Implementation of a Post-Secondary Inclusive Recreation Program

Authors

  • Chris Brown, Ph.D. (Author) Kennesaw State University image/svg+xml
    Chris Brown, Ph.D. Dr. Brown received both his B.S. and M.Ed. in Recreation Administration from the University of Georgia, and his doctorate from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Dr. Brown has worked with a variety of recreation populations (able bodied and students with disabilities) while in school and in my professional and academic careers. He teaches a service learning class where students organize and implement three fundraising events for four different non-profit organizations that work directly with individuals with mental or physical disabilities. Those organizations include the Kyle Pease Foundation, Cherokee County Special Olympics, Acworth Parks and Recreation Special Needs Program, specifically the Horizon League, and KSU’s Academy for Inclusive Learning and Social Growth. Dr. Brown, along with Dr. Johnson, began working with the Academy for Inclusive Learning and Social Growth (AILSG) to provide recreation and sport opportunities for their students through a well-organized, inclusive recreation program. Dr.’s Brown and Johnson organized and implemented KSU’s first on campus recreation and sport program for students with disabilities, which began in spring 2014.
  • John David Johnson, Ph.D. (Author) Kennesaw State University
    John David Johnson, Ph.D. Dr. Johnson is an Associate Professor of Sport Management at Kennesaw State University. His experience with inclusive recreation started with a student whose physical abilities were limited by cerebral palsy. Dr. Johnson helped the student organize a day hike at Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield for people with disabilities. Dr. Johnson was also instrumental in advocating for Kennesaw State University’s challenge course to become more inclusive by adding two universal high course elements as well as 3 universal low challenge course elements. Dr. Johnson also serves on the board of the Kyle Pease Foundation, which promotes success for persons with disabilities by providing assistance to meet their individual needs through sports.
  • Ibrahim Z. Elsawy, Ph.D. (Author) Kennesaw State University
    Ibrahim Z. Elsawy, Ph.D. Dr. Elsawy is Associate Professor in the Department of Exercise Science and Sports Management, and Executive Director of the Academy for Inclusive Learning and Social Growth, Kennesaw State University’s certificate program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Before taking the Academy’s leadership role in 2012. Dr. Elsawy was well-known within the International Disability Community. He lead the organizing committee for both the first Arab-American Dialogue on Disability held at KSU in 2009, and the second Arab-American Dialogue on Disability, held in Tripoli, Libya in 2010. He has organized numerous sport, camping, and recreation activities for children and youth with disabilities in his native Egypt, in Jordan, and in the United Arab Emirates. More recently, he created the firs, inclusive Study-Abroad program: “Creating Cultures of Achievement through Recreation and Sport”, a collaboration between the Academy and KSU’s Department of Sports Management, which returned for the third consecutive year in 2017 to the Emirate of Sharjah in the UAE. Dr. Elsawy holds a B. S. in Physical Education, and both an MA and a PhD in Physical Education with a specialization in Sports Psychology from Alexandria University in Alexandria, Egypt. He served as Associate Dean, and then Interim Dean of Alexandria University’s Faculty of Kindergarten, and supervised the university’s Early Intervention Center. Classes he has taught include Motor Education, Motor Disturbances, Motor Expression, Modern Attitudes on Motor Skills and The Psychology of Play.
https://doi.org/10.64546/jaasep.343
As individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities become increasingly involved in post-secondary educational opportunities, it becomes the responsibility of the institution to provide inclusive recreation opportunities. This manuscript incorporates Sugermans’ (2001) Model of Inclusive Facilitation into an inclusive recreation program for students with disabilities within a post-secondary based recreation program. The program model presented demonstrates a deliberate attempt to address and implement inclusive recreation opportunities for post-secondary students with disabilities outside of the traditional intramural/campus recreation model. The goal of the program is to enable post-secondary institutions to be comfortable and competent in creating inclusive recreation programs for students with disabilities by developing the ability to focus on participants’ abilities.

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There are 28 references in total.
Brown, C., Johnson, J. D., & Elsawy, I. Z. (2017). Implementation of a Post-Secondary Inclusive Recreation Program. Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals, 12(3), 6-21. https://doi.org/10.64546/jaasep.343

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  • Article Type Articles
  • Submitted August 23, 2017
  • Published October 15, 2017
  • Issue Fall 2017
  • Section Articles
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