For 25 Years, Therapy on the Slopes
DREAM Adaptive gives recreation opportunities to people with disabilities
DREAM Adaptive Recreation volunteer Bob Zahller, center, helps guide Phillip Sotello into a turn while descending Big Mountain under Chair Six at Whitefish Mountain Resort as Ryan McCoy follows closely behind. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon
By Myers Reece, 01-12-10
WHITEFISH MOUNTAIN RESORT – The therapy is in the snow. It’s on the mountains, in the base lodge and on the bus rides.
Once a week during winter, high school students with disabilities head to Whitefish Mountain Resort to ski, train for the Special Olympics and, above all, have a lot of fun. For many of them, it’s unlike any other experience of their lives.
Their ticket to the mountain is DREAM Adaptive Recreation Inc., an organization established in 1985 to give disabled children and adults access to recreational opportunities in the Flathead Valley. DREAM stands for “Disabled Recreation and Environmental Access Movement.”
“There’s a huge amount of emotional therapy involved in being able to finally go out and finally access these things,” said Bruce Gibson, DREAM’s program director.
Twenty-five years ago, a small group of Flathead residents set out to expand accessibility to both recreational locations and activities for people with special needs. This was five years before the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Among the earliest leaders of this forward-thinking group were Dottie Maitland, Larry Dominick, Dennis Jones and Jane Lopp. They collaborated with the U.S. Forest Service and other agencies to create Glacier National Park’s Trail of the Cedars, a hiking trail that is conducive to disabled access, with a paved portion and a boardwalk.
In addition, they worked on accessibility surveys, along with projects at Foys Lake and Woodland Park, Lopp said. And they created perhaps their most defining legacy, the ski program at Whitefish Mountain Resort. Lopp is pleased to see Gibson continuing and expanding upon DREAM’s vision.
“I’m so glad Bruce is doing all he’s doing,” Lopp said.
The kids who traveled up to Whitefish Mountain Resort last week attend Glacier and Flathead high schools. They represent only a percentage of the total population that DREAM serves. The organization works with roughly 200 people with disabilities each year, Gibson said, about two-thirds of whom are kids.
The nonprofit assists people of many different disabilities, both physical and cognitive. The list includes cerebral palsy, autism, muscle degeneration, Down syndrome, amputees, paraplegics and others. Gibson is the only full-time staff member. The rest are volunteers.
“We have people that can work with about anyone,” Gibson said. “It’s pretty much across the board.”
DREAM Adaptive differs somewhat from the Bozeman-based Eagle Mount program, mostly in the area of professional therapy. Eagle Mount is more therapy based, while DREAM is more recreation based, Gibson said. But Gibson points out: “Therapy comes from getting out and skiing.”
“They’re structured a little bit differently, but for the most part they’re doing the same thing,” Gibson said.
The nonprofit also started a summer program in 2009 with water skiing, tubing and kayaking at Echo Lake. The program will continue, and perhaps expand, in future summers, Gibson said.
The “adaptive” skiing movement started in Colorado in the late 1970s, Gibson said. It has grown exponentially since then. There are adaptive programs in countries such as New Zealand and France, as well as in other states, but Gibson said “almost everything adaptive comes out of Colorado.” DREAM’s program was modeled after one in Winter Park, Colo.
DREAM Adaptive doesn’t charge for any of its services. It relies on community donations, grants and a large fundraiser held each year on the Friday before Valentine’s Day. The event, scheduled for Feb. 12 at the Hilton Garden Inn this year, features live big band music, dancing, dinner and auctions – both live and silent.
Also, the organization negotiates a yearly agreement with Whitefish Mountain Resort. It receives an unlimited amount of lower chairlift tickets for its participants and a fixed amount for the higher lifts. Volunteers who don’t have season passes get free tickets. When their volunteer time is done each day, they are free to use the rest of the day to ski.
The resort also provides DREAM with senior ski instructors and storage space. The required equipment list for skiers with disabilities is fairly large, including both bi and mono sit-skis, outriggers, gadgets that can either help spread legs or keep skis together, and more.
“Sometimes we just invent something based on individual needs,” Gibson said.
Volunteers must be intermediate skiers or better. Beyond that, they need no prior experience, Gibson said. After signing up, they take a training session. Then they are paired with skiers, with the advanced volunteers taking on more difficult tasks like guiding sit-skiers.
Gibson said his organization also seeks “off-snow” volunteers. These volunteers help with tasks such as grant writing and preparing for fundraisers. Donations are always needed as well, he said.
