NYC became ever clearer aboutover the course of our summer camp. Because the structure of our days called for an hourlychanges of activities, we employed a great many instructors who had many styles of instructionfor diverse activities. We discover a common need, however. Almost all of our “mainstream”instructors learned to adapt their presentations to the inclusive group, which included camperswith learning disabilities, mental retardation and autism, in the following ways:

• They slowed their rate of speech and used simpler words.

• When communicating, they learned to use one medium at a time: in dance, forexample, first they gave instructions verbally, then demonstrated with gestures andmovements.We came to remind ourselves of this axiom by saying,“No Multimedia!”We found that multimedia communications tended to confuse special needs campersand brought about an awkwardness and reluctance to participate. And this wascertainly not our goal.

• They learned that irony, metaphorical language and ironical humor, which rely onjuxtaposition and implication, was usually disorienting and tried to avoid it.

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Specific Modifications

The Institute Brief also offers many great suggestions for modifying specific recreational activities.We think that some of these will be a help to your program. The theme throughout theirrecommendations is that recreation providers take the stress off competitive activities and refocuson cooperative ones.This is consistent with the equating of success with fun.

Although accommodations should be made on an individual basis, here are some basic tips tomake popular sports more inclusive.

Cooperative Games – Rules adapted from Cooperation in Sports, Inc.• Always have one team playing at a time; the object is to improve past scores,not to win.• Take the fun and challenging skills in a competitive version of a sport and try to

preserve them.• Play against a clock allowing times outs.• Create rules that allow for a range of athletic ability on the same team.• Stress teamwork and cooperation.

Cooperative T-Ball – Rules adapted from David Munsey-Kano• Have all players in the field except for one batter and one person “on deck.”• Allow the batter to swing until s/he gets a hit and to run down either foul line.• Place five small cones every 10 yards along foul lines.• Score points for each cone the batter reaches, as the ball is moving.• Have the runner take field position and rotate a new person “on deck.”

Basketball• Ask participants to develop rules everyone can follow.• Lower the hoop or replace it with a wastebasket.• Allow extra time to pass or shoot the ball.• Rotate so that every player takes a shot.• Have each player touch the ball before shooting.• Assign partners for each player.

Kickball• Use different sized balls such as an earth ball.• Allow sitting in a chair while kicking.• Offer the choice of being a kicker or a runner.• Allow a partner to catch or throw the ball.• Use carpet squares to mark bases.• Use partners for running bases.• Pass three times before tagging runner out.• Mark outfielder positions.

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Swimming• Consider being flexible with skill levels (e.g. a person with a physical disability has

difficulty floating on her/his own, while peers play games in deeper water. If thesituation is safe, allow her/him to wear a floatation device).

• Use the shallow end for instruction.• Use floatation devices with supervision.• Modify or eliminate diving starts.• Use songs or rhymes for stroke instruction.• Use fins or floats for slower swimmers during games.

Volleyball• Use different sized balls (e.g. beach ball or balloons).• Lower the net.• Allow players to stand closer to the net.• Allow some participants to toss ball rather than hit in.• Have each player touch the ball before it goes to the other side.

Managing Behavior

In this final section, we’ll draw upon an array of excellent resources for advice as we discussthe topic of behavior management.We’ll also give some specific recommendations regardingworking with young people with autism.

The YW-NYC provided a predictable schedule and consistent staff for its inclusive campparticipants. Within this safe structure, our counselors and recreational therapist usedapproaches to inappropriate behavior that, by and large used behaviorist methods.

In general we always tried to:

• Build strong relationships with our participants.• Expect the best from our participants.• Be very plain about what our expectations were of their involvement.• Be as consistent as possible when applying rules or punishments.• Reward the good stuff and match punishments that have a clear relationship to the

offending. actions for inappropriate behavior.

Materials from Lourdes Youth Services, Binghamton, New York give very good basicsuggestions on how to deal with inappropriate behavior:

• Allow for individual differences in behavior that is not disruptive orharmful. Does it really matter if the child with autism is spinning and laughing for a fewminutes? Ask yourself if the consequences of the behavior are really negative to theperson or program before you label them inappropriate.

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• Young people must be encouraged to explore who they are and tobe themselves in their leisure. Recreation leaders need to accept them forwho they are. Consequently, behaviors and situations must be weighed very carefullybefore placing a judgment and label on a consumer's behavior.

• Concentrate on the behavior you would like to see. Clearly state,model, and demonstrate this behavior.

• Reward attempts. Even partial attempts of the desired behavior.

• Provide visible models of appropriate behavior. Seeing is believing.

• Provide clear instructions, regulations, rules of conduct andprecautions. Let the participant help develop or refine “rules.”

• Redirect actions.

• Define the consequences of inappropriate or unacceptable behavior.Make sure the person understands the potential results of inappropriate behavior.Behavior management should be in degrees: verbal praise, positive reinforcement andrewards. In extreme cases, after warnings with no change, a time out may be used.Something should not be completely taken away, rather a portion. This should beimplemented immediately and as a direct consequence to inappropriate behavior.At notime should negative reinforcement such as “You were bad!”be used.There is no reasonfor yelling.All situations should be addressed in a quiet, calm manner.

Lourdes Youth Services, Binghamton, New York also recommends this five-step approach tosetting limits that we endorse:

1. Explain exactly what behavior is inappropriate. Don't assume the individualknows which behavior is inappropriate.

2. Explain why the behavior is inappropriate. Don't assume the individualknows why the behavior is inappropriate.

3. Give the individual reasonable choices or consequences. Present themas choices, but always present the positive first.

4. Allow time for change. If you don't allow time, it may be perceived as an ultimatum.

5. Enforce consequences. Limits don't work unless you follow through with theconsequences.

Some Recommendations for Working with Youths with Autism

The YW-NYC’s research and subsequent experience working with young adults with autism ledto some clear lessons. Foremost is that it’s important to provide maximum opportunities for ayoung person with autism to bond with one staff person, or volunteer, in particular. Of course,optimal staff-to-participant ratios may not always be affordable and such specialized attentions

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difficult to provide on a daily basis. But we think it is crucial to plan around this specific supportwhen developing an integrated program that will include young people with autism.This does not mean assigning a staff member to a specific youngster.As we mentioned in earlier,every effort should be made to normalize the recreational setting and avoid stigmatizingparticipants with special needs. It does mean that a staff person, volunteer, or mentor should beconsistently on-hand and in a natural manner make him/herself available to the participant withautism,encouraging a bond of friendship. If this bond occurs,we found that the stability, comfortand rapport that it affords the youngster can often lead to surprising and positive outcomes.

For example, such a relationship did develop in the YW-NYC’s day camp between a camper withautism and a counselor.

Over the course of the camp, we noticed a growing and wonderful willingness in thecamper to express herself to her peers and to other staff members. One morning sheactually volunteered to sing a song to the group! We are confident that her growth hadmuch to do with her one-on-one relationship with a camp counselor.

Here is another example of how this bond can become extremely helpful.

Over the course of the camp, a young camper who routinely and loudly poundedtabletops began to respond to the redirection of one counselor, with whom he formeda special relationship.

On the whole, we found that a predictable schedule with plenty of structure and repetition andpositive reinforcement was a recipe for successful interaction.

More Recommendations for Working with Youths with Autism

The Learning Disabilities Association of the Genesee Valley, Rochester, New York also makesterrific recommendations regarding the support of youths with autism.They include:

Environment

• Keep it predictable and familiar.• Prepare youths for unexpected changes of environment or schedules:explain what will

be different in advance.• Provide youths with precise information regarding the daily routine.• Provide a safe person or place for youths to help deal with confusion, frustration,etc.• Treat the youth as you would anyone else at that age.• Never talk about the youth in front of him/her unless s/he is a part of the conversation.

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Social Skills

• Recruit peers and teach them how to be with a child with autism.• Encourage and facilitate participation in age appropriate activities.

Communications

• Give clear, concise directions.• Demonstrate appropriate voice control.• Use sentence structure consistent with the youth’s skill level.• Show genuine respect for the youth as a person.• Slow down and explain abstract concepts in concrete terms by multi-sensory means.• Communicate clearly, concisely and avoid negative words.• Only provide choices if you are able to follow through with them.• Be aware of your own language and modify or explain idioms, double meanings,

sarcasm, and nicknames.

T r a n s i t i o n s

• Give plenty of warning, say when an activity is about to begin or end.• A timer or watch may be useful to show boundaries of activities.• Be sure that transitions occur at the expected time.• Allow for choices in the transition.

Behavior Strategies for Working with Youths with Autism

Here are some more good suggestions from The Learning Disabilities Association of theGenesee Valley, Rochester, New York:

• If a young person gets aggressive with those trying to work with him orher. Try to find out what the youth is trying to communicate.This may involve establishinga communication system so s/he can express needs and preferences.

• If a young person performs a ritual compulsively. Tell the youth whenand where the ritual is acceptable. Attempt to teach more functional behaviors andskills over a period of time.

• If a young person closes doors, rearranges things, or displays othernon-harmful behaviors. Ignore it or learn to cope with those behaviors that donot bother anyone.

• If the young person wants to hide. Encourage him or her to be in a place wherethe setting is comfortable. Slowly increase transition to other areas. Find an activity ofinterest to the young person and a peer; encourage them to do the activity.

• Above all.Continue to work with challenging behavior with positive behavior support!

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In this chapter, we have enclosed outlines of workshops that the YW-NYC delivered to programparticipants, their families and to staff regarding disability awareness and inclusive recreationalpractices. Perhaps discussion that begins in these workshops will also begin a philosophical shiftin participants’ thinking about many possibilities for inclusive programming.

The outlines may be used as training templates and provide facilitators with overviews.

Inclusive Recreational Training Outline for Staff

This outline provides a detailed agenda for familiarizing participants with inclusive programpractices.We have also included three group exercises for use in staff training sessions, whichcorrespond to key ideas explored within this manual.

Exercise 1 – Expand Your Horizon (Steve’s Story) focuses on a direct service issue around a specific inclusive activity.

Exercise 2A & 2B – You’re the Director! and You’re the Assistant Director! places workshop participants in the roles of director and assistant director and asks them to

debate and decide upon an important program policy.

Exercise 3 – Open Our Doors to Everyone takes a broader view and addresses the challenges that an organization faces when it expands its services — in short, capacity

building.A list of sample topics can help spark a lively discussion.

Inclusive Recreational Training Outline for Campers

This outline is designed to give campers an overview of different kinds of disabilities and howpeople adapt; disability etiquette; a brief overview of the ADA; and examples of how to adapt anactivity. It is also a good opportunity for staff and campers to get to know each other.

Inclusive Recreational Training Outline for Parents

This workshop is designed to give parents an opportunity to get to know your program staff; airtheir concerns; become familiar with the goals of your program; and learn more about inclusionand disability practices.

