Patients at Shepherd Center are introduced to a variety of leisure and recreational activities as part of their therapy program. This type of therapy, called Therapeutic Recreation, helps improve physical, cognitive and social functioning so that an individual can return to a lifestyle that is as independent, active and healthy as possible.

Since leisure activity is such an important part of everyone's daily living, each Shepherd Center patient is paired with a therapeutic recreation specialist, who is a part of the rehabilitation treatment team.

Guided by Shepherd Center's Therapeutic Recreation Department, these specialists create a customized recreation therapy plan, based on a patient's diagnosis and leisure interests. They then integrate those goals into the patient's daily therapy schedule.

Shepherd Center's therapeutic recreation program offers:

Leisure skills counseling
Shepherd Center works with patients to learn what activities they enjoy and find ways to adapt those interests to their new lifestyle. A patient’s interests determine which specialists he or she will meet. Specialty areas include outdoors, sports, aquatics, horticulture, arts and music.

Recreational Opportunities
When patients' recreational interests take shape, they are introduced to a variety of adaptive equipment at Shepherd Center and given several hands-on opportunities to explore and use our equipment. While at Shepherd Center, patients can participate in a number of leisure activities as part of the therapy program:

Arts
Art enthusiasts can take advantage of the pottery studio, photography darkroom and space for painting and other crafts. Patients may also participate in improvisational acting and drama.

Aquatics
Patients have the opportunity to spend time in Shepherd Center's pool for swimming and water exercising, as well as receive instruction in scuba and fitting into adaptive water skis.

Sports
Shepherd Center exposes patients to a number of adaptive sports, including wheelchair basketball, power soccer, quad rugby and tennis. Patients have an opportunity to get hands-on experience, as well as the chance to attend practices or tournaments with one of the several sports teams sponsored by Shepherd Center.

Music
Musical instruments and instruction are available at Shepherd Center, including instructions on adaptive singing for patients whose injury has affected vocal capacity.

Horticulture
For those who enjoy working in the yard or garden, Shepherd Center offers instruction and opportunities to use adaptive equipment for lawn care, landscaping and indoor and outdoor gardening.

Recreational Games
Patients are introduced to a variety of recreational games that are adapted to a person's level of injury, such as board games, cards and video games. Patients develop new pastimes while also gaining therapeutic benefits.

Education
Patients participate in individual or group sessions to discuss issues relevant to having a disability. Topics may include wheelchair accessibility, problem solving techniques and tips for transferring from a wheelchair to a seat on an airplane. Patients are also taught how to handle discrimination, how to be assertive and how to deal with societal attitudes toward people with disabilities.

Shepherd Center provides patients with the knowledge, hands-on experience and resources needed to take these new skills back home so patients can practice in their own communities. Often after discharge, patients come back to participate in a number of events organized by the Therapeutic Recreation Department, including kayaking trips, snow-ski trips in the Midwest, and scuba diving in the Caribbean. A sports camp and our Adventure Skills Workshop are also planned each year. To check the dates for upcoming events, see our Annual Calendar.