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January 25, 2003
Recreational Therapy will be a visible presence at the National Alzheimer’s Association Conference
The 11th National Alzheimer's Disease Education Conference will focus on the changing face of Alzheimer's disease, providing person-centered care, developing quality staff and providing quality care, and improving systems of care and this year’s conference will include a highly visible presence by the American Therapeutic Recreation Association.
The conference will hold poster sessions highlighting nationwide Alzheimer research initiatives and programs, including three sessions presented by recreational therapists and ATRA members. Poster sessions are designed to allow presenters to interact one-on-one with participants and share best-practice advice and information, affording these individuals with a wonderful opportunity to educate conference attendees about the value of recreational therapy services for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
Dr. Linda Buettner, CTRS and her colleague Suzanne Fitzsimmons, MS, RN, GNP from the Center for Positive Aging at Florida’s Gulf Coast University were notified that their session titled “ Evidence Based Practice for Disturbing Behaviors: A Guideline for Recreational Therapists”, has been accepted for this years conference. Additionally Buettner and Fitzsimmons will be presenting “Health Promotion for the Mind, Body, and Spirit: a college course for persons with mild dementia”.
Dr. Nancy Richeson, CTRS will be presenting a session titled, “"Who Let the Dogs Out? An Animal-Assisted Therapy Outcome Study for Older Adults with Dementia.” highlighting research on the effects of Animal-Assisted Therapy on the Agitated Behaviors of older Adults with Dementia. The research promotes the use of recreational therapy interventions for decreasing disturbing behaviors of older adults with dementia. Richeson, from the University of Southern Maine states, “It is my hope that exposure to recreational therapy interventions by other health care professionals working with older adults with dementia will assist them to begin to recognize the importance of recreational therapy and its contribution to the healthcare team.”
ATRA has a reputation for significant advocacy efforts in the health care industry on behalf of its members. With the goal of reaching a national audience of decision-making health care professionals, ATRA has already secured a booth space at the conference. ATRA’s name will appear in the print and on-line versions of the registration book, to be viewed by more than 50,000 prospective attendees. Exhibiting at this conference provides the opportunity to share the exciting work that ATRA has been doing in the area of treatment for dementia, including ATRA's Dementia Clinical Practice Guidelines being released this year. ATRA President Glenn Thompson explains, “ATRA's Dementia Clinical Practice Guidelines represent an exciting advancement in the management of dementia. This publication provides a tool that can make a marked difference in the quality of life for a person living with dementia.
For more information, please contact the ATRA National Office at (703) 683-9420 or Laurie Jake, CTRS, ATRA Communications Coordinator at (480) 460-1525.
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The American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA) was founded in 1984 to advance the profession of therapeutic recreation. ATRA is a non-profit, professional membership organization dedicating 100% ofresources and efforts to promote therapeutic recreation professionals in health care and human service settings. For more information, please visit ATRA at www.atra-tr.org ..