Writing and rhetorical, Conditions and diagnosis, Introduction to Recreational Therapy and Inclusive recreation services (Due 24 hours)

Meet Donna, Who Enjoys Nature

The following description is based on testimony by Donna Veno to the President’s Commission on Americans Outdoors: I still hear professionals in the recreation field tell me that they do not know why they should make their parks or programs accessible to blind people. These professionals ask me why some-one with no sight would be interested in seeing mountains or watching the sun as it rises over the ocean. It is sad that they believe life’s beauty can only be ex-perienced through the eyes. One day I boarded a ski lift and went to the summit of Mount Wild Cat.

On the way, I leaned as far as I could out of my window and listened intently to the trees passing by me. This ride actually ascends the face of the mountain. That enabled me to sense the rock formations, smell the pines, hear the wind blowing through the trees, and listen to a stream descending the mountain, twisting and curving beneath me. Then I arrived at the summit. As I moved, I saw some areas thick with vegetation. The flowers felt beautiful and soft as I looked at them. How can I describe the joy I felt standing on the top of the mountain, listening to its silence and seeing it not with my eyes, but with every part of me! Descending the mountain provided me with the opportunity to drop heavy stones from the ski lift’s window and listen to them roll down, down, down.

The trees rose up to greet me; the air became warmer, and soon I was at the base. An audio recording that I made of the mountain’s sounds is my photograph! Those with sight admire the sun as it rises above the horizon; I lis-ten to the sounds created by daybreak, feel the increase of light and warmth, and become part of the total experience. True, I do not see the beautiful colors; but what is color when you have a world of sounds, smells, and feelings around you to absorb? Most of us do not feel restricted or disadvantaged; we lead normal, healthy and active lives. We work hard and want to play hard as well. While you who see stand at a distance and view the beauty of the mountain, I go to the top and become one with it.

Meet Alex, Who Likes to Plan His Strategy

Alex is faced with some tough decisions these days. The 17-year-old high school senior has to decide where to go to college next year—the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan, or the University of California at Berkeley—and whether to attend a conference, accept a scholarship he has been awarded, start guide-dog training, or take a computer-training class, all of which start at about the same time. Not an easy set of decisions for any 17-year-old, but certainly not any less dif-ficult for a teenager who is blind and about to start a new life away from home. Home for Alex is Staten Island.

A town that is miles outside of Manhattan, Staten Island is far enough away to require his daily commute of a bus, a ferry, and a subway to Hunter College High School, one of Manhattan’s public schools for children who are academically gifted. But commutes do not seem to bother Alex. When he is not running uptown to complete his senior-year internship, he is dashing downtown to meet with his chess teacher. Alex has won accolades in both areas.

This year, he won a Class-C national chess championship and has garnered top scores in the New York state exams in Spanish. Alex, who returned from a solo 2-week trip to Spain in April, says he has al-ways been interested in Spanish culture and language. I plan to major in Spanish and other foreign languages and then go on to law school where I will specialize in international law. Ambitions aside, Alex is not all that different from any other 17-year-old testing new waters as a young adult. Alex’s mother would prefer a college closer to home and family, but Alex thinks otherwise. But mother and son are willing to compromise. His mother says, “After all, this is the beginning of a new life.”