Workshop Evaluation

The workshop evaluation is designed to give a general idea of how well you did,and how well theparticipant’s thought they did.All the questions are fairly general in nature.

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Documents on Diskett e All of the training materials that are included in this chapterare available on the diskette upon request. All the materials are in Word documents, so that you modify them to meet your specific program needs.

Inclusive Recreational Program Training Outline for Staff

Introduction Of presenters, goals and objectives of the workshop.

DDPC Grant Overview of what the YWCA is doing.

Base Knowledge Checklist What it is.Complete the checklist.

What is a Developmental Disability? It’s a broad spectrum.Unifying themes.

Impact of Differences Keys on the impact that these various differenceshave on a person’s life, rather than upon commonorganic traits:Specific to our camp:

• Learning Disability• Mental Retardation• Autism

YWCA-NYC Inclusive Summer Day Camp Brief description of the parents, campers,

counselorsand activities.

What is Inclusion? YWCA philosophy and practice:• The ADA (1990)• Reasonable accommodation• Affects all businesses or institutions, public

or private.• Exempt are tax-exempt private clubs,

religious organizations and Indian tribes.• Up to $300k fine if found in violation• Example of disability not protected:

kleptomania.

What Inclusion is NOT It’s not same room,same time.

Exercise #1 –“Expand your Horizon (Steve’s Story)”

(Re)defining success (= fun!)

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“Perhaps the amount of fun a child has mightbe the best measure of success yet.” —excerpted from Don’t Forget the Fun.

At the least, a camp has to have a flexibleunderstanding of what success means. It can’tonly mean winning, or being “best.” (King of theHill vs.How Many Angels on the Head of a Pin)

Cooperation, not competition.

Guiding Principles Parents are our partners

Build relationships with parents, esp. those ofkids with special needs, in advance.

This is critical to recruitment,because parents naturally very wary.

Especially true when the organization (YWCA,like most CBO’s) has no formal track record intruly inclusive programming.

Make it clear up front what your camp is allabout, the specifics of what will happen. Thenmake it clear again. Parents’ anxiety is lessenedwhen they are provided with clear informationabout the camp’s philosophy and activities. Beprepared to reiterate and reassure.

No matter how intensive your outreach, don’tassume that you’re getting the message out toeveryone who could benefit from your camp.Think about new enclaves of participants whojust don’t know about you yet.They’re out there.

Once camp begins, parents of campers withspecial needs will likely be much moreinvolved, compared with other parents: beprepared for that.

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First Do No Harm You cannot focus on activities that:

Have the potential to embarrass/shameparticipants (choosing sides)

Focus on eliminating participants from thegame (dodgeball,musical chairs)

Only offer low amounts of actual participationtime to campers

Have a high chance for danger, injury and harm(hiking certain paths)

Be sensitive to mainstream campers needs, too!

Be campercentric! Ask, but don’t fuss!

ALWAYS Ask the camper what if any,modification might be made, before makingmodifications! This is a simple courtesy; itacknowledges the camper as an expert onher/his own circumstances and needs. Itempowers as it encourages the camper toparticipate in designing her/his own fun. Itallows for new points of view (the campers!).It does not presume that the staff knows“everything” (no matter how well versed).

Normalize, normalize, normalize! We took this as our rule. Paradoxically, thegreat efforts to train, to disseminateinformation, to publicize to the camp — allthis in many ways mediates against the“normalization”of camp activity. Campers caneasily come to feel like they’re under amicroscope.

Nevertheless, our goal is for the campers tohappily recall the other young people they metand the games they played together, not thatthey were “participants in a pilot project.”

Cooperation, not competition. Process,not product

Deal with situations case by case.

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More Principles “All games can be played by all children.Be creative.”

Don’t segregate. When providing support,don’t disintegrate the group. Keep thenatural flow.

Counselors, be alert! Don’t assume. Levels ofsupport (if any) are needed for differentactivities.

When modifications are made, all campersshould be allowed to opt to use them.(Universal design)

Practices Exercise #2 – “You’re the (Assistant) Director!”

The training:counselors,parents and campers

Re campers: see above group exercise

Re parents: revisiting the philosophy andintended practices of the camp; providingbase knowledge about the differences withinthe camp; answering questions

Re counselors: next year, we’re changing andexpanding: focus on buddy system, proactiveinterventions to encourage relationships,specific games for all, instructional methodsfor “instructors”

Relax Don’t pressure. Humor helps. Even the VP nomineecracks jokes!

Language and courtesy It’s the person first,not the disability.

Do with… Don’t instruct.

No “multimedia” Ex:dance class: simplify instructions

Can bring about anxiety, future reluctance toparticipate,“hiding”

Counselors,be alert!

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The Buddy System Some practice it methodically, some “as needed”

Can partner for “one strong unit”

Counselors should be prepared to alternate“buddies”

There’s a role for everyone

Spectating counts. Holds open the possibility of more active futureparticipation

Singling out campers with This can be problematicspecial needs.

Know your campers first

The pressure of an audience may be intolerablefor some campers

Free time Some structure is still preferable

A range of choices, not endless choices, stemsconfusion

Lunch time It could be the day’s most segregated hour

Exercise #3 – “Open Our Doors to Everyone”

Workshop Evaluation

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Exercise 1 – Expand Your Horizon (“Steve’s Story”)

Steve is a nine-year old boy in fourth grade. He has cerebral palsy and uses an electric wheelchair, which he operates independently. Steve also has mild difficulties hearing and speaking.His restricted mobility, partial vision and limited communication have presented challengesto participation in recreational programs in the past.

The community center in Steve’s neighborhood has just announced that they have started anew program for all children 5–15 years of age. Participants will be involved in a number ofarts and crafts activities, singing and dancing, as well as a variety of sports activities.

You are one of the counselors for the fun weekend program at the community center. Steve’smom would like him to join your group every Saturday.You are committed to including Stevein your activities as much as possible and to providing him with the opportunity to join hispeers and have fun.And yet you realize that Steve requires a great deal of physical assistance.The resource constraints of your new program would seem to prevent him from being ableto partake in many of the activities.

1. Please join into teams of four or five people.Take the next ten minutes to discuss ways thatyou might involve Steve in the following activities:

Arts and crafts

Dancing and singing

Basketball league

2. Please be prepared to present your ideas to the group.

Sample Solutions

Have buddies push Steve’s chair during games.

Match Steve with another buddy for the dancing and singing class.

Allow Steve to carry the ball on his lap tray and push off into a lowered basket.

Use a portable microphone for his hearing aid.

Use a scoot guard and Velcro to hold items in place during art classes.

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Exercise 2A – “You’re the Director!”

You are the Director of an inclusive day camp.You and your Assistant Director are having adifficult debate over the appropriateness of awareness training for your campers.

The twenty campers, ages 13–16, are in an integrated group — half have developmentaldisabilities and half do not.The camp’s funder has urged the delivery of awareness training toall the campers.The funder has not made suggestions regarding the format and content of thetraining.

Your Assistant Director would like to conduct a group meeting on the first day of camp withall the campers. S/he wants to talk with the campers about the diversity of abilities in theroom, respectful etiquette, examples of how activities can be adapted to accommodate allpeople, the ADA and a handful of other useful topics. S/he believes that the more informationcampers have about each other, the less anxious they’ll be and the more likely newrelationships will grow.

You see such a session as counterproductive and potentially humiliating. “No matter howwell-intentioned, workshops like those highlight differences and draw everyone’s attentiononto the kids with special needs.We’re trying to normalize, not stigmatize.”You think that thetime is better spent on increased training for counselors to facilitate interaction amongcampers and that that will help new relationships grow.

1. Please create teams of four or five people. Some team members will be “Directors”and some of you will be “Assistant Directors.”Directors and Assistant Directors mustcome to a decision about the approach to this training and begin planning today.

2. In your team discussions, please assume the point of view of the role that you’vebeen assigned. For the next 10 minutes, debate the topic and make a decision as ateam as to the approach that your camp will take. Feel free to consider alternativesto those given above. Once you’ve decided upon the approach, please thinkconcretely about how you will deliver the awareness training to the campers.

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Exercise 2B – “You’re the Assistant Director!”

You are the Assistant Director of an Inclusive Day Camp.

You and your Director are having a difficult debate over the appropriateness of AwarenessTraining for your campers.

The twenty campers, ages 13–16, are in an integrated group — half have developmentaldisabilities and half do not.The camp’s funder has urged the delivery of awareness training toall the campers.The funder has not made suggestions regarding the format and content of thetraining.

You would like to conduct a group meeting on the first day of camp with all the campers.You want to talk with the campers about the diversity of abilities in the room, respectfuletiquette, examples of how activities can be adapted to accommodate all people, the ADA,and a handful of other useful topics.You believe that the more information campers haveabout each other, the less anxious they’ll be and the more likely new relationships willgrow.

Your Director sees such a session as counterproductive and potentially humiliating. “Nomatter how well-intentioned, workshops like those highlight differences and draweveryone’s attention onto the kids with special needs. We’re trying to normalize, notstigmatize.” The Director thinks that the time is better spent on increased training forcounselors to facilitate interaction among campers and that that will help newrelationships grow.

1.You will be grouped into teams of five.Some of you are “Directors”and some of youare “Assistant Directors.” Directors and Assistant Directors must come to a decisionabout your approach to this training and begin planning today.

2. In your team discussions, please assume the point of view of the role that you’ve been assigned.

3. For the next 10 minutes, please debate the topic and make a decision as a team asto the approach that your camp will take.Feel free to consider alternatives to thosegiven above. Once you’ve decided upon the approach, please think concretelyabout how you will deliver the awareness training to the campers.

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Exercise 3 – “Open Our Doors to Everyone”

Well,actually your building is not filled to capacity.You have a nice gymnasium,a weight room anda commons area within your three-story walk-up community center.For the past two years you’verun many successful youth athletics programs,including basketball,indoor tennis and weigh liftingclasses.

Now after seeing a report on an inclusive recreational program on TV,you’ve decided to try to alsoexpand your programs to include young people with disabilities. Coincidentally, your center hasreceived its first grant for general support and improvements and you’ve been given theresponsibility for spending it wisely.The grant is for $5,000.

You’re not sure what to do next,but you’re sure you want to “open your doors to everyone.”

Please join into groups of four or five people.Take the next ten minutes to brainstorm and identifythe first steps you must take toward defining whom you will work to include.What topics do youthink need to be considered?

Sample Topics for Discussion

1.Does the leadership of your center support your idea? If not,can they be persuaded tosupport it?

2.Does your staff have experience working with young people with disabilities? Aretheyinterested in expanding their skills? Can you afford to train them?

3.Who can your facilities accommodate? Can you afford to make any structural changes?

4.Do you have the time to plan this project? What will your goals be? How will yououtreach to new groups of young people? Do you have the time? The money?