Last week was Chuck Cassidy’s first day as a ski volunteer, though he has followed the DREAM program for years. His son, Mark, has been skiing since 2004 and was one of the more accomplished skiers on the mountain on Jan. 7, if not the most enthusiastic. The gregarious 18-year-old Cassidy, a senior at Glacier High who has a learning disability, begins preparing for ski days a week ahead of time, his father said.
Cassidy, who saw many different school systems in his travels with the Navy, said the Kalispell school district has the best recreational program for kids with disabilities that he has seen. The district’s collaboration with DREAM is just one example, he said. There are also opportunities for activities such as softball, bocce, track and basketball.
“It’s really an awesome program,” Cassidy said. “The valley should be proud.”
Of the 13 high school students who skied last week, 12 were from Glacier and one was from Flathead, said Jodie McGough, who is the special education instructor at Glacier. A few of the regulars didn’t make the trip because of the cold.
The students ski with DREAM eight days per year to train for the Special Olympics, said Jenny Griswold, who teaches at Glacier and runs the Special Olympics program there.
“A lot of our kids never even have a chance to go fast in their lives,” Griswold said. “That’s why we’re up here when it’s 10 below.”
She added: “DREAM is the only way we have access to this.”
For more information on DREAM Adaptive Recreation Inc., and how to contribute, call (406) 862-1817, e-mail at dreamadaptive@yahoo.comor mail to P.O. Box 4084, Whitefish, MT 59937.
DREAM Adaptive Recreation volunteer Bob Zahller, center, helps guide Phillip Sotello into a turn while descending Big Mountain under Chair Six at Whitefish Mountain Resort as Ryan McCoy follows closely behind. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon
By Myers Reece, 01-12-10
WHITEFISH MOUNTAIN RESORT – The therapy is in the snow. It’s on the mountains, in the base lodge and on the bus rides.
Once a week during winter, high school students with disabilities head to Whitefish Mountain Resort to ski, train for the Special Olympics and, above all, have a lot of fun. For many of them, it’s unlike any other experience of their lives.
Their ticket to the mountain is DREAM Adaptive Recreation Inc., an organization established in 1985 to give disabled children and adults access to recreational opportunities in the Flathead Valley. DREAM stands for “Disabled Recreation and Environmental Access Movement.”
“There’s a huge amount of emotional therapy involved in being able to finally go out and finally access these things,” said Bruce Gibson, DREAM’s program director.
Twenty-five years ago, a small group of Flathead residents set out to expand accessibility to both recreational locations and activities for people with special needs. This was five years before the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Among the earliest leaders of this forward-thinking group were Dottie Maitland, Larry Dominick, Dennis Jones and Jane Lopp. They collaborated with the U.S. Forest Service and other agencies to create Glacier National Park’s Trail of the Cedars, a hiking trail that is conducive to disabled access, with a paved portion and a boardwalk.
In addition, they worked on accessibility surveys, along with projects at Foys Lake and Woodland Park, Lopp said. And they created perhaps their most defining legacy, the ski program at Whitefish Mountain Resort. Lopp is pleased to see Gibson continuing and expanding upon DREAM’s vision.
“I’m so glad Bruce is doing all he’s doing,” Lopp said.
The kids who traveled up to Whitefish Mountain Resort last week attend Glacier and Flathead high schools. They represent only a percentage of the total population that DREAM serves. The organization works with roughly 200 people with disabilities each year, Gibson said, about two-thirds of whom are kids.
The nonprofit assists people of many different disabilities, both physical and cognitive. The list includes cerebral palsy, autism, muscle degeneration, Down syndrome, amputees, paraplegics and others. Gibson is the only full-time staff member. The rest are volunteers.
“We have people that can work with about anyone,” Gibson said. “It’s pretty much across the board.”
DREAM Adaptive differs somewhat from the Bozeman-based Eagle Mount program, mostly in the area of professional therapy. Eagle Mount is more therapy based, while DREAM is more recreation based, Gibson said. But Gibson points out: “Therapy comes from getting out and skiing.”
“They’re structured a little bit differently, but for the most part they’re doing the same thing,” Gibson said.
The nonprofit also started a summer program in 2009 with water skiing, tubing and kayaking at Echo Lake. The program will continue, and perhaps expand, in future summers, Gibson said.
The “adaptive” skiing movement started in Colorado in the late 1970s, Gibson said. It has grown exponentially since then. There are adaptive programs in countries such as New Zealand and France, as well as in other states, but Gibson said “almost everything adaptive comes out of Colorado.” DREAM’s program was modeled after one in Winter Park, Colo.
