NEWS RELEASE
May 4, 2004

Contact: Ann Huston, ATRA Executive Director
Phone: (703) 683-9420

Recreational Therapists Invited to Address 9th International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders

(Alexandria, VA) ATRA Member Dr. Linda Buettner, of the Florida Gulf Coast University has been invited to present her abstract, "Community of cognitive health: normalized services for families with dementia" at The Alzheimer's Association 9th International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease
and Related Disorders. According to the Alzheimer's Association, this conference will be the largest gathering of Alzheimer researchers in history. As many as 5,000 scientists from around the world will present and discuss the findings of 2,000 studies, showcasing the newest treatment
advances in Alzheimer's disease and steps toward prevention. The Conference will be held July 17-22, 2004, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA. In addition, Buettner, along with fellow ATRA members Dr. Nancy Richeson from the University of Southern Maine and Marcia Shalek from Massachusetts, were accepted to do poster presentation sessions at the National Alzheimer's conference entitled, "Air Mat Therapy for the Treatment of Agitated Wandering: An Evidence-Based Recreational Therapy Intervention."

ATRA has secured exhibit space at the conferences with the goal of reaching an international audience of decision-making health care professionals. According to association leaders, "Exhibiting at this conference provides the opportunity to share the exciting work that ATRA has been doing in the area of treatment for dementia. "Richeson states, "It is my hope that exposure to recreational therapy interventions by other health care professionals working with older adults with dementia will help them begin to recognize the importance of recreational therapy and its contribution to the healthcare team." Recently Richeson wrote a book review for the ATRA Dementia Practice Guidelines that was accepted for publication by the American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and the American Journal of Recreation Therapy. Richeson, who participated in part of the development of the guidelines, shared her enthusiasm of the publication, authored by principle investigators Buettner and Sue Fitzsimmons, also from Florida Gulf Coast University.

According to ATRA President Melinda Conway Callahan "Dr Richeson & Dr. Buettner have been dynamic leaders for innovative research and treatment techniques for recreational therapy. They have a long history of providing leadership and identifying critical outcome indicators for our profession." When asked about her upcoming presentations and the attention that the
Dementia Practice Guidelines have received in the Geriatric field, Richeson explains, "People are interested in what we are doing in recreational therapy."

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The American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA) was founded in 1984 to advance the the profession of therapeutic recreation. ATRA is a non-profit professional membership organization dedicating 100% of resources and efforts to promote therapeutic recreation professionals in health care and human service settings. For more information, please contact the ATRA National Office