5.Does your center have a way of sustaining its activity once it starts? Who does yourfundraising? Can you fundraise for this project?

6.Who will report on your activities to the funder? Do you have a financial reportingsystem in place? Who will take care of these “details”while you run your program?

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Inclusive Recreational Program Training Outline for Campers

Introductions Camp Director

Director,Programs for People with Special Needs

Awareness Instructor

Inclusion Awareness Trainer tells about himself /herself.

Overview of different kinds of disabilities and how peopleadapt.

Etiquette

ADA “lite”.Brief overview of ADA main points.

Example of adapting an activity (basketball,swimming,craft andtheatre).

Questions

Wrap Up

Camp Rules

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Inclusive Recreational Program Training Outline for Parents

Introductions The plan for the YWCA-NYC Inclusive Summer Day Camp.

Normalize is key point.

Basic Knowledge Checklist Complete the checklist.

Breaking the Ice A quick response from the group about their experiences withdisabled and/or disabilities they have,no matter how small.

The Goal of Inclusion Inclusive practices — staff support and intervention.

Activities and programming

Dos and don’ts

Giving choices

Finding a role for everyone.

The file line of accommodating disabled and compromising theable-bodied.

Disability Practices Give a brief overview

The ADA

Etiquette and language

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YWCA of The City of New YorkInclusive Day Camp - Camp Staff Seminar

Workshop Evaluation

How did we do?

Please take a moment to complete this survey so we can better assess how much you’ve learned.

How did the facilitator do?Mark the point on each scale that best represents how you think you are doing.

There was too much to absorb 1 2 3 4 5 There was not enough content.

The pace was too fast 1 2 3 4 5 The pace was too slow You were well organized and logical 1 2 3 4 5 You jump around too much You tell too many stories 1 2 3 4 5 Your stories and examples wereand examples helpful

This was what I expected 1 2 3 4 5 This was not what I expected.Too much sitting and listening 1 2 3 4 5 Too much activity and busywork

How did you do? I kept up with you 1 2 3 4 5 I’m lost I can use the terminology 1 2 3 4 5 The jargon is confusing This doesn’t relate to me 1 2 3 4 5 This is useful to me

What is your OVERALL opinion of the session? Please circle the appropriate number in thescale below.

Poor 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Outstanding

Your Comments:What did you like most about the session?

What would you like to see added to or changed about the session?

In order to carry out my roles and responsibilities, I still need...

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This section includes a number of tools that will help a program administrator to assess theoverall performance of an inclusive recreational program from beginning to end.

The SummerTeens Enrollment Application

Adapt this form to collect important information about potential participants, their challengesand their support needs so that the program can most effectively and efficiently serve them.This version is very thorough and, as with the other enclosed forms, you may wish to reviseand reduce the number of questions,depending upon the services provided by your program.

SummerTeens Scholarship Application

This application can be adapted if your organization, or a funder, will be providing financialassistance to campers and their families.

The Base Knowledge Checklist

This checklist can be adapted to determine your organization’s starting point with respect toits fundamental knowledge regarding inclusive services.

Staff Knowledge Survey

This survey can be adapted to assess the direct service staff’s knowledge, experience andcomfort with working with youth with disabilities.

Camper and Parent Surveys

These can be adapted to give participants and caregivers the opportunity to evaluate programelements and to make valuable suggestions as to how to improve activities and the provisionof support services.

These forms will allow your organization to compare the progress and achievements of yourprogram against the initial goals and objectives that you set. Evaluations derived from thisinformation can help identify the strengths of your program, the challenges you face andsuggest alternative approaches.

Documents on DisketteAll of the checklists and forms that are included in this chapter are availableon the diskette that accompanies this handbook. All the materials are inWord documents, so that you modify them to meet your specific programneeds.

7. Checklists and Forms

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YWCA-NYC SummerTeens

Inclusive Summer Day Camp

Application Form

Child’s Name ____________________________________________________________________

Address ________________________________________________________________________

Age ___________ Date of Birth _________________________________

Mother ________________________________ Father _______________________________

Address _______________________________ Address _____________________________

_______________________________________ _____________________________________

Work Phone ____________________________ Work Phone _________________________

Emergency Information

Contact _______________________________ Contact _______________________________

Relationship ___________________________ Relationship ___________________________

Home Phone ___________________________ Home Phone __________________________

Work Phone ____________________________ Work Phone __________________________

My Child Can Be Picked Up By Relationship

______________________________________ _____________________________________

______________________________________ _____________________________________

School __________________________________________________________________________

Address _________________________________________________________________________

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Teacher ________________________ Grade _____ BOE Classification ____________________

Disability/Diagnosis _______________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Please answer these questions as fully as possible:

Skills DevelopmentPlease describe your child’s gross motor skills (e.g.walking, running, jumping). ______________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Please describe your child’s fine motor skills (e.g. grasping,manipulates small objects).

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Does your child need special assistance moving from floor to wheelchair, into the pool? (e.g.positioning, transferring,dressing) Yes [ ] No [ ]

If yes,would you be able to show us how to meet those needs? Yes [ ] No [ ]Please describe your child’s reaction to external stimulation, including language._____________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Is there additional information that describes your child? (concentration, eye contact,communication, attention span,behavior,other)

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Social Skills

How does your child communicate? Verbal [ ] Non-verbal [ ]

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If your child is non-verbal,how does (s)he communicate?Sign language [ ] Communication Board [ ] Other [ ]

Is your child usually able to listen and follow directions? Yes [ ] No [ ]

If no,what is the degree of difficulty? _______________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

What do you do to assist your child in listening and cooperating? __________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Does your child ask for help? If so,when? ___________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

What makes your child anxious? ____________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Does your child respond differently to males/females? __________________________________

What behaviors will tell us your child is anxious? _____________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

What makes your child angry? _____________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

How does your child express anger? _________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

How do you comfort your child? _____________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Does your child play with children without disabilities at home and/or school? ______________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Please describe peer relationships (taking turns, sharing,making friends) ___________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

What does your child cope with challenges? ____________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

What special strengths and abilities does your child have? ________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Relevant Medical History

Please describe any medications your child needs (dosage, time, reason) ___________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Please describe any special dietary needs your child has __________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Does your child have seizures? _____________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Is there other information we should know? ___________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

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Additional Recreational Programming

After School ______________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Summer Camp ____________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Therapy (please indicate what kind of therapy) _________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

For the prospective camper:

What do you want to gain from participating in the YWCA SummerTeens Integrated DayCamp?

New friendships, skills,personal growth,other? _________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

For the caregiver: What do you hope your child will gain from participating in the YWCA SummerTeensIntegrated Day Camp?

New friendships, skills,personal growth,other? _________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

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It would be helpful for us to talk with other professionals who have worked with your child.Please tell us if there is someone with whom we can talk regarding your child’s needs andsupports.

Name ___________________________________________ Phone _________________________

Relationship to Child:Teacher [ ] Therapist [ ] Counselor [ ] Other (specify) ________________________

Name ___________________________________________ Phone _________________________

Relationship to Child:

Teacher [ ] Therapist [ ] Counselor [ ] Other (specify) ________________________

Please attach any reports (i.e. School IEP, Psychological, etc.) that will help us to understandyour child better.

Parent/Guardian Signature __________________________________________ Date __________

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Scholarship Application

YWCA-NYC SummerTeens Inclusive Summer Day Camp

SCHOLARSHIP AWARD IS FOR $500

1.Applicant’s Name ____________________ _____________________ Sex ______ _______(Print) Last (Family) First (Given) Male Female

2.Date of Birth ___________________________ Age _________________Month Date Year

3.Parent/Guardian____________________________ ______________________________(Print) Last (Family) First (Given)

4.Parent/Guardian’s Address_________________________________________________________Number and Street City State Zip Code

5.Parent/Guardian’s Telephone Number (Day) ________________ (Evening) ______________

6.Have you previously applied for summer camp at the YWCA? Yes __________ No ________

7.Have you previously attended summer camp at the YWCA? Yes ___________ No _________

8.Have you previously attended summer camp elsewhere? Yes _________ No ___________

If yes,Where? _______________________________ When ____________________________

9.Do you currently participate in the YWCA’s Networking Project for Young Adults withDisabilities? Yes ___________ No____________ if yes, For How Long? ________________

10.Briefly describe your after school activities and hobbies _______________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

11.Will applicant use Access-A-Ride services? Yes _____________ No ______________

12.Will applicant’s Parent/Guardian provide transportation to and from camp? Yes _____ No ____

13.Applicant has other means of transportation to and from camp? Describe:

______________________________________________________________________________

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14.APPLICANT’S NARRATIVE: How will attending summer camp help you in the future?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

15. PARENT/GUARDIAN’S NARRATIVE: How has your child’s participation in the Networking Project forYoung Adults with Disabilities been beneficial in preparing them for an integrated summer campexperience?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I understand the following if I am accepted for the YWCA Integrated Camp Scholarship:

I will be expected to maintain excellent attendance at camp.

I will provide or access my own transportation to and from camp.

Participation and events may be videotaped and/or photographed for purposes of recruitment and publicity.

I will submit a letter to YWCA-NYC c/o John Smith, if I choose to be exempt from such publicity.

Applicant’s Signature _________________________________________ Date _____________________

Parent/Guardian’s Signature ___________________________________ Date _____________________

YWCA’s Response, I recommend/do not recommend the above applicant for scholarship consideration.

Signature ___________________________________________________ Date ______________________

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Base Knowledge Check List

1.What is the role of your agency in delivery of programs to children and youth?

General Service Delivery Targeted Services Funding/Support

Client Referral City, State, federal oversight of public programming

Other (please specify) ___________________________________________________________

2. If you are a service delivery agency, does your agency typically deliver services to personswith disabilities? Yes No Not Applicable

3. If YES to question 2, does your agency typically offer programming where clients withdisabilities and persons without disability participate in the same activities at the sametime? Yes No

4.Would you say that you are knowledgeable about the most effective way to deliver servicesto persons with disabilities? Yes, very. Yes, somewhat. No, not at all.

5. Do you believe that diversity in ability among program participants increases the chance ofpositive outcomes for all? Yes No

6. Please indicate which of these you believe are true about programs that are integrated toinclude persons with disabilities: Integrated programs are increasing in popularity becausethey are thought to be cost efficient.Strongly Agree? Agree? Disagree? Strongly Disagree?

7.When programs are inclusive it becomes more difficult to ensure the quality of the program forparticipants without disabilities.Strongly Agree? Agree? Disagree? Strongly Disagree?

8. Parents and principal caregivers are often resistant to inclusive programs for youngerchildren that operate within our agency’s environment. ?Strongly Agree? Agree? Disagree? Strongly Disagree?

9. Programming for at-risk teens is difficult and adding inclusion as part of the program designmight make it just too difficult to do. ?Strongly Agree? Agree? Disagree? Strongly Disagree?

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YWCA of New York City

Integrated Day Camp - Camp Staff Seminar

Staff Knowledge Survey

Before we present, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 representing none and 10 representing full ortotal, indicate where you fit on the following scales.

I understand the laws of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

No understanding Full understanding

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I am aware of how to help a camper with special needs in case of a medical emergency or fire.

No awareness Full awareness

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

How much interaction have you had with children and/or adults with special needs?

Never Constantly

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

How nervous are you about working with children with disabilities?

Nervous Comfortable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Do you believe it will be easy or difficult to work with children with and without disabilitiesat the same time?

Easy Difficult

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

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How much do you know about working with a child with a developmental disability?

Very little Very Experienced

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

How much do you know about working with a child with a mobility impairment?


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

How much do you know about the special needs of disabled campers for swimming?


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

How much do you know about working with a child who is visually impaired or blind?


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Please read each statement carefully and circle whether you Agree or Disagree with thestatement.

Campers with special needs cannot participate in every activity.

Agree Disagree

It is better not to ask a disabled person if they need help because they would have asked forit if they wanted help anyway.

Agree Disagree

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I know what to do if the fire alarm goes off and I’m inside the building with a camper witha mobility impairment.

Agree Disagree

I know what to do if a camper with a disability scrapes his/her knee.

Agree Disagree

I know what to do if a camper has a seizure.

Agree Disagree

If we have arts and crafts I would have a camper with a disability work with a camper withouta disability so the disabled camper can participate.

Agree Disagree

I know all of the proper words and terminology to use when describing a person with specialneeds.

Agree Disagree

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 representing none and 10 representing full or total, indicatewhere you fit on the following scales.

I understand the laws of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

No understanding Full understanding

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I am aware of how to help a camper with special needs in case of a medical emergency or fire.

No awareness Full awareness

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

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How much interaction have you had with children and/or adults with special needs?

Never Constantly

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

How nervous are you about working with children with disabilities?

Nervous Comfortable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Do you believe it will be easy or difficult to work with children with and without disabilitiesat the same time?Easy Difficult

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

How much do you know about working with a child with a developmental disability?


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

How much do you know about working with a child with a mobility impairment?


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

How much do you know about the special needs of disabled campers for swimming?


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10How much do you know about working with a child who is visually impaired or blind?


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

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Please read each statement carefully and circle whether you Agree or Disagree with thestatement.

Campers with special needs cannot participate in every activity.

Agree Disagree

It is better not to ask a disabled person if they need help because they would have asked forit if they wanted help anyway.

Agree Disagree

I know what to do if the fire alarm goes off and I’m inside the building with a camper witha mobility impairment.

Agree Disagree

I know what to do if a camper with a disability scrapes his/her knee.

Agree Disagree

I know what to do if a camper has a seizure.

Agree Disagree

If we have arts and crafts I would have a camper with a disability work with a camper withouta disability so the disabled camper can participate.

Agree Disagree

I know all of the proper words and terminology to use when describing a person with specialneeds.

Agree Disagree

Thank you!

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YWCA of New York CityInclusive Summer Day Camp 2000

Camper SurveyHow did we do?

Please take a moment to complete this survey so we can better assess how much you enjoyedcamp.

Circle the number on each scale that best represents how you feel.

How much fun were the activities?

Boring 1 2 3 4 5 Fun

How much did you participate in the activities?

Never 1 2 3 4 5 All the Time

How did you like the counselors?

Bad 1 2 3 4 5 Awesome

Were the counselors helpful?

Not helpful 1 2 3 4 5 Very Helpful

How did you like the other campers?

Not at all 1 2 3 4 5 Awesome

Did you get along with the other campers in the group?

Not at all 1 2 3 4 5 I got along with everybody

How did you like the trips on Friday’s?


Please tell us in your own words what was your favorite activity.And what was it about that activitythat made it your favorite?

Is there anything else you want to tell us about your camp experience?

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YWCA of New York CityInclusive Summer Day Camp

Parent SurveyHow did we do?

Please take a moment to complete this survey so we can better assess how successful the campwas for you and your teen.

Circle the number on each scale that best represents how you feel.

In your opinion, how much fun did your teen have?


Did you feel that the activities your teen was participating in were stimulating and social?

Not at all 1 2 3 4 5 Very much so

How did your teen like the trips on Friday’s?


Did you feel the staff was attentive and helpful?

Not at all 1 2 3 4 5 Very much so

Would you send your teen to this camp next summer?

Yes No

Would you send your teen to a program similar to the camp if it was offered during theschool year (i.e. an after-school or weekend program)?

Yes No

Please tell us in your own words what were the reasons for sending your teen to this camp andwhy you would send him/her back next summer?:

Any other comments about the camp?

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This chapter includes a selected bibliography and a listing of websites that are helpful references for yourorganization as it develops inclusive recreational programs.

The Organizational/Program Assessment Questionnaire

This document from the Support Center of America uses a simple format to help you review and thinkabout the strengths and weaknesses of your organization. After you complete this questionnaire you willhave a better understanding of where your agency stands on issues such as mission, priorities, structure,staffing, leadership, organizational systems, and group process.

YW-NYC Inclusive Summer Day Camp Planning Model

Before implementing our program, we developed a planning model that outlined our measurableobjectives, activities, and performance indicators. For each of the five objectives identified, wedeveloped supporting activities. Performance indicators helped us evaluate whether or not we had metthe objective and were specific and measurable. You can use this model as a template for your ownprogram planning efforts.

The Community Access Survey

The Institute for Community Inclusion/UAP at Children’s Hospital UMass Boston developed thissurvey. It is designed to assess public accommodations according to the minimum standards set forth inthe Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This survey should be used only to provide a general accessoverview and not for the purpose of design, construction or alteration of public accommodations. Whilethis survey doesn’t address every area covered by the ADA it does identify the basic areas required foraccess to public accommodations. The survey may be used in its’ entirety or as separate sectionsdepending on the site that is being reviewed.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Summary

The source for the summary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is the New York State Officeof Advocate for Persons with Disabilities (OAPwD).

BibliographyThe bibliography will give you a good introduction to topics such as inclusion practices, learning

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disabilities, autism, and mental retardation. The books and journals cited give a mix of theory andpractice.

Web Sites

The web sites listed here are starting points for further exploration. We’ve included the majorassociations working on disability issues. In many cases, these web sites will have links pages that willlead you to other resources.

Documents on Diskette

The Organizational/Program Assessment Questionnaire and the CommunityAccess Survey that are given in this chapter are available on the diskette uponrequest. All the materials are in Word documents, so that you can modify them tomeet your specific program needs.

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Organizational/Program Assessment Questionnaire

Mission

(circle one)

Your organization/program has a clearly articulate purpose (ultimate result the organization/program isworking to achieve).

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

You have agreed upon values and beliefs that guide the organization/program and its members/staff.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

There is a clear understanding of what primary program activity the organization/program is in.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

The organization/program provides quality services that support the mission.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

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Priorities

(circle one)

A 3 to 5 year plan is in place.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

You have an annual planning process to set program goals and budget.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

Program evaluation is conducted as part of the planning process.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

There is an agreement on major strategies; responses to external events, competition, opportunities andthreats; responses to internal strengths and weaknesses, in order to best serve clients.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

Your purpose is being accomplished.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

Structure

(circle one)

You have a well-defined organizational/program structure that ensures that work gets delegated andaccomplished in an efficient and effective manner.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

There are clear lines of authority and responsibility including reporting relationships.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

There is a decision-making process and structure that supports decisions being implemented—includingclarity as to who has input and who has the responsibility for making various decisions.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

Meetings are well organized and well run.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

Personnel policies and procedures are in place and are followed.

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Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

Staff

(circle one)

You have competent staff—the right people are doing the right jobs.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

Roles and responsibilities for board, staff and volunteers are clear and understood.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

There are written job descriptions for board, staff and volunteers.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

You have a clear and reliable staff evaluation process.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

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There is ongoing professional development for all personnel.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

There are appropriate rewards and recognition for all personnel.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

Systems

(circle one)

A realistic fund development program is in place.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

Your fund development activities secure adequate financial resources for the organization/program.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

Accurate and timely financial records are maintained.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

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Comments:

A budgeting process is in place that ensures the effective allocation of resources.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

Financial management activity adequately attends to such items as cash flow, cost allocation, costanalysis and tax compliance.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

There is effective use of technology, computers and other management information systems.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

Leadership

(circle one)

Effective leadership is provided by an individual and/or a team.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

The organization/program’s leadership exhibits the following qualities:

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Is willing to search for opportunities and take risks.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

Is able to inspire a shared vision.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

Takes the lead in fostering cooperation and helping people feel capable and powerful.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

Is committed to leading by example and planning “small wins.”

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

Recognizes contributions and celebrates accomplishments.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

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Interpersonal, Intragroup and Intergroup Processes

(circle one)

There is a constructive climate in which people are able to be open and take risks. Staff fell free toexpress unusual or unpopular views without fear of personal attack or reprisal.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

Individuals have developed effective ways to solve problems together, including effective meetings.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

Creativity and innovative risk-taking are rewarded and good ideas are followed through into action.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

There is a strong commitment to working effectively as a team.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

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Conflicts are confronted and not swept under the carpet. Difficult issues are worked through within asatmosphere of supportiveness and constructive criticism.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

Systems are in place to ensure effective formal and informal communication.

Weakness Strength

1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments:

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Organizational/Program Assessment Questionnaire

Answer Sheet

Weakness StrengthMissionClearly articulated purpose 1 2 3 4 5 6Agreed upon values and beliefs 1 2 3 4 5 6Clear understanding of program activity 1 2 3 4 5 6Quality programs are provided 1 2 3 4 5 6Overall Mission: 1 2 3 4 5 6

PrioritiesA 3 to 5 year plan is in place 1 2 3 4 5 6There is an annual planning process 1 2 3 4 5 6Program evaluation is conducted 1 2 3 4 5 6Agreement on major strategies 1 2 3 4 5 6Purpose is being accomplished 1 2 3 4 5 6Overall Purpose: 1 2 3 4 5 6

StructureWell defined programmatic structure 1 2 3 4 5 6Clear lines of authority 1 2 3 4 5 6Decision making process is defined 1 2 3 4 5 6Organized and well run meetings 1 2 3 4 5 6Personnel policies in place and followed 1 2 3 4 5 6Overall Structure: 1 2 3 4 5 6

PeopleCompetent Staff 1 2 3 4 5 6Roles and responsibilities are understood1 2 3 4 5 6Written job descriptions 1 2 3 4 5 6Clear and reliable evaluation process 1 2 3 4 5 6Ongoing professional development 1 2 3 4 5 6Overall People: 1 2 3 4 5 6

SystemsFund development program in place 1 2 3 4 5 6Fund development activities successful 1 2 3 4 5 6Accurate and timely financial records 1 2 3 4 5 6A budgeting process is in place 1 2 3 4 5 6

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Adequate attention to financial management 1 2 3 4 5 6Effective use of appropriate technology 1 2 3 4 5 6Overall Systems: 1 2 3 4 5 6

LeadershipEffective leadership is providedBy an individual and/or team 1 2 3 4 5 6The organization’s leadership exhibits the following qualities:

Search for opportunities and take risks 1 2 3 4 5 6Is able to inspire a shared vision 1 2 3 4 5 6Takes the lead in fostering cooperation 1 2 3 4 5 6Is committed to leading by example 1 2 3 4 5 6Recognizes contributions 1 2 3 4 5 6Overall Leadership: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Interpersonal, Intragroup and Intergroup ProcessesThere is a constructive climate 1 2 3 4 5 6Effective problem solving and meetings 1 2 3 4 5 6Creativity and risk taking are rewarded 1 2 3 4 5 6Commitment to working effectively in team 1 2 3 4 5 6Conflicts are confronted & worked through 1 2 3 4 5 6Effective formal & informal communication 1 2 3 4 5 6Overall Interpersonal: 1 2 3 4 5 6

PurposeOur purpose is being accomplished 1 2 3 4 5 6

Area of greatest strength?

Area most holding you back—greatest opportunity?

Confidence that your assessment is widely shared?

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YW-NYC Integrated Summer Day Camp Planning Model

1999-2000

Measurable Objective 1

OutreachIn the summer of 2000, to identify and enroll 10 young adults with developmental disabilities, of thosealready participating in the YWCA’s Networking Project for Young Adults with Disabilities and otherservices providers, for participation in the YWCA’s mainstream summer day camp services; anadditional 10 participants will be identified & enrolled by the summer of 2001 and a final 10 will bematched by the summer of 2002.

Activities

Develop & circulate information describing YWCA/DYCD initiative to integrate mainstream summerday camp including:

Presentations to Networking Project participants, parents and targeted public school staff andadministrators and local planning bodies by project coordinator to identify candidates for participation.Attend Resources for Children’s Special Camp Fair 2000

Informational materials forwarded to same and organizations serving children with special needs

Web page entry

Develop 10 openings by summer 2000 in already existing YWCA mainstream summer day camp foryoung adults with developmental disabilities: 10 additional participants by summer, 2001; and 10 moreby summer, 2002.


Identify a minimum of thirty (30) young adults with developmental disabilities who express interest inparticipation in day camp.

Ten (10) meetings with community rec. org’s, and summaries of results in quarterly reports to DDPC.

Three (3) presentations to Networking Project participants and their families.

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Distribute approx. 200 informational fliers/brochures to parents, school & planning bodyrepresentatives, including one mailing of up to 100 informational fliers/brochures.

A minimum of 300 hits on the YWCA web site.

Meet with a minimum of twenty (20) recreation providers in person and by phone, and report outcomesand resulting placements in quarterly reports to DDPC.

Ten (10) children with developmental disabilities enrolled in YWCA summer day camp by summer2000.

Information materials, copies of letters of agreement between partners outlining roles andresponsibilities.


Training2.1The YWCA will seek out Technical Assistance from at least four (4) CBO’s to determine effectivestrategies of inclusion and use of assistive technologies.

2.2Based on level of staff knowledge, ascertained by preliminary evaluative meetings and checklist,YWCA will train YWCA/DYCD staff in integrative strategies, assistive technologies and inclusiveactivities for young adults with developmental disabilities.

Activities

2.1Technical Assistance will be sought from recreation providers, disability service providers and educationprofessionals to determine effective strategies of inclusion and use of assistive technologies.

2.2Estab. base level of YWCA/DYCD staff knowledge and determine activities not yet in place throughprelim. interviews & checklist.

Develop and deliver appropriate training regarding day camp integration practices to YWCA/DYCD

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administration & support staff, before the summer 2000, based on estab. baseline knowledge.

Develop and provide Awareness training to participants and their parents, before the summer of 2000.

Establish change in staff knowledge and practices through ongoing interviews and checklist.


2.1Ten (10) meetings with CBO’s to develop strategies of inclusion.Ten (10) phone conversations with rec providers, disability service providers & educ. professionals todevelop strategies of inclusion.

2.2Interview and gather checklist responses of up to thirty (30) YWCA/DYCD staff re base levelknowledge of integrative practices.

Two (2) training sessions for summer camp staff, for approximately ten (10) staff.

Two (2) Awareness training sessions for YWCA/DYCD administration and support staff, for anestimated 20 trainees.

Two (2) Awareness training sessions for camp participants and families, for an est. 70 trainees.

(Measurable Objective #2 continued)

2.3The YWCA will build community-based support through technical assistance & Awareness workshopsdelivered to rec organizations, and dissemination of information and the training manual.

Offer technical assistance and Awareness training to 5 other DYCD-funded CBO’s seeking to integratetheir day camps and youth programs, by the summer of 2001.

Develop and distribute training manual based upon lessons learned in efforts to integrate day camp.

Develop, distribute, gather and analyze responses from service eval’s for CBO’s who have receivedTechnical Assistance.

Provide TA and Awareness workshops to up to 45 staff of five DYCD funded CBO’s, including TAproviders.

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Develop and distribute training manual to a minimum of twenty (20) DYCD-funded CBO’s and aminimum of 25 policymakers and officials

Provide DDPC with summary of ongoing staff evaluations and service evaluation results.

Prior to summer 2001, training manual for org’s to successfully include & integrate young adults withdevelopmental disabilities into youth programs.


Participation: Integration

The YWCA will integrate ten (10) young adults with developmentally disabilities into our mainstreamsummer day camp, by the summer of 2000.

Activities

Integrative strategies and program supports will be identified put in place to appropriately integrate theactivities of the young adults with and without special needs.

20 young adults, aged 13-15, 10 with and 10 without developmental disabilities will participate inintegrated sports classes, including but not limited to swimming, basketball, aerobics, stretching andself-defense.

20 young adults, aged 13-15, 10 with and 10 without developmental disabilities will participate inintegrated dance and theatre activities.

20 young adults, aged 13-15, 10 with and 10 without developmental disabilities will participate inintegrated arts and crafts activities, including ceramics.


10 young adults, aged 13-15, with developmental disabilities will participate in the YWCA integratedsummer day camp for four (4) weeks in the summer of 2000.

10 young adults, aged 13-15, without developmental disabilities will participate in the YWCAintegratedsummer day camp for four (4) weeks in the summer of 2000.

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Evaluation4.1Develop and distribute a customer satisfaction survey for all campers and their parents to determine theeffectiveness of our services.

4.2The YWCA/DYCD will work with the DDPC and the designated evaluation team to develop strategies,tools and indicators to measure the overall project effectiveness, specifically related to training andinteraction among children with and without disabilities.

Activities

4.1Develop and distribute a customer satisfaction survey instrument for day campers and their families.Collect and analyze a minimum of 40 responses, including all responses from developmentally disabledcampers and their families.

4.2Work with the DDPC and evaluation team to develop tools, strategies and indicators to measure theoverall effectiveness for project activities specifically related to training and interactive strategies.

40 customer satisfaction surveys distributed to participants and parents, collected and analyzed.

Meet with DDPC evaluation team no less than 2 times regarding the development of YW-specificassessment tools.

Attend 2 cluster meetings of DDPC grantees in Albany regarding Assessment strategies.


Continued FundingSecure alternative funding for ongoing integrated day camp activities.

Activities

Appeal to YW-NYC network of funders, beginning in 2001, to sustain and expand scholarships.Appeal to DYCD network of funders to sustain and expand accessibility of summer programs to youthswith disabilities.

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Seek corporate and other financial sponsorship of YW-NYC integrated day camp and for relatedorganizational capacity building.


Solicit funding from at least 15 foundations from within the YW-NYC network of funders.Solicit corporate and other financial sponsorship from at least 15 prospective sponsors.

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Community Access Survey

When a specified criterion is met 100%, then a “Yes” response should be recorded. When a specifiedcriterion has not been met fully or does not exist, then a “No” response should be recorded. Use the“Comments” section for further explanations of criteria that were not met.

Transportation Yes No Accessible public transportation to organization/facility Drop off directly in front of the organization/facility entrance. Organization/facility provides accessible transportation

Comments

Parking Yes No Signage at entrance of lot directs toward accessible parking. Zoned area designated for drop-off/pick-up adjacent or near curbcut and/or accessible entranceway. HP space closest to accessible entrance. Parking spaces are at least 96” wide Symbol of accessibility visible at each space.

Comments

Pathways (Outdoor) Yes No Pathways minimum width 36” for 1 wheelchair or 60” for 2 wheelchairs. Pathway surface evenly paved and without interruption. Curbcuts located at the corner of each intersection. Curbcuts maximum of 1” incline to 8” of length. Signage to areas of building in words. Signage to areas of building in symbols. Signage to areas of building is tactile. Signage to areas of building is high contrast.

Comments

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General Organizational Structure Yes No Staff is available with training regarding disabilities. Specific rules limit access (e.g. no dogs). Staff available to assist with directions and questions. Staff available to assist with transfers. Staff available to assist with sign language interpretation. Adaptive equipment available on premises. Integrated programming available. Specialized programming available.

Comments

Doors (Public entrances are those which are not loading or services entrances)Yes No At least one public entrance must be accessible. Accessible primary entrance width of 32” with door open 90 degrees. Distance between entrances no more than 3-minute walk for non-disabled person. Automatic opening doors in entranceway. Automatic opening doors in rooms. Automatic opening doors in corridor. Operating mechanism for doors is automatic. Operating mechanism for automatic doors is user initiated. Operating mechanism for automatic doors is marked. Doors close slowly (minimum of 3 seconds). Doors to individual areas minimum width of 32”. Thresholds do not exceed 3/4” for exterior sliding doors or 1/2” for all other doors. Door hardware mounted no higher than 48” above floor. Doors operable with one hand and do not require a tight grasp. Signage for rooms is in words. Signage for rooms is in symbols. Signage for rooms is tactile. Signage for rooms is high contrast.

Comments

Ramps/Lifts/Stairs (Inside and Out)Yes No Slip resistant ramps maximum 12” incline to 12” length. Ramps have handrails on both sides extending 12” beyond the top and bottom of ramp. Ramp made of solid material with a minimum width of 36” measured at handrails. Ramps access same areas as stairs and are usable by standard and scooter (three wheel) stylewheelchairs.

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Ramps have level areas to stop and rest at least every 30’. Stairs have solid risers. Stairs have handrails. Stairs have nosings that project no more than 1 1/2”. Mechanical lift available. Lift operated by user. Lift operated by user after receiving key from someone else. Lift operated by staff. Facility staff trained to operate life.

Comment

Elevators (required for buildings that exceed three stories or that exceed 3000 sq” per story unless it isshopping mall or office of health care provider) Yes No Elevator(s) accesses same area(s) as steps andis used for passengers only. Elevator(s) accesses same area(s) as steps and is used for freight. Elevator(s)is self-operated. Height between car and floor landing is no greater than 1/2”. Elevator door openingminimum of 36”. Doors close slowly (minimum of 5 seconds). Door equipped with electronic eye. Cabsize minimum of 54” x 68”. Operating buttons no higher than 48”. Signage for floor and directionalmarkings on operating panel are tactile. Audible and visible signals in elevator cab at each floor. Signagefor floor location at each landing is tactile. Floor identification at rear of each cab (e.g. mirror).Emergency controls and telephone at bottom of operating panel. Buttons touch sensitive and easy topush. Railing available for support.

Comments

Corridors/Lobbies Yes No Minimum width for wheelchairs to pass is 60”. Turning radius for 60” x60” (to allow 360 degree turn in wheelchair). Corridors are free of obstructions with 80” clear headroom.Permanent fixtures mounted on wall project maximum of 4”. Directory of building is in words.Directory of building is in symbols. Directory of building is tactile. Directory of building is highcontrast. Corridors brightly lit. Signage for accessible bathrooms. Signage for accessible bathroomslocated with signage for inaccessible bathrooms. Signage for telephones. Signage for exits. Carpetedsurface securely attached and not wrinkled. Surfaces stable, firm and slip resistant. Available to rest areasalong a 50’ or longer hallway. Accessible drinking fountain maximum of 27” high with knee spaceunderneath; spout no higher than 36”. Drinking fountain operable with closed fist. Vending machinecontrols maximum height of 48” and minimum of 15” for forward reach. Vending machine controlsoperable with closed fist.

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Vending machine selections involve number identification and/or matching and knowledge of coincombinations. Telephone area maximum height for 48” and minimum of 15” for forward reach.Amplification system identified and available for telephones.

Comments

Meeting PlacesYes No Spaces are all on same floor. Spaces are on different floors. Spaces areaccessible (e.g. doors, corridors). Facility will modify space for accessibility if requested. Spaces cleanand free of debris. Spaces brightly lit. High noise level while activity occurs. Variable noise level whileactivity occurs. Large open areas. Small defined areas. Spaces adjacent to accessible bathroom. Spacesnot adjacent to accessible bathroom but route to bathroom no more than 3 minute walk for non-disabledperson.

Comments

Bathrooms Yes No Accessible men’s room available. Accessible women’s room available. Accessibleunisex bathroom available. Signage on outside door and individual stalls is in words. Signage on outsidedoor and individual stalls is in symbols. Signage on outside door and individual stalls is tactile. Signageon outside door and individual stalls is in high contrast. All doors minimum width of 32”. All doorsoperable with closed fist. Bathroom area free of obstruction and debris. Bathroom area has minimum ofturning space of 60” x 60” on diagonal. Stall doors swing out. Stall doors open easily. Stall doorsoperable with closed fist. Accessible sink 34” high with knee space minimum of 30” wide, 29” high and19” deep. Accessible sink operable with closed fist. Bottom of mirror maximum height of 40” or tilted.All dispensers maximum height of 40”. All dispensers operable with closed fist. Accessible urinal rimmaximum height 17”. Accessible toilet stall is a minimum width of 60” and minimum depth of 56” (wallof stall to door). Top of toilet seat is 17” - 19” high. Two grab bars mounted parallel to floor and 33” -36” above floor. Vending machine controls are maximum height of 48” and minimum of 15” for forwardreach. Vending machine controls operable with closed fist. Vending machine selections involves numberidentification, and/or matching. Vending machine involves knowledge of coin combinations. Lightswitch maximum height of 48” and minimum of 15” for forward reach. Light switch operable withclosed fist.

CommentsLibraries Yes No Minimum aisle width 36”. Check-out counter is maximum height of 36”. Cardcatalogs are maximum height of 54” and a minimum height of 18”. Computer system available for bookavailability/location system. Stacks of books/book shelves maximum height of 54”. Staff available forbook retrieval/general assistance. Accessible quiet space available free of distractions. Sign languageinterpreters available.

Comments

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Places of AssemblyYes No Ticket window maximum height of 36”. Concession stand maximum heightof 36”. Reserved seating for people who are blind/visually impaired and deaf/hard of hearing: numberof reserved seats _______. Reserved seating available for non-disabled friends in these areas: numberof reserved seats _______. Minimum aisle width of 32”. Turning radium at top and bottom of aisles 60”x 60”. Wheelchair accessible spectator seats available and distributed among different prices and areasof facility; number of reserved seats _________. Seating available for non-disabled friends in theseareas. Listening system for people who are hard of hearing. Listening system can be used with a varietyof hearing aids. Sign language interpreters available.

Comments

Swimming PoolsYes No Minimum 48” wide path of travel around pool. Slip resistant surface aroundpool. Access into pool is wide ramp with handrails. Access into pool is lifting device. Access into poolis steps only. Lifeguards on duty. Number of lifeguards on duty _______________. Signage for differentwater levels is made very clear. Shower stalls minimum 36” x 36” with curb maximum of 1/2”. Showerstalls minimum 30” x 30” no curbs. Shower has single lever control operable with closed fist.Showerhead on slide bar with hose. Show stall has two grab bars on wall 33” - 36” high. Shower haspadded, hinged seat securely attached. Top of shower seat 18” high. Locker rooms minimum aisle widthof 42”. Locker rooms have accessible bathrooms. Dressing cubicles 60” x 72” with an opening of 32”.Dressing cubicle opening is curtain or outswinging door. Sign language interpreters available.

Comments

Safety/Emergency AccommodationsYes No Emergency/fire evacuation procedures exist. Facilitysecurity visible and adequate. Nurse on-site full time. Nurse on-site part time. Fire alarm maximum of54” above floor. Fire alarm instructions are presented in words, symbols, tactile and in high contrast.Fire alarm can be operated with closed fist. Audible warning signals. Visual warning signals.

Comments

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Summary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Signed into law July 26, 1990

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibitsdiscrimination based on disability. It is similar to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it illegal todiscriminate because of race, sex, religion, national origin, and other characteristics.

The ADAcovers an estimated 49 million Americans including about 2.6 million New Yorkers who havephysical or mental impairments that substantially limit such activities as walking, talking, hearing,seeing, working, and caring for oneself. People with a record of impairment and those regarded ashaving a disability are protected, too.

People who are HIV-positive or living with AIDS are covered, as are individuals who are in or who havesuccessfully completed drug abuse and alcoholism rehabilitation programs.

The ADA bans discrimination in employment and, since 1992, requires most employers to makereasonable accommodations for qualified employees with disabilities. In provisions similar to those ina 1973 federal law requiring nondiscrimination in services operated or funded, in whole or in part, bythe federal government, state and local governments are prohibited from discriminating on the basis ofdisability, in the activities and services they fund and provide.

It is illegal to discriminate in places of public accommodation hotels, restaurants, stores, theaters,museums, and other businesses.

Accessibility requirements apply to new buses, trains, subway cars, and rail stations, and to existing keyor major stations. Paratransit service must be offered to supplement accessible fixed-route transportationservices.

Phone companies must provide relay services so that people who have speech and hearing impairmentsand use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDDs) can converse with people who use conventionalvoice phones.

Though many states, including New York, already banned discrimination based on disability, disabilityrights advocates felt the absence of a consistent, nationwide standard caused people with disabilities tolive as second-class citizens viewed as dependent, unable to work (the unemployment rate is extremelyhigh), and unable to move about as freely as people without disabilities.

Title I-Employment

Title I bans employment discrimination in the public and private sectors, and in state and local

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government. Before THE ADA, anti-discrimination provisions were tied to entities’ (including state andlocal governments’) receipt of federal funds. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires companies withfederal contracts of $10,000 or more yearly to take “affirmative steps” in hiring and promoting peoplewith disabilities.

The ADA takes an across-the-board approach to employment anti-discrimination. It requires qualifiedindividuals with disabilities receive equal opportunity to participate in all aspects of employment,including recruitment, hiring, training, benefits, and employer-sponsored activities. Employers mustalso provide “reasonable accommodation” to “qualified individuals with disabilities” individuals who,with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential duties of the job sought or held.The employer’s judgment and written job descriptions, in place prior to interviewing or hiring, mayserve as proof of essential functions.

In July 1992, ADA provisions went into effect for employers of 25 or more workers (employed eachwork day in each of 20 weeks in the current or preceding year). Since 1994, employers of as few as 15must comply. Private membership clubs, except labor unions, are exempt.

“Reasonable accommodation” may include making employee facilities accessible to and usable byindividuals with disabilities; job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules; purchasing oraltering the cost of the regarded as using drugs, and individuals no longer using accommodation, thefinancial resources and the total size of illegal drug use. Protected, however, are people incorrectlyregarded as using drugs and individuals no longer using drugs, who have completed or who areparticipating in supervised drug rehabilitation.

Employers can declare a drug and alcohol-free workplace, and prohibit employees from being under theinfluence of either while on the job. Drug testing is neither prohibited nor considered a medicalexamination.

Though an applicant can be asked whether he or she can perform job-related functions, it is illegal toask if he or she has a disability. Medical examinations can be required only after an initial offer ofemployment and, without regard to disability, if all applicants for the same job must take the sameexamination. The examination cannot be used to disqualify a person with a disability unless medicalfindings show the individual cannot do the job.

While Congress was considering the ADA, there was a failed attempt to amend it so that people with orregarded as having AIDS and HIV positive individuals could be transferred out of food-handling jobs.Instead, language requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to publish a list of infectiousdiseases transmittable through food handling. If the risk of transmission cannot be reduced or eliminatedthrough reasonable accommodation, an employer can refuse to assign an infected individual to dutiesthat pose a direct threat to health and safety.

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The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued regulations implementing theemployment provisions (29 CFR Part 130 ).

Similar requirements are in effect under New York State Human Rights Law and apply to employers offour or more.

Title II - Public Service and Public Transportation

Title II of the ADA contains prohibitions against discrimination in public services programs or activitiesof a “public entity” (any state or local government, including a department, agency, special purposedistrict or instrumentality of state or local government, and public transportation services), the NationalRailroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) and, generally, in inter-city and commuter rail services.

No qualified individual with a disability can be excluded, because of disability, from participation in orbe denied the benefits, services, programs or activities of a public entity, effective January 26, 1992.Access standards must be consistent with the minimum requirements issued by the federal Architecturaland Transportation Barriers Compliance Board.

The U.S. Attorney General issued regulations (28 CFR Part 35) for public services.

Program accessibility is required. This means that all programs and services, when viewed as a whole,must be accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, in the most integrated setting possible.Policies and procedures must be modified and auxiliary aids and services provided, if needed, to ensureprogram accessibility.

Public entities operating fixed-route systems and purchasing or leasing new buses or other passenger-transport vehicles must ensure people with disabilities, including wheelchair users, can access and usethe vehicles. Vehicles remanufactured to extend usable life for five or more years also must beaccessible. Historic vehicles, as defined in the regulations, may be exempted if accessibilitymodifications would significantly change historic character.

Public entities that operate fixed-route systems (other than commuter bus service only) must provideparatransit service, which is comparable in service level and response time to service typically availableto fixed-route customers, unless so doing would impose undue financial burden. If such is the case, alevel of service still must be offered, but to the extent that imposes no burden. New paratransit vehiclesmust be accessible unless the system, when viewed in its entirety, offers individuals with disabilities acomparable level of service.

New public transportation facilities and portions of existing facilities being altered, must be accessible.Key stations in rapid and light rail systems were to be made accessible by July 26, 1993. However, ifrenovations involve extraordinarily expensive structural changes, this date may be extended up to July

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26, 2020, provided at least two-thirds of the key stations are accessible by July 26, 2010.

All rapid commuter and light rail systems, including Amtrak, must have at least one accessible car pertrain. Purchase or lease orders for new passenger rail cars must be for accessible coaches that have anaccessible restroom. To the maximum extent possible, remanufactured rail coaches must be accessibleif the rebuilding extends coach-life for 10 years or more.

The Secretary of Transportation issued implementing regulations (49 CFR Parts 27, 37, 38 ). New YorkState Human Rights Law, Civil Rights Law, Transportation Law, and Building Code contain similarrequirements.

Title III - Public Accommodations

Since January 26, 1992, Title III public accommodations provisions have barred discrimination basedon disability in the full and equal enjoyment of goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages oraccommodations of any public business or service operated by private entities.

Goods, services, and accommodations must be offered in the most appropriate, integrated setting.

As identified in the Act, “places of public accommodation” can include hotels, motels or inns (exceptone in which the proprietor lives, and five or fewer rooms are rented); food and drink establishments;theaters, concert halls, stadiums and other places of exhibition and entertainment; auditoriums,convention centers, lecture halls; bakeries, groceries, clothing and hardware stores, shopping centers andother sales and rental establishments; such service establishments as laundromats, banks, barber andbeauty shops, funeral parlors, gas stations, accountant and lawyer offices, hospitals and healthcareprovider offices.

Also, transportation terminals and stations; museums, galleries, libraries; parks, zoos and amusementparks; nursery and elementary through postgraduate private schools, and other places of education; day-care and senior citizen centers; homeless shelters; food banks, adoption agencies, and social servicescenters; gymnasiums, health spas, bowling alleys, golf courses and other exercise and recreationalplaces.

New facilities occupied after January 26, 1993 must be accessible, unless accessibility is structurallyimpossible to achieve. Requirements apply to newly altered facilities. Except shopping centers andprofessional healthcare providers’ offices, elevators are not required in buildings less than three storiesor less than 3,000 square feet per story.

The Act says it is discriminatory to not remove architectural and communications barriers in an existingfacility if it is “readily achievable” that is, able to be accomplished without much difficulty or expense.Factors to be considered include the nature and the cost of the structural modification, and the size,

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financial resources and type of business. If the barrier cannot be removed readily, the goods or servicesmust be made available through alternate methods.

Also discriminatory is failure to reasonably modify policies, practices and procedures that would allowindividuals with disabilities equal access and opportunity to goods, services, or privileges. The AttorneyGeneral issued implementing regulations (28 CFR Part 36).

Private entities, except airlines, primarily in the business of transporting people are required to purchaseor lease only accessible fixed-route vehicles, unless the vehicle is an automobile, a van seating less thaneight people, or an over-the-road bus. Demand-response systems must meet the same requirements, orservices must be equivalent to those offered to the general public.

When entities that provide only incidental transportation service purchase or lease new fixed-routevehicles seating 16 or more, the vehicles must be accessible. Fixed-route vehicles seating less than 16and demand-response vehicles with seating capacity for 16 or more, must also be accessible; else, peoplewith disabilities must receive equivalent transportation services.

Accessibility requirements exist for passenger rail cars, and requirements for over-the-road buses arebeing decided.

The Secretary of Transportation issued implementing regulations that affect private transportationservices (49 CFR Parts 27, 37, 38). Comparable requirements are found in New York State HumanRights Law, Civil Rights Law, Transportation Law, and the New York State Building Code.

Title IV - Telecommunications

To ensure equal access, Title IV requires telecommunications relay services for people with speech andhearing impairments. These services, which had to be in place by 1993, enable people who usetelecommunication devices for the deaf (TDDs) and other-than-voice devices to communicate withpeople who use voice phones.

Title IV mandates intra- and interstate relay services, which operate seven days a week, 24 hours daily.The New York Relay Service, like services in several other states, predates the ADA. Relay operatorscannot change the content of conversations, limit the length of calls, maintain records, or disclose toothers the contents of relayed conversations. Rates for relay users cannot exceed rates charged for voicecalls of equivalent duration, time of day, and distance called.

Title IV also requires close-captioning of television public service announcements, produced in wholeor in part with federal funds.

The Federal Communications Commission issued Title IV implementing regulations (47 CFR Parts 0, 64).

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Title V – Miscellaneous

Title V consists of clarifications, exclusions and add-ons, many of which address and clarify questionsand concerns of some Congress members.

These are among the key provisions:

Nothing in the Act, except as specifically provided, shall be construed to apply a lesser standard thanone already required under Title V of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or the regulations issued as a resultof that law.

States are subject to THE ADA, and THE ADA does not limit or invalidate state or local laws thatprovide protections equal to or greater than those of the ADA.

Insurers can continue to underwrite and classify risks consistent with state law, and entities covered canprovide benefit plans based on legitimate risk classifications.

No person can be discriminated against because he or she has made a charge, testified, assisted orparticipated in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under THE ADA.

The winning party in an ADA action, other than the U.S. government, may be awarded a reasonableattorney’s fee, including litigation expenses and costs.

The Attorney General, in consultation with the chair of the Equal Employment OpportunityCommission, the Secretary of Transportation, the chair of the Architectural and TransportationCompliance Board, and the chair of the Federal Communications Commission, is to offer technicalassistance to covered entities. Other federal agencies identified to assist the Attorney General include,the National Council on Disability, the President’s Committee on Employment of People withDisabilities, the Small Business Administration, and the Department of Commerce.

The term “disabled” or “disability” does not apply to an individual solely because the person is atransvestite.

Homosexuality and bisexuality are not considered impairments under THE ADA.

The term “disability” excludes transvestism, transsexualism, pedophilia, exhibitionism, voyeurism,gender-identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments, and other sexual behavior;compulsive gambling, kleptomania, pyromania; and psycho-active substance-use disorders resultingfrom current illegal use of drugs.

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Bibliography

General Works on Inclusive Recreational Practices

Center on Human Policy. A guide to knowing your community. CTAT Field Report, 1(1), 8-9. 1990.Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research, Northwestern University and Department ofRehabilitation Services, State of Illinois. Getting connected: How to find out about groups andorganizations in your neighborhood. Springfield, IL: Author, 1988

Dattilo, John. Inclusive Leisure Services: Responding to the Rights of People with Disabilities.StateCollege, PA:Venture Publishing, Inc.

Heyne, L.A., Schleien, S.J., and McAvoy, L.H. (n.d.). Making friends: Using recreation activities topromote friendship between children with and without disabilities. Minneapolis, MN: Institute onCommunity Integration.

Komissar, C., Hart, D., Friedlander, R., Tufts, S., and Paiewonsky, M. Don’t forget the fun: Developinginclusive recreation. Boston, MA: Institute for Community Inclusion, 1997.

McGill, J. Our leisure identity. Entourage, 2(3), 23-25, 1987.

Moon, M.S., Hart, D., Komissar, C., Friedlander, R., Stierer, C.L., and Johnson Brown, P. Thecommunity leisure facilitator. In M.S. Moon (Ed.), Making school and community recreation fun foreveryone(pp. 17-32). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1994.

Mount, B., Beeman, P., and Ducharme, G. What are we learning about bridge-building? Manchester,CT: Communitas, Inc., 1988.

O’Brien, J., and Lyle O’Brien, C. Framework for Accomplishment.Lithonia, GA: Responsive SystemsAssociates, 1987.

Savard, C. Taking part in the dream. In G. Allan Roeher Institute (Ed.), The pursuit of leisure: Enrichinglives with people who have a disability(pp. 39-42). Downsview, Ontario: G. Allan Roeher Institute,1988.

Schleien, S. J., Ray, M. T., and Green, F. P. Community recreation and people with disabilities:Strategies for inclusion(2nd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1997.

Schleien, S. J., Rynders, J. E., Heyne, L. A., and Tabourne, C. E. S.. Powerful partnerships: Parents andprofessionals building inclusive recreation programs together. Minneapolis, MN: School ofKinesiology and Leisure Studies, Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota, 1995.

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Taylor, S. J., Knoll, J., and Biklen, D. Community integration for persons with severe disabilities.NewYork, NY: Teachers College, 1987.

Walker, P. Promoting inclusive recreation and leisure opportunities for adults. In M.S. Moon (Ed.),Making school and community recreation fun for everyone (pp. 163-180). Baltimore, MD: Paul H.Brookes Publishing Co.,1994.

Walker, P., and Edinger, B. The Kid from Cabin 17. Camping Magazine, pp. 18-21, 1988.

Walker, P., Edinger, B., Willis, C., and Kenney, M.E.). Beyond the classroom: Involving students withdisabilities in extracurricular activities at Levy Middle School.Syracuse, NY: Center on Human Policy,1988.

On Learning Disabilities

Armstrong, T. In their own way:Discovering and encouraging your child’s personal learning style.NewYork, NY:Tarcher/Putnam, 1987.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. NICHCY fact sheet. Washington: National Information Centerfor Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY), 1996. 2p. Free. (P.O. Box 1492 DC 20013-1492). Also available on NICHCY website.

Barkley, Russell A. Taking charge of ADHD: the complete, authoritative guide for parents.New York,NY: Guilford Publications, 1995.

Cicci, Regina. What’s wrong with me? Learning disabilities at home and school.Baltimore, MD: YorkPress, 1995.

Cordoni, Barbara. Living with a learning disability. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press,1990.

Cruickshank, W.M., Morse, W.C and Johns, J.S. Learning Disabilities:The struggle from adolescencetoward adulthood. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1980.

Davis, Ronald D. The gift of dyslexia: why some of the smartest people can’t read and how they canlearn. San Juan Capistrano, CA: Ability Workshop Press, 1994.

Dunn, R. Bringing out the giftedness in your child.New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1994.Fanchiang, Shan-Pin C. The other side of the coin: growing up with a learning disability. The AmericanJournal of Occupational Therapy, v. 5, April 1996: 277-285.

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Gerber, P.J., and Reiff, H.B. Speaking for themselves: Ethnographic interviews with adults with learning disabilities. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 1992.

Hallowell, Edward. When you worry about the child you love.New York, NY: Simon and Schuster,1996.

Hayes, Marnell L. You don’t outgrow it: living with learning disabilities. Novato, CA: AcademicTherapy Publications, 1993.

Kline, P. The everyday genius.Arlington, VA: Great Ocean Publications.

Lee, C. and Jackson, R. Faking it: A look into the mind of a creative learner. Portsmouth, NH:Boynton/Cook.

Levine, M. All kinds of minds. Cambridge, MA:Educators Publishing Service, Inc., 1994.

Levine, M. Keeping a head in school: A students book about learning abilities and learning disorders.Cambridge, MA:Educators Publishing Service, Inc., 1990.

Murphy, Stephen T. On being LD: perspectives and strategies of young adults.New York, NY: TeachersCollege Press, 1992. 154p.

Ornstein, T.R. The amazing brain. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1992.

Osmond, John. The reality of dyslexia.Cambridge, MA: Brookline Books, 1995.

Smith, S. Succeeding against the odds.Washington, DC: Jeremy Tarchar, 1991.

Smith, Sally L. No easy answers: the learning disabled child at home and at school.Rev. ed. New York,NY: Bantam Books, 1995.

Spafford, Carol Sullivan, and George S. Grosser. Dyslexia: research and resource guide. Boston, MA:Allyn and Bacon, 1996.

Sunbeck, D. Infinity walk: Preparing your mind to learn.Rochester, NY: Infinity Press, 1991.

On Autism…for parents

Baron-Cohen, S., and Bolton, B. Autism: The Facts.New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.

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Harris, S., and Handelman, J. eds. Preschool Programs for Children with Autism. Austin, TX: PRO-ED,1993.

Powers, M. Children with Autism: A Parents’Guide.Rockville, MD: Woodbine House, 1989.

Sacks, O. An Anthropologist on Mars. New York, NY: Knopf, 1995.

Pocket Guide to Federal Help for Individuals with Disabilities.Pueblo, CO: U. S. Government PrintingOffice, Consumer Information Center.

…for children

Amenta, C. Russell is Extra Special. New York, NY: Magination Press, 1992.

Gold, P. Please Don’t Say Hello. New York, NY: Human Sciences Press/Plenum Publications, 1986.

Katz, I., and Ritvo, E. Joey and Sam. Northridge, CA: Real Life Storybooks, 1993.

…for teachers and other interested professionals

Aarons, M., and Gittens, T. The Handbook of Autism. A Guide for Parents and Professionals. New York,NY: Tavistock/Routledge, 1992.

Groden, G., and Baron, M., eds. Autism: Strategies for Change. New York: Gardner Press, 1988. Simmons, J. The Hidden Child. Rockville, MD: Woodbine House, 1987.

Simpson, R., and Zionts, P. Autism : Information and Resources for Parents, Families, andProfessionals. Austin, TX: PRO-ED, 1992.

Smith, M. Autism and Life in the Community: Successful Interventions for Behavioral Challenges.Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1990.

On Mental Retardation

Amado, A.N. (Ed.) (1993). Friendships and community connections between people with and withoutdevelopmental disabilities. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

Heyne, L.A., Schleien, S.J. and McAvoy, L.H. (n.d.). Making friends: Using recreation activities topromote friendship between children with and without disabilities. Minneapolis, MN: College ofEducation, University of Minnesota.

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Human Services Research and Development Center (1989-90). Friends: A manual for connectingpersons with disabilities and community members. Minneapolis, MN: Human Services Research andDevelopment Center and the Governor’s Planning Council on Developmental Disabilities.

Lutfiyya, Z.M. (1990). Affectionate bonds: What we can learn by listening to friends. Syracuse, NY:Center on Human Policy.

Lutfiyya, Z.M. (1991). Personal relationships and social networks: Facilitating the participation ofindividuals with disabilities in community life. Syracuse, NY: Center on Human Policy.

Mount, B., Beeman, P., and Ducharme, G. (1988). What are we learning about circles of support?Manchester, CT: Communitas, Inc.

Mount, B., Beeman, P., and Ducharme, G. (1988). What are we learning about bridge-building?Manchester, CT: Communitas, Inc.

O’Brien, J., and Lyle O’Brien, C. (1993). Unlikely alliances: Friendships and people withdevelopmental disabilities. In A.N. Amado (Ed.). Friendships and community connections betweenpeople with and without disabilities (pp. 9-40). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

O’Connell, M. (1988). The gift of hospitality: Opening the doors of community life to people withdisabilities. Evanston, IL: Community Life Project.

Perske, R. (1988). Circles of friends. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.

Wolfensberger, W. (1975). Citizen advocacy for the impaired. In D. A. Primrose (Ed.), Proceedings ofthe Third Congress of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Mental Deficiency (pp.14-19). Lorbert, Scotland

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Web Sites of Interest

Disability Services for Children and Youths with Disabilities/Inclusion

New York State Office of Advocate for Persons with Disabilities (OAPwD)

www.advoc4disabled.state.ny.us/ADA/adabooks.htm– Contains severaldocuments, including the ADA Summary included in this handbook. The website contains several pages of interest including a page with links to web sitesfocused on a variety of disability issues.

The Institute for Community Inclusion at Children’s Hospital in Boston

www.childrenshospital.org/ici – These are the folks that brought us Don’tForget the Fun. The web site has a catalog of publications and books that canbe ordered directly from them (see the Resource Guides/Manuals page). Theweb site also has a good links page to national organizations.

Disability Etiquette Handbook, City of San Antonio Planning Department

www.ci.sat.tx.us/planning/handbook/– The source for the etiquette tips in Chapter 1. Also contains etiquette tips for other categories of work situations.

Resources for Children with Special Needs

www.resourcesnyc.org/rcsn.htm – An independent, not-for-profit organizationthat provides information and referral, case management and support,individual and systemic advocacy, parent and professional training, library andinformation services to New York City parents and caregivers of children withdisabilities and special needs and to the professionals who work with them.

The National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities

www.nichcy.org – NICHCY is the national information and referral center thatprovides information on disabilities and disability-related issues for families,educators, and other professionals. Their special focus is children and youth(birth to age 22).

Disabilities Resources Monthly

www.disabilityresources.org– If you are looking to connect with other people who share your concerns,this site is for you. Topics of the week, quick links and of course, abundant information on disabilityresources of all kinds, including an extensive section on adapted physical activities, makes this siteshine.

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National Center on Physical Activity and Disability

www.uic.edu/orgs/ncpad – The National Center on Physical Activity andDisability encourages persons with disabilities to participate in regular physicalactivity as a means of promoting healthy lifestyles and preventing developmentof secondary conditions.

On Learning Disabilities

The Learning Disabilities Association of New York City

www.learningdisabilitynyc.org – The Learning Disabilities Association of NewYork City is a non-profit citywide organization dedicated to facilitating accessto needed services for people with learning disabilities and related disordersand to providing support to them and to their families.

The Learning Disabilities Association of America

www.ldanatl.org – The Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA) isa national, non-profit, volunteer organization including individuals withlearning disabilities, their families and professionals. LDA is dedicated toenhancing the quality of life for all individuals with learning disabilities andtheir families, alleviating the restricting effects of learning disabilities.

The National Center for Learning Disabilities

www.ncld.org – The National Center for Learning Disabilities providesnational leadership in support of children and adults with learning disabilitiesby providing information, resources, and referral services; as well asdeveloping and supporting innovative educational programs, seminars andworkshops.

On Autism

Families for Early Autism Treatment

www.feat.org – FEAT (Families for Early Autism Treatment) is a non-profitorganization of parents and professionals, designed to help families withchildren who have received the diagnosis of Autism or PervasiveDevelopmental Disorder (PDD NOS). It offers a network of support wherefamilies can meet each other and discuss issues surrounding autism andtreatment options.

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The National Institute for Mental Health – Autism

www.nimh.nih.gov– The National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) isreplete with information about a wide variety of disabilities, including autism.

The National Alliance for Autism Research

www.naar.org – The National Alliance for Autism Research, NAAR, is anational nonprofit, tax-exempt organization dedicated to finding the causes,prevention, effective treatment and, ultimately, cure of the autism spectrumdisorders.

On Mental Retardation

The American Association on Mental Retardation

www.aamr.org – The American Association on Mental Retardation websiteprovides rapid access to information about the mental retardation anddisabilities field.

The Arc

www.thearc.org – This is the website for a national organization of and forpeople with mental retardation and related disabilities and their families.Website provides information about research, government affairs, and includesposition papers and other resources.

Disability Resources on the Internet – Mental Retardation

www.disabilityresources.org/M.html – This is a comprehensive website createdby a non-profit organization that promotes awareness and information that canhelp people with disabilities. From the home page index, you can browse awide range of pages covering many topics. The Regional Resources Directorylists organizations within each state working with people with disabilities.

On Inclusive Recreation

The American Association of Adapted Sports Programs

www.aaasp.org – The AAASP seeks to adapt sports programs in localcommunities where opportunities have not existed for physically disabledyouth to participate in competitive sports. This is done in cooperation withschools, parks and recreation, YMCA/YWCAs, hospitals, parents and otheragencies and groups. A terrific site.

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Recreation for All

www.inclusiverecreation.msu.edu/page2.html– A web site at Michigan StateUniversity. Includes stories about inclusive recreation programs that have beensuccessful. Web site also features an Inclusive Recreation Users Guide.

Promoting Inclusion in Recreation and Leisure Activities

http://soeweb.syr.edu/thechp/recreation.html– This is the National Resource Center on SupportedLiving and Choice, Center on Human Policy, at Syracuse University . The web pages here include anexcellent overview of inclusive recreation. In addition there is a bibliography and reprints of severalarticles.

Journal of Leisurability

www.lin.ca/resource/html/jofl.htm– This is a publication of the Department of Recreation and LeisureStudies at Brock University in Ontario, Canada. The Summer 1999 contains an article that covers topicssuch as friendship in relation to people with disabilities and inclusive recreation programs; socialinclusion; and strategies for promoting friendship in inclusive recreation programs. Other issues of thejournal listed on this page linking formal and informal supports and learning disabilities.

Can I Play, Too? - Choosing a Community Recreation Program

www.disabilitysolutions.org/comrec.html – An article that focuses on parents and contains excellentinformation concerning choosing a recreation program.

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YWCA-NYC Perez Center for People with Disabilities A Guide ...

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