DREAM Adaptive doesn’t charge for any of its services. It relies on community donations, grants and a large fundraiser held each year on the Friday before Valentine’s Day. The event, scheduled for Feb. 12 at the Hilton Garden Inn this year, features live big band music, dancing, dinner and auctions – both live and silent.
Also, the organization negotiates a yearly agreement with Whitefish Mountain Resort. It receives an unlimited amount of lower chairlift tickets for its participants and a fixed amount for the higher lifts. Volunteers who don’t have season passes get free tickets. When their volunteer time is done each day, they are free to use the rest of the day to ski.
The resort also provides DREAM with senior ski instructors and storage space. The required equipment list for skiers with disabilities is fairly large, including both bi and mono sit-skis, outriggers, gadgets that can either help spread legs or keep skis together, and more.
“Sometimes we just invent something based on individual needs,” Gibson said.
Volunteers must be intermediate skiers or better. Beyond that, they need no prior experience, Gibson said. After signing up, they take a training session. Then they are paired with skiers, with the advanced volunteers taking on more difficult tasks like guiding sit-skiers.
Gibson said his organization also seeks “off-snow” volunteers. These volunteers help with tasks such as grant writing and preparing for fundraisers. Donations are always needed as well, he said.
Last week was Chuck Cassidy’s first day as a ski volunteer, though he has followed the DREAM program for years. His son, Mark, has been skiing since 2004 and was one of the more accomplished skiers on the mountain on Jan. 7, if not the most enthusiastic. The gregarious 18-year-old Cassidy, a senior at Glacier High who has a learning disability, begins preparing for ski days a week ahead of time, his father said.
Cassidy, who saw many different school systems in his travels with the Navy, said the Kalispell school district has the best recreational program for kids with disabilities that he has seen. The district’s collaboration with DREAM is just one example, he said. There are also opportunities for activities such as softball, bocce, track and basketball.
“It’s really an awesome program,” Cassidy said. “The valley should be proud.”
Of the 13 high school students who skied last week, 12 were from Glacier and one was from Flathead, said Jodie McGough, who is the special education instructor at Glacier. A few of the regulars didn’t make the trip because of the cold.
The students ski with DREAM eight days per year to train for the Special Olympics, said Jenny Griswold, who teaches at Glacier and runs the Special Olympics program there.
“A lot of our kids never even have a chance to go fast in their lives,” Griswold said. “That’s why we’re up here when it’s 10 below.”
She added: “DREAM is the only way we have access to this.”
For more information on DREAM Adaptive Recreation Inc., and how to contribute, call (406) 862-1817, e-mail at dreamadaptive@yahoo.comor mail to P.O. Box 4084, Whitefish, MT 59937.
Labels: disabilities, skiing, Therapy
04 November 2009
Hyperbaric oxygen treatments effective for treating many disabilities
Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatments are effective for treating many disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy, according to an article on www.ehow.com.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatments also known HBO therapy was not intended to treat Cerebral Palsy or other brain injuries but when coupled with intensive physical and occupational therapy can be effective, according to the article.
The Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment Center website, which can be found at http://www.hypertc.com states that the treatment has also been effective for treating Cerebral Palsy, ,Autism, Strokes, Multiple Sclerosis and sports related injuries.
HBO therapy usually involves the patient being put into an inflatable “room” which is just big enough for a person to lie down or sit up in. The air pressure of the room is usually two to three times normal air pressure and it filled with 100% oxygen. The increase in air allows oxygen to flow to the patients organs and body tissue, according to a second article about HBO therapy on www.ehow.com.
The Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment Center states the one treatment session lasts an hour. Patients should have multiple treatments and the number will determined during an initial evaluation with their choose treatment center.
The cost varies depending on the number of treatments needed and type of chamber used. The website states that patients can read a book, listen to music, talk on their cell phone, play a handheld videogame and/or work on a laptop to occupy themselves while in the chamber.
People who are prone to ear infections, have ear canal or ear wax related problems should not have HBO treatments because the increased air pressures in the chamber can cause patients to feel pressure on their ears. It is recommended that patients try yawning and massaging their ears in order to relieve the pressure. People who are intoxicated or experiencing cold or flu symptoms should not have the treatments because it could be dangerous to them and others who use the chamber after them, according to the website.
People of all ages can have HBO therapy but it is more effective on young children because they are still developing. The Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment center is located in Cumming Georgia. Many other medical facilities have been known to offer the treatment. People and or family looking into this type of treatment should keep in mind that because it was not intended to treat brain injuries many insurance companies will not pay for it. As noted above the cost varies. According to the first article about HBO therapy on www.ehow.com the cost can range anywhere from $100-$250 per treatment depending on the type of chamber used.
Patients and their families also have the option of purchasing or renting a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, according to the treatment center’s website. Those who are interested in buying or renting a chamber should visit http://www.vitao2.com/index.cfm for details. Please note that a prescription is needed to complete either transaction.
Patients and families looking for further guidance or who are skeptical may want to take the time to read the testimonials of patients and families find on the Hyperbaric Oxygen Center’s website.
For more info visit: http://www.ehow.com/how_4465058_use-hyperbaric-chamber-therapy-cerebral.html
http://www.ehow.com/way_5273455_hyperbaric-chamber-therapy.html
http:// http://www.vitao2.com/index.cfm
http://www.hypertc.com
Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatments also known HBO therapy was not intended to treat Cerebral Palsy or other brain injuries but when coupled with intensive physical and occupational therapy can be effective, according to the article.
The Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment Center website, which can be found at http://www.hypertc.com states that the treatment has also been effective for treating Cerebral Palsy, ,Autism, Strokes, Multiple Sclerosis and sports related injuries.
HBO therapy usually involves the patient being put into an inflatable “room” which is just big enough for a person to lie down or sit up in. The air pressure of the room is usually two to three times normal air pressure and it filled with 100% oxygen. The increase in air allows oxygen to flow to the patients organs and body tissue, according to a second article about HBO therapy on www.ehow.com.
The Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment Center states the one treatment session lasts an hour. Patients should have multiple treatments and the number will determined during an initial evaluation with their choose treatment center.
The cost varies depending on the number of treatments needed and type of chamber used. The website states that patients can read a book, listen to music, talk on their cell phone, play a handheld videogame and/or work on a laptop to occupy themselves while in the chamber.
People who are prone to ear infections, have ear canal or ear wax related problems should not have HBO treatments because the increased air pressures in the chamber can cause patients to feel pressure on their ears. It is recommended that patients try yawning and massaging their ears in order to relieve the pressure. People who are intoxicated or experiencing cold or flu symptoms should not have the treatments because it could be dangerous to them and others who use the chamber after them, according to the website.
People of all ages can have HBO therapy but it is more effective on young children because they are still developing. The Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment center is located in Cumming Georgia. Many other medical facilities have been known to offer the treatment. People and or family looking into this type of treatment should keep in mind that because it was not intended to treat brain injuries many insurance companies will not pay for it. As noted above the cost varies. According to the first article about HBO therapy on www.ehow.com the cost can range anywhere from $100-$250 per treatment depending on the type of chamber used.
Patients and their families also have the option of purchasing or renting a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, according to the treatment center’s website. Those who are interested in buying or renting a chamber should visit http://www.vitao2.com/index.cfm for details. Please note that a prescription is needed to complete either transaction.
Patients and families looking for further guidance or who are skeptical may want to take the time to read the testimonials of patients and families find on the Hyperbaric Oxygen Center’s website.
For more info visit: http://www.ehow.com/how_4465058_use-hyperbaric-chamber-therapy-cerebral.html
http://www.ehow.com/way_5273455_hyperbaric-chamber-therapy.html
http:// http://www.vitao2.com/index.cfm
http://www.hypertc.com
Labels: disabilities, Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, Treatments
03 October 2009
SportsAbility to bring outdoor activities to those with disabilities
| Ocala.com | Star-Banner | Ocala, FL
By Andy Fillmore
Correspondent
Published: Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 6:30 a.m.
Diane Leaf has been toiling almost a year for grins.
Or, more specifically, smiles.
Since January, Leaf, program supervisor for the city of Ocala Recreation and Parks Department, has been working on a joint venture with Marion County Parks and Recreation and the Florida Disabled Outdoors Association to bring SportsAbility to the area.
SportsAbility - open to the public and free to participants and spectators - is a two-day event aimed at making park and outdoor leisure activities accessible to those who encounter barriers to healthful leisure time.
Leaf, a certified therapeutic recreation therapist, said the event will be fun for participants experiencing something they may never have done because conventional playground and sports equipment would not accommodate their wheelchairs or allow accessibility.
"My joy is seeing the smiling faces," Leaf said.
SportsAbility literature lists some benefits of outdoor activity as better overall health and avoiding additional health problems.
Everyone deserves the opportunity to be involved with healthful and relaxing leisure activities, Leaf said.
"Prior to the Americans with Disabilities Act, there may not have been the same opportunities," she said.
SportsAbility is a program of the Florida Disabled Outdoors Association. Outdoorsman David Jones founded the 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 1990 after a hunting accident left him with paralysis in his left side. He wanted to establish a means to allow people with varying physical capabilities to start or continue to enjoy the benefits of outdoor activities, Leaf said.
"Individuals have participated with conditions from arthritis to cerebral palsy," she added.
During the event, activities at the MLK Recreation Complex and the Ed Croskey Center's Hampton Aquatic Center from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday will include wheelchair basketball, adaptive golf and tennis, bocce, laser target shooting, an interactive fishing simulation and therapeutic horseback riding. An adaptive aquatics demonstration and pool party are on the agenda.
An exposition on the recreation complex grounds will include sponsor displays with information about adaptive equipment such as custom-made sit-to-ski chairs. The Pyramid Players, sponsored by the Marion County Children's Alliance, will provide song and dance entertainment at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
In the same timeframe Saturday, events will take place at the Carney Island Recreation and Conservation Area in Ocklawaha. They will include skiing programs by U Can Ski 2, sailing, canoeing, kayaking and pontoon boat rides. Also on tap are archery, target shooting, fishing and nature presentations.
A free hamburger and hot dog lunch will be available, while supplies last.
Therapeutic horseback riding also is planned that day, and Betty Gray of Stirrups 'n' Strides is planning to bring Morgan horses Barney and Knickee. Gray's daughter, Kathy, is a national award winner in Special Olympics riding.
"It's miraculous what riding has done for Kathy; she would likely be in a wheelchair without it," Gray said.
"Kathy plans to participate in the water sports on Saturday," she added.
Leaf said she hopes for a good turnout.
"I love to help people" in the therapeutic recreation setting, Leaf said. "That inspires me."
By Andy Fillmore
Correspondent
Published: Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 6:30 a.m.
Diane Leaf has been toiling almost a year for grins.
Or, more specifically, smiles.
Since January, Leaf, program supervisor for the city of Ocala Recreation and Parks Department, has been working on a joint venture with Marion County Parks and Recreation and the Florida Disabled Outdoors Association to bring SportsAbility to the area.
SportsAbility - open to the public and free to participants and spectators - is a two-day event aimed at making park and outdoor leisure activities accessible to those who encounter barriers to healthful leisure time.
Leaf, a certified therapeutic recreation therapist, said the event will be fun for participants experiencing something they may never have done because conventional playground and sports equipment would not accommodate their wheelchairs or allow accessibility.
"My joy is seeing the smiling faces," Leaf said.
SportsAbility literature lists some benefits of outdoor activity as better overall health and avoiding additional health problems.
Everyone deserves the opportunity to be involved with healthful and relaxing leisure activities, Leaf said.
"Prior to the Americans with Disabilities Act, there may not have been the same opportunities," she said.
SportsAbility is a program of the Florida Disabled Outdoors Association. Outdoorsman David Jones founded the 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 1990 after a hunting accident left him with paralysis in his left side. He wanted to establish a means to allow people with varying physical capabilities to start or continue to enjoy the benefits of outdoor activities, Leaf said.
"Individuals have participated with conditions from arthritis to cerebral palsy," she added.
During the event, activities at the MLK Recreation Complex and the Ed Croskey Center's Hampton Aquatic Center from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday will include wheelchair basketball, adaptive golf and tennis, bocce, laser target shooting, an interactive fishing simulation and therapeutic horseback riding. An adaptive aquatics demonstration and pool party are on the agenda.
An exposition on the recreation complex grounds will include sponsor displays with information about adaptive equipment such as custom-made sit-to-ski chairs. The Pyramid Players, sponsored by the Marion County Children's Alliance, will provide song and dance entertainment at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
In the same timeframe Saturday, events will take place at the Carney Island Recreation and Conservation Area in Ocklawaha. They will include skiing programs by U Can Ski 2, sailing, canoeing, kayaking and pontoon boat rides. Also on tap are archery, target shooting, fishing and nature presentations.
A free hamburger and hot dog lunch will be available, while supplies last.
Therapeutic horseback riding also is planned that day, and Betty Gray of Stirrups 'n' Strides is planning to bring Morgan horses Barney and Knickee. Gray's daughter, Kathy, is a national award winner in Special Olympics riding.
"It's miraculous what riding has done for Kathy; she would likely be in a wheelchair without it," Gray said.
"Kathy plans to participate in the water sports on Saturday," she added.
Leaf said she hopes for a good turnout.
"I love to help people" in the therapeutic recreation setting, Leaf said. "That inspires me."
Labels: Access, disabilities, outdoor activities, SportsAbility