Recreational activities for the disabled
Carrying out recreational activities during the day is essential for everyone, regardless of their physical or mental abilities. It can help one to be more independent and promotes social inclusion. It also helps keep the mind active and improves quality of life. People with disabilities can choose from a wide range of activities, either to devote a moment to themselves or to spend time with their family. With this article, we would like to provide you with 8 ideas of recreational activities that are easy to do every day.
1. Gardening
Gardening can be a recreational activity that offers a multitude of benefits both as a therapeutic development and to improve the autonomy and motor skills of people with physical disabilities. It can also be very useful for people with intellectual disabilities, as it helps control violent feelings, induces calmness and increases learning abilities.
Benefits of gardening for disabled people:
Gardening is an excellent method of therapy and rehabilitation for motor and cognitive disabilities. The benefits associated with caring for plants and gardens are numerous:
- Effectively improves motor skills
It is ideal for people with motor and learning difficulties, as it allows them to work with their hands and focus on a single goal, that of keeping the plants well cared for.
- Helps control aggression and anxiety
Anxiety, stress and thoughts can be alleviated through contact with nature.
- It is a tool to strengthen self-esteem
gardening improves self-confidence and stimulates initiative and creativity. In addition, in the case of people with relational problems, it helps to develop greater communication and to work in a team to achieve a common goal. Planning and realising a project leads to the person feeling useful in society, which boosts their confidence, reduces anxiety and increases productivity. In addition to the health and psychological benefits, gardening can also be very useful on a physical level: for people with mobility problems, it can be good therapy, as it forces them to perform movements that work their muscles and strengthen them: by taking care of plants, one is forced to bend, stand up, pick up weights, stretch, etc.
2. Painting
Painting can have several effects on the person practising this activity: it calms the mind, increases concentration and creativity, as well as providing multiple motor and mental benefits. It is an ideal activity for people with disabilities. Painting can become a way to express oneself. Disabled people can use art as a means of communication to externalise experiences that are difficult to communicate in words. Memories are told visually, getting in touch with the subconscious. Through painting, people with disabilities can release emotions such as fear, anxiety, anger, which they find difficult to communicate with words, finding a new dimension through the application of colour on canvas.
Painting can become a real therapy for:
- People with motor problems
- People who are unable to express themselves verbally
- People with mental and cognitive disabilities
- People with autism
For those with reduced motor skills, the Mia Medical Italia Multifunctional Highchair can be a good solution to allow recreational activities, thanks to its functional posture system: the person is guaranteed a constant change of posture, thus allowing them to position themselves correctly according to their needs.
3. Board games
Board games can be very useful for people with disabilities. Among the various benefits provided by this activity, one of the most important is the development of social skills, as many involve the teamwork. In this case, competition between different groups forces collective decision-making, stimulating mutual trust, which is essential for winning.
Board games can help improve self-confidence, because as in life, they force people to make fundamental decisions in situations of doubt, forcing them to take the risk of failure when faced with a wrong decision. This leads to developing a greater sense of responsibility and self-esteem.
4. Sport
Nowadays, most sports we know can be practised by disabled people. Taking into account the type of disability, various modifications will be necessary. Some sports such as horse riding, swimming in the pool or basketball adapt their rules and methods of practice according to the degree of disability. Attention, adapted sport does not mean easier or lower level! Adapted sport allows people with physical or intellectual disabilities to practice different disciplines, but does not lower the level of competition or difficulty.
What are the benefits of sport?
Sport benefits everyone, regardless of their physