Recreational Therapy Archives

1955 JHPER: National Recreational Therapy Section News

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(1955)26:1:52;2:52;3:66;4:52;5:52;6:60;7:66;8:30;9:46

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New APA Standards

The Revised 1954 Standards for Psychiatric Hospitals and Clinics, published by the American Psychiatric Association Mental Hospital Service, describe Activity Therapy as one of the professional services in the mental hospital; indicate that it "may be divided into occupational therapy and recreation"; propose that "In the larger hospitals, there should be a full-time Director of Recreation..."; and point to the fact that "Standards for recreation workers are in the process of development by appropriate professional recreation groups."

Recommended personnel ratios for Activity Therapy workers, other than Registered Occupational Therapists, are: For public mental hospitals, one worker for 40 patients on the Admission and Intensive Treatment Service, one worker for 100 patients on the Continued Treatment and Tuberculosis Services and one worker for 150 patients on the Geriatric Service; for private psychiatric hospitals and general hospitals with psychiatric service, one worker for 30 patients, with this ratio increased as much as four times where the hospital has a teaching or research program. Copies of the standards are available for 75ў from the American Psychiatric Association, 1785 Mass. Ave., N.W., Washington 6, D. C.

Revised CAHR Standards

The tentative personnel standards of the Council for the Advancement of Hospital Recreation having been evaluated by professional groups concerned, the Council met Nov 19 at the National Education Association office to revise the standards and to draw up a firm structure for the Council.

At this meeting, participated in by representatives of our section, by the Hospital Section of the American Recreation Society, the National Association of Recreational Therapists, and the National Recreation Association, a structure for the Council was proposed and tentative standards were drawn up for three levels of employment in hospital recreation.

The problem of certification of hospital recreation personnel was tabled until such time as the revised tentative standards receive approval by all three participating professional groups.

Standards Being Considered

The standards now being considered for adoption by Council member organizations are as follows:

Hospital Recreation Director

(A) Master's degree from an accredited college or university with a major in Hospital Recreation, Recreation in Rehabilitation, or Recreational Therapy, and one year of successful full-time paid experience in recreation for the handicapped in a medical setting. (The required clinical experience for the Master's degree may be substituted for an equal portion of successful full-time paid experience.)

(B) Master's degree from an accredited college or university with a major in Recreation, and two years of successful full-time paid experience in recreation for the handicapped in a medical setting.

(C) Master's degree from an accredited college or university with a major in a professional field closely allied to Recreation and applicable to recreation for the handicapped in a medical setting, and Undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university with a major in Recreation, or its equivalent (24 college credits in professional courses in Recreation), and two years of successful full-time paid experience in recreation for the handicapped in a medical setting.

(D) For those employed full-time in the profession as of June 1, 1955, a total of seven years of academic training in a college or university and successful full-time paid experience in recreation for the handicapped in a medical setting, providing two years of the seven years (60 college credits) have represented study (regardless of the field of specialization) at an accredited college or university, and three of the seven years have represented successful full-time paid experience in recreation for the handicapped in a medical setting.

Hospital Recreation Leader

(A) Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with a major in a field of study appropriate to a specialized recreation function within the hospital recreation program (e.g., music, sports, drama, dance).

(B) For those employed full time in the profession as of June 1, 1955, a total of five years of academic training in a college or university and successful full-time paid experience in recreation, providing two of the five years (60 college credits) have represented study (regardless of the field of specialization) at an accredited college or university.

Hospital Recreation Aide

(A) Diploma from an accredited high school, and three years of successful full-time paid experience under direct supervision of a qualified Hospital Recreation Director or Leader, or 400 clock hours of approved in-service training under the direct supervision of a qualified Hospital Recreation Director or Leader.

(A) Master's degree from an accredited college or university with a major in Hospital Recreation, Recreation in Rehabilitation, or Recreational Therapy, and one year of successful full-time paid experience in recreation for the handicapped in a medical setting. (The required clinical experience for the Master's degree may be substituted for an equal portion of successful full-time paid experience.)

(B) Master's degree from an accredited college or university with a major in Recreation, and two years of successful full-time paid experience in recreation for the handicapped in a medical setting.

(C) Master's degree from an accredited college or university with a major in a professional field closely allied to Recreation and applicable to recreation for the handicapped in a medical setting, and Undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university with a major in Recreation, or its equivalent (24 college credits in professional courses in Recreation), and two years of successful full-time paid experience in recreation for the handicapped in a medical setting.

(D) For those employed full-time in the profession as of June 1, 1955, a total of seven years of academic training in a college or university and successful full-time paid experience in recreation for the handicapped in a medical setting, providing two years of the seven years (60 college credits) have represented study (regardless of the field of specialization) at an accredited college or university, and three of the seven years have represented successful full-time paid experience in recreation for the handicapped in a medical setting.

The Problem of Research

There seems to be a continuing increase in attention to the need for research in recreation for the ill and disabled. There are, of course, many problems in this area. An insight into one of these is contained an article by Lauren H. Smith, M.D., entitled "Critique of Somatic Therapies," in the November 1954 issue of Mental Hospitals.

Considered in his critique are those treatments with which most physicians are presently actively concerned, viz., pharmacological and general therapy, electroshock, insulin therapy, and psychosurgery. Many recreationists have longed for the time when their stock-in-trade could be prescribed and evaluated in as precise a manner as can the somatic therapies. Nevertheless, in Dr. Smith's summarization he acknowledges the following:

"With respect to psychiatric research dealing with problems of somatic treatments we have to admit that very little progress has been made towards a clarification of essential factors involved. As a matter of fact, the somatic treatments have remained empirical in nature...it would be an overstatement to say that our choice of treatment is based on scientific facts...

"...At the present time there are no uniformly accepted criteria for improvement and what is even more disturbing, the different criteria used have little to do with such basic concepts as repression, anxiety, and defense mechanisms--and even less with physiological factors.

"Difficulties in terminology, in measuring accurately, in standards applied make our evaluation crude..."

Rather than take comfort in the realization that many of our fundamental research problems are similarly confronting the medical profession, we will do well to continue to face these problems squarely. This approach does not seem to be compatible with the lowering of research requirements for recreation students at the graduate level, a practice which unfortunately seems to be gaining support in isolated areas.

Conference on Hospital Recreation

The Second Southern Regional Conference on Hospital Recreation will be held at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, April 3rd. Further information on this significant training opportunity may be obtained from Harold D. Meyer, professor of sociology, at the University.

General References

Working and Playing to Health. A 16-mm sound, black and white, 35-minute running time, motion picture which presents an absorbing documentary record of the occupational, recreational, and industrial therapy programs in the mental hospital of today; filmed at the Manteno State Hospital, Ill., under sponsorship of the Illinois Dept. of Public Welfare. To borrow or rent, inquire at your state Mental Health Authority, local Mental Health Society, public library, or near-by 16-mm educational film libraries.

Music Therapy 1953. Published by the National Association for Music Therapy, Mariana Bing, editor. Newest in the series of comprehensive volumes on Music Therapy; contains the papers delivered at the NAMT's 4th Annual Conference at East Lansing. May be ordered from the NAMT, P.O. Box 4, Lawrence, Kansas. $5.20.

NRA Membership Letter

The Nov. 19, 1954, Active Associate Membership Letter of the National Recreation Association reports that a grant of $9,150 by the Nathan Hofheimer Foundation of New York City, will finance the production of the first educational film on the therapeutic value of recreation for patients in non government hospitals. Beatrice Hill, NRA Hospital Consultant, developed the project. The film, to be three reels in color and sound, is expected to be available in the fall. The Membership Letter reports also that several hospital recreation job openings are listed with the NRA's Recreation Personnel Service. Vacancies are reported in children's homes, homes for the aged, and other agencies in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, with salaries ranging from $3,000 to $5,000.

Report From St. Louis

The December 1954 issue of Intercom, the American National Red Cross monthly exchange of recreation ideas, contains an excellent report on the sixth program meeting of the Hospital Recreation Section of the American Recreation Society and the hospital section meetings of the 36th National Recreation Congress. This complete report is recommended to those interested in the latest thinking of members of a highly respected professional group on such controversial issues as basic concepts, standards and training, and professional education in hospital recreation.

Work Simplification

The solutions to many of the problems encountered by hospital recreation personnel are found in the effective use of management systems. Some 30 hospital recreation functions which have been systematized effectively and eight types of management devices which have been used successfully, along with selected sources of relevant information, appear in the Sept. 1954 issue of American National Red Cross Intercom, under "The Conduct of Recreation in Hospitals." This topic will be explored further at the Second Southern Regional Conference on Hospital Recreation at the Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, April 3 6. Therefore, those who have discovered or used simpler ways of performing their hospital recreation duties are invited to share these experience with others at the April conference or through this column.

Relevant Studies

The following six studies have come to the attention of your editor:

Morimoto, Francoise R., and Milton Greenblatt, M.D., "Personnel Awareness of Patients' Socializing Capacity," American Journal of Psychiatry, Dec. 1953. The pre-hospitalization leisure-time pursuits of 30 female patients on an acute ward at the Boston Psychopathic Hospital, and the awareness of these pursuits on the part of 17 nursing personnel, were determined through interviews with patients' families and with personnel involved. The study concludes that "It is clear that nurses are very often unaware of the socializing capacities of their patients. Without this information...many opportunities to help them emerge from their withdrawn state are missed."

Hyde, Robert W., M.D., and Barbara Scott, "The Occupational Therapy Research Laboratory." Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation, June 1951. This study describes a test battery developed at the Boston Psychopathic Hospital, consisting of materials for recreation, reading, arts, crafts, and work, which approximate a variety of life situations. The method of presenting these materials and observing patient behavior is organized, and examples of the user are illustrated. The possibilities of using this method and/or modifications thereof in recreational therapy seem to be implied.

Hyde, Robert W., M.D., Richard York, and Anne C. Wood, "Effectiveness of Games in a Mental Hospital," Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation, 1948. This study reports on a series of 43 fifteen-minute observations to investigate interpersonal reactions in activities in the smoking room of a combination admission and disturbed male ward of the Boston Psychopathic Hospital. It was found that if supplies are readily available, games may be initiated spontaneously by patients without personnel assistance. However, personnel are needed for the fullest patient participation and socialization. Other factors affecting fullest participation are size of group, type of game, and leadership characteristics of patients.

Hyde, Robert W., M.D., "Factors in Group Motivation in a Mental Hospital," The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, March 1953. This is a more comprehensive report of the above study which delves into the relative effectiveness of types of hospital personnel in promoting patient interaction, for the most part through games. Several corrective changes at Boston Psychopathic Hospital as a result of the study are noted.

Fields, Beatrice, "Music as an Adjunct in the Treatment of Brain-Damaged Patients," American Journal of Physical Medicine, Oct 1954. This study includes 28 adult hemiplegic and paraplegic patients treated in the Institute for the Crippled and Disabled in New York City over a three-year period. The methods of treatment employed with four of the 24 patients when increased their capacity for purposeful movement, are discussed in detail. In this treatment, the use of music was focused less upon its value as a stimulus to effect emotional changes, than to promote muscular activity and coordination. The study suggests the value of music as an adjunct to treatment in the area of coordinated motion.

Shatin, Leo, Thomas Gilmore, M.D., and Wallace Kotter, "A Study of the Relationship Between Music and Post-Electroshock Awakening," Diseases of the Nervous System, Aug. 1954. In investigating the effect of music upon the speed of awakening after shock, at the VA hospital in Albany, N. Y., three conditions were created: silence, bright jazz, and quiet classical music. In the statistical analyses of data, small sample techniques were required. Reasonable hypotheses inferred from this study are: "Bright jazz accentuates the confusion induced by EST"; "Bright jazz results in greater rapidity of awakening after EST."

CAHR Meeting

The Council for the Advancement of Hospital Recreation met in New York City Feb. 18 at the home of Mrs. Beatrice H. Hill, hospital recreation consultant for the National Recreation Association. Martin W. Meyer, chairman of the AAHPER Recreational Therapy Section chaired the meeting.

An operating code for the Council was adopted, subject to final approval of the member organizations.

The Council's tentative hospital recreation personnel standards were reevaluated and only minor changes were made. These standards now await the approval of Council member organizations for final adoption.

A committee was appointed to explore the advisability and methods of certifying and registering hospital recreation personnel following adoption of the personnel standards. The merits of amalgamating into one group those professional organizations having members performing recreation functions in hospitals and institutions were discussed at some length but with no clear-cut line of action being indicated at this time.

Tentative and general offers of a "home" for the Council, which would include some type of secretarial assistance, were evaluated; consequently, a committee was appointed to study the Council's need for an Executive Secretary and to identify the functions of such an officer, if needed.

The Council went on record as commending those institutions which have conducted hospital recreation institutes and courses of instruction on the content and cooperative scheduling of these training opportunities. Although the Council recognized that it cannot dictate the actions of colleges and universities, it was agreed to encourage such institutions to consult with the Council prior to the offering of pre- and in service training in this professional area.

Participation by the Council in the 1956 International Recreation Congress was approved; the Council's letterhead was adopted; the official clearance for the publication of information on the Council was left to the discretion of those writing and publishing such information. Council members agreed to give consideration to the publication of an Annual Review of Hospital Recreation. The next meeting of the Council will be held in Washington, D. C., June 3 at AAHPER headquarters.

Significant VA Developments

At the more than 170 Veterans Administration hospitals and domiciliaries, Special Service, which is charged with the conduct of station recreation and library programs and with the coordination of all station voluntary services, early this year was made a component of the Professional Services. This conforms to the pattern established at the Central Office level some time ago and is interpreted generally as recognizing the material assistance which, for nearly a decade, this service has contributed to the care and treatment of patients and members.

The VA has also approved, on a pilot study basis, affiliation between its hospitals at Lebanon (NP) and Pittsburgh (GM&S) and the Pennsylvania State University, for the purpose of providing recreation student trainee opportunities this semester for two of the university's senior recreation students. These students work and undergo training full-time for a minimum of eight weeks at the hospital, without compensation except for quarters and subsistence. Normally, student trainee affiliations are developed at the hospital and university level and receive final approval from VA's Central Office.

News Items

· Including all visitors, 322 persons registered for the Tenth Annual Activity Therapies Institute of the Illinois Department of Public Welfare conducted in August 1954 at Jacksonville, Ill. The 36-page Summary of Sessions, published for use in the state of Illinois, indicated that the largest number in attendance were recreation workers.

· The National Wheelchair Basketball Association has published its 21-page 1955 Official Rules. Free copies may be obtained from either Tim J. Nugent, supervisor, Student Rehabilitation Center, University of Illinois, Champaign, or Joseph J. Klauser, 2061 St. Raymond Ave., Bronx 62, N. Y.

· Springfield College, Mass., tentatively plans to offer two-week courses in "Survey of Recreation in Rehabilitation" and in "Adapted Physical Education" during the 1955 summer session. Further information may be obtained from Cecil W. Morgan, Director of Courses in Rehabilitation at Springfield.

· Hunter College in New York City is offering a non credit evening adult course in "Recreation for the Ill and Handicapped" during the current semester. Further information may be obtained from Morton Thompson of the college's Physical Education and Recreation Department.

INDEX OF SELECTED ITEMS FROM THIS COLUMN, 1952-55

In order to facilitate reference, there are listed below, chronologically and by general interest category, selected items which have appeared in this column during the past three years.

Bibliographical References

Employment Opportunities

Professional Preparation

Medical Observations

Professional Affiliations

Research

Program

Selecting Activities and Methods

The following five professional papers point up certain factors which should be considered in the selection of activities and methods, especially in working with the mentally and physically handicapped. The papers also suggest an area in which further research is indicated.

Sutton-Smith, Brian, and Paul Gump, "Games and Status Experience," Recreation, April 1955. Classifies games in terms of the kinds of status positions children may take in participating in them. Knowledge of the factors discussed should enable the recreation leader to select and conduct games so as to provide participants experiences they need to have. Status positions include, among others, those of leader, follower, attacker, defender, taunter, and taunted. Among the classifications analyzed are ritual dramatic games, skill dramatic games, "it" games, pack team games, individual skill games, and team sports.

Walters, C. Etta, "A Sociometric Study of Motivated and Non-Motivated Bowling Groups," Research Quarterly, March 1955. In an analysis of changes in social adjustment of motivated and non-motivated college women groups in a seven-week bowling class, two conclusions appear to be indicated: (1) motivated groups are more closely knit than non motivated groups; and (2) the better performer is more readily accepted as a member of the group than is the poorer performer.

Gump, Paul V. and Brian Sutton-Smith, "The 'It' Role in Children's Games," The Group, February 1955. Reports a study in a larger research to determine how ingredients of activities affect group behavior. In "it" games, a central person acts in opposition to the "pack." The power of "it" is shaped by game conditions, e.g., "it" may or may not be permitted to set the time and place of his encounter with certain members of the "pack." In this study of 40 boy campers, ages 7-10, it was observed that high-power "it" roles lead to less failure for "it," to fewer negative reactions of the "pack" toward "it," and to a more positive feeling of "it" about himself and his situation. Under certain conditions unskilled players can be helped to more frequent success and to less negative experience if placed in high-power, rather than low-power "it" roles.

Kraus, Richard, "Damaging Personalities Through Recreation," Journal of the AAHPER, April 1954. Clearly points up the fact that the amount of laughter generated by a recreation activity is not necessarily a valid index of its success. It shows with concrete examples how dramatics and games can be harmful to minority groups of several types. It accentuates the need for the recreation leader to intervene when a socially withdrawn individual is being hurt. It invites attention to the fact that an individual forced by social pressure to react brutally with the group may be hurt as much as the person being victimized. Activities must be selected for the social attitudes they foster rather than for the laughs they promise to get.

West, Wilbur D., "Group Games--A Psychological Appraisal," Journal of Health and Physical Education, April 1938. This not-too-recent paper points to the two fundamental psychological principles which are violated in the conduct of activities based on the principle of elimination of lesser skilled performers. These are: (1) that learning requires activity with the elimination of errors; and (2) that motivation is not inherent in failure. The author contends that activities based on the principle of elimination accentuate the feeling of inferiority on the part of the lesser skilled. To eliminate this potential hazard in dodgeball, he suggests a modification in rules to score on the basis of the number of opponents hit during a given time (with these remaining in the circle) rather than upon the amount of time it takes to eliminate all opponents.

News Items

· The California State Personnel Board has announced a nationwide civil service examination for recreation therapists for Oct. 27, with an application deadline of Oct. 6. To qualify, recreation therapists must be college graduates. For further information, write the board at 801 Capitol Ave., Sacramento 14, Calif.

· Page 94 (Medicine) of the March 28 issue of Time contains an article entitled "Theatrical Therapy" which should be of significance to those engaged in the use of dramatics for mentally ill patients.

· At the April 19 meeting of the AAHPER Eastern District Recreational Therapy Section, in Boston, B. F. Fiore, recreation chief at VA Hospital, Northampton, Mass., and Ralph H. Plumb, recreation chief at VA Center, Bath, N. Y., were elected Chairman-elect and Secretary-elect of the Section, respectively.

· In May the Veterans Administration standardized the uniforms to be worn by Adapted Sports Supervisors and Leaders in the conduct of sports at all VA hospitals and domiciliaries.

· According to the program for the 3rd Annual Wheelchair Basketball Banquet at Champaign, Ill., May 23, the National Wheelchair Basketball Association now boasts 36 teams and three conferences from coast to coast. Member teams are reported to have contributed in excess of $300,000 through the medium of wheelchair basketball, to several of our national health foundations and other worthy causes.

· The May issue of the Bulletin of the National Association for Music Therapy contains the feature "Recent Publications Relating to Music Therapy." Herein are selected and annotated publications in this professional area which have appeared during the past academic year. This is an annual feature of the Bulletin.

· The May issue of Recreation announces a monthly column pertaining to hospital recreation entitled "Hospital Capsules." The column will be written by Beatrice H. Hill, consultant in hospital recreation for the National Recreation Association.

· The Council for the Advancement of Hospital Recreation held its fifth meeting at the NEA offices in Washington, D. C., on June 3. Major discussion topics included the proposed CAHR personnel standards, the need for an executive secretary for CAHR, the registration of hospital recreation personnel, plans for future CAHR meetings, and the VA's tentative plans for the utilization of college recreation student trainees at selected hospitals.

· The June issue of Intercom contains an index to Vol. VIII, June 1954 - June 1955, of this popular and useful publication of the American National Red Cross. Intercom is an excellent medium for the exchange of ideas especially for those conducting recreation in military hospitals.

· Twenty-two of the 26 students registered for the two-weeks, two-credit summer session course in Recreation in Rehabilitation at Springfield College, Mass., in July were from VA hospitals and centers. Director for the course was Cecil W. Morgan, chairman-elect of AAHPER's National Recreational Therapy Section.

· Section 9 of the Proceedings of the Sixth Mental Hospital Institute entitled "The Psychiatric Hospital: A Community Resource," published by the American Psychiatric Association, 1955, contains a report of an afternoon meeting on "Recreation in Mental Hospitals." Robert W. Hyde, M.D., assistant superintendent of the Boston Psychopathic Hospital, was discussion leader. The report presents the "average" physician's point of view.

Recreation for the Handicapped

Prentice-Hall, Inc., has recently released a 340 page text with this title by Valerie V. Hunt, University of California at Los Angeles. In this rapidly developing area of recreation, the publication is a much needed and valuable contribution. Because of its broad scope, its sound philosophy and its good documentation, it is predicted that it will be well received as a basic text in our professional area.

In Part I, the author surveys the nature of man and his environment and the interaction between them. Observing that tension is high in people who do things with difficulty, and recognizing the role of recreation in the alleviation of tension, she directs her attention to people with specific disabilities and their needs, rather than to specific areas of recreation activity. This is a refreshing point of view in a professional area where all too often the concern is a defined area of activity rather than people with handicaps.

In Part II, chapters are devoted to 13 categories of handicapped persons. Each chapter describes the background of the disability and discusses the implications for recreation. Consequently, for any major handicap, the reader is favored with the "why" as well as the "how" of recreation.

The following seems to express well the author's views concerning the role of recreation in rehabilitation. "Whether activities so designed are therapeutic or even recreational depends upon the leader and his goals. If his primary goal is therapy, his charges are likely to enjoy their recreation less unless he possesses personal qualities that infectiously stimulate their enthusiasm and interest. On the other hand, if his primary goal is recreation, less therapy results unless he constantly re-analyzes recreation to find its meanings for people."

Swimming for the Handicapped

In June, the American Red Cross published a much needed 60-page instructor's manual, Swimming for the Handicapped. In it, specific programs are described for the following six types of disabilities: temporary orthopedic, permanent due to loss of body parts, paralysis due to injury or disease, permanent due to cardiac deficiency, permanent due to sight and hearing deficiencies, and mental illness. For each type, there is presented a description of the condition, the values of swimming for the type, the objectives for the type, the skills to be taught to meet the objectives, and teaching suggestions.

Further information relative to the availability of the manual may be obtained from local Red Cross chapters or from area offices at 615 North St. Aspah Street, Alexandria, VA.; 230 Spring St., N.W., Atlanta 3, Ga.; 4050 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis 8, Mo.,; and 1550 Sutter St., San Francisco 1, Calif.

Working with the Handicapped

The Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., 155 East 44th St., New York 17, has published (1954) a 127-page booklet entitled Working with the Handicapped, which should prove to be a good source of information for those working with handicapped girls, ages 7 to 17. Covered in discussions are the blind and partially sighted, deaf and hard of hearing, orthopedically handicapped, epileptic, tuberculous, retarded, delinquent, cardiac, and mentally ill. There is a classified bibliography. Price 75 cents.

Physical Therapy Consultant

The Surgeon General of the United States Air Force has appointed E. Jane Carlin as National Physical Therapy Consultant. Miss Carlin is Assistant Director and Assistant Professor of The Division of Physical Therapy, University of Pennsylvania; Editor in Chief of the Physical Therapy Review; A Member of the Board of Directors and a Speaker of the House of Delegates of The American Physical Therapy Association. As a National Civilian Consultant to the Surgeon General USAF, she will serve in an advisory capacity on matters concerning Physical Therapy.

Therapist or Recreator...1780

To many, Florence Nightingale, who planned activity as a necessary supportive measure for wounded soldiers of the 1854 Crimean War, is considered the "mother" of hospital recreation. Establishing soldiers' clubs, reading rooms, recreation rooms, and providing for attendance at concerts and lectures, her primary interest in recreation seems to have been its contribution to morale.

In 1780, there was published in Paris, a text, Gymnastique Medicinale et Churigicale, by Clement Joseph Tissot, which recommended and prescribed recreation activities as therapeutic exercise. Two sections of this text have been translated by Dr. Sidney Licht in the April 1949 issue of Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation. Quoting from the translation, "Convalescents having acquired greater strength...may proceed to horseback riding..." Further reference is made to short trips and hunting for convalescents which "induces perspiration and recreates the mind at the same time that it fatigues the body."

Speaking of stiffness in the elbow joint, "...what could be more fitting in filling the remedial objectives than...playing the violin or fencing! What exercises more pleasant and moderate than billiards, quoits, ninepins, etc!" The author goes on to extol the merits of shuttlecock and tennis and concludes with "The inflated ball, which requires more strength and nerve to throw, would complete the cure which was begun by the other activities."

In discussing disabilities of the wrist and fingers, Tissot speaks of "playing the violin, the cithern, fingering the harpsichord, etc., of sewing, weaving, writing, etc., etc...." With reference to the lower extremities, Tissot points up the therapeutic use of "billiards, quoits, swimming, etc.," and recommends "shuttle-cock, tennis, mall, football, dancing...hunting."

Is it more reasonable to think of Florence Nightingale as a "therapist" than it is to think of Tissot as a "recreator?"

Management Improvement

The hospital presents one of the most complicated situations in which the recreation director must work. Consequently, many so employed find it difficult to avoid becoming so engrossed in detail that they have little time available to work with patients. There follows a list of unselected suggestions which have helped some hospital recreation directors improve the management of their programs:

· Do not undertake to perform duties which can and should be delegated to your staff or be performed by another office.

· Schedule your incoming and outgoing telephone calls and personal appointments so that you can complete necessary tasks uninterrupted.

· Put your thoughts and appointments on paper immediately.

· Plan ahead on paper the things you have to do.

· List your next day's projects (preferably in order of priority) before leaving the office in the evening.

· Set up "pending" files for correspondence to be answered, and things to be done.

· Date every memorandum, letter, file, notation, etc., when you start to write.

· Develop a system for retaining for ready reference, ideas gleaned from the professional literature and other sources. (Reprints of many articles appearing in professional journals may be obtained from their authors.)

· Maintain a current list or file of often-used telephone numbers and addresses.

· Study your own repetitive tasks, then develop improved routines and use them to free your mind for more important ideas.

· Use postcards for timely, friendly informal notes, orders, requests, etc.

· Use a rubber stamp or stickers with your name and mailing address.

· Solicit and capitalize on suggestions from new members of your staff.

Those who have discovered other ways of improving management of their programs are invited to share these experiences with others through this column.

Individual Treatment Through Recreation

The September 1955 issue of Mental Hospitals reports a program developed at St. Joseph Sanitarium, Dubuque, Iowa in which affiliate student nurses are assigned as special friends and companions of patients, daily spending one or two hours with them in their hobbies and recreation. Since the development of the program, 242 student nurses have given patients reassurance and support, given the hospital an "at home" atmosphere, and at the same time gotten a better understanding of patients and their symptoms. Physicians are reported to have benefitted also through the nurses' reports.

New officers, Hospital Section ARS

The Executive Committee of the Hospital Section of the American Recreation Society has announced the following officers for the section for the year 1955 56: Chairman--Edith Ball; Vice-Chairman--James F. Pratt; Secretary--Ruth Flannery.

Art Contest for Handicapped

As a means of dramatically illustrating through the use of fine art the rehabilitation and employment potential of the handicapped, a national art contest for the handicapped was launched at the National Gallery of Art, Nov. 6. Sponsors are the President's Committee on Employment of the Physically Handicapped; the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare; the Veterans Administration; and the Morris Morgenstern Foundation, a private philanthropic fund that is defraying the costs.

The contest ends May 1, 1956; it is open to all amateur artists who are handicapped, whether or not hospitalized. For further information, including application blanks, writhe the National Art Contest for the Handicapped, c/o Morris Morgenstern Foundation, 119 W. 57th St., New York, N. Y.

Slow Pitch Softball

The Volume 1955, No. 4 issue of Rawlings Roundup, published by the Rawlings Sporting Good Company, 2300 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis 3, Mo., contains an informative article on Slow Pitch Softball. This article describes the merits and significant rules differences of this fast growing sport which appears to be particularly adaptable for use with the ill and disabled.

Hospital Recreation Conference

More than 100 professional recreation personnel and consulting physicians participated in the Second Southern Regional Conference on Hospital Recreation, conducted at the University of North Carolina in April. Evidence of the productivity of this training institute is contained in the report of the conference, published by the North Carolina Recreation Commission (Education Building Annex, Raleigh) as Bulletin No. 17, Recreation for the Patient.

The keynote address by Alexander Reid Martin, M.D., chm. of the Standing Committee on Cooperation with Leisure Time Agencies of the American Psychiatric Association, offered a material contribution to the philosophy of leisure and recreation in this modern era. Copies may be obtained by writing the Director of the Conference, Box 1139, Chapel Hill, N. C.

Disabilities in Sportsmen

In order to have at hand the means of encouraging patients unduly depressed by physical disability, H. J. C. J. L'Etang, Medical Officer, N. Thames Gas Board, some years ago started to collect extracts from newspapers and sports literature concerning the disabilities of first-class sportsmen. The results of Dr. L'Etang's investigation are published in the May 1955 issue of The Practitioner (London) in an article entitled "Physical Disabilities in Sportsmen."

The article contains an accounting of international sportsmen, including those in the United States, with medical histories of injury and disease of the special sense organs, the skeletal system, the vertebrae and intervertebral discs, and who have had multiple injuries and systemic disorders and who later have experienced success in a variety of popular sports. This is a fascinating, well-documented source for those engaged in the teaching or conduct of sports for the handicapped.

Inter-State News

The July-August 1955 issue of this publication, the journal of the National Association of Recreational Therapists, contains an excellent article entitled "The Psychodynamics in Music Therapy." The title could just as appropriately be "The Psychodynamics in Recreational Therapy." It is recommended reading for all recreation personnel who work with the mentally ill.

Paraplegics in Sports

Howard. A Rusk devotes two columns to this topic in a Sunday edition (Oct. 9) of The New York Times. Reporting the victories of the Pan Am Jets in basketball, Javelin-throwing, and table tennis doubles in the Fourth International paralympics held this summer at Stoke-Mandeville just outside London, Dr. Rusk underscores the creed of National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week, "Ability, Not Disability, County."

The Jets are all paraplegic employees of Pan American World Airways who both work and play from wheelchairs. The Stoke-Mandeville games were started eight years ago; this year 280 paralyzed contestants from 17 lands competed in such events as archery, darts, basketball, billiards, table tennis, swimming, and fencing. The games were directed by their originator, Dr. Ludwig Guttman, director of Stoke-Mandeville, with the support of the World Veterans Federation.

The column, well worth reading, further reports the recent forming of an All Sports Committee for the Paralyzed to raise funds through sporting events to advance research and professional training in paraplegia.

Accepts New Post

Oct. 7, Cecil W. Morgan, chairman-elect of AAHPER's Recreational Therapy Section, and who for the past two years has been Director of Courses in Rehabilitation at Springfield College, was named Director of Adult Vocational Services of United Cerebral Palsy. In his new capacity, Dr. Morgan will help to develop a national program of rehabilitation for adults with cerebral palsy which will include their vocational guidance. He will also assist United Cerebral Palsy affiliates in expanding and establishing local facilities for the vocational training and placement of the Cerebral Palsied.

Pioneer Retires

John Eisele Davis, pioneer in the development of recreation for the treatment of the mentally ill, retired from the Veterans Administration Sept. 30, having been with the VA since 1922. For approximately the past decade, Dr. Davis was Chief of Corrective Therapy in the VA's Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service in Washington, D. C.

Dr. Davis collaborated with Dr. William Rush Dunton in 1933 in the publication of the first text on recreational therapy published in this country. His latest contribution to this professional area is his Clinical Applications of Recreational Therapy. Dr. Davis is a fellow of the AAHPER; he is generally acknowledged to be the founder of the Association of Physical and Mental Rehabilitation, affiliate of AAHPER.

NYU Institute

The Second Biennial Institute on Hospital Recreation, sponsored jointly by the New York University and the National Recreation Association, will be held at the university Jan. 18-20, 1956. This will be a special workshop in Recreation for the Ill and Handicapped Senior Citizen in Hospitals, homes, and Institutions. The registration fee will be $5. For further information write Edith L. Ball, assistant professor of education, New York University, School of Education, Washington Sq., New York 3, N. Y.

Music Therapy

One of the most complete and yet concise statements on music in hospitals which has come to the attention of your editor is contained in a brochure recently published by the National Association for Music Therapy entitled, Music Therapy--What and Why.

Covered in the pamphlet are the background, rationale, program, methods, administration, personnel qualifications and training, and reference sources for this professional area. Copies may be obtained from the Public Relations Chairman, Myrtle Fish Thompson, Director of Music Therapy, Essex Co., Overbrook Hospital, Cedar Grove, N. J., by forwarding with your request a self-addressed stamped envelope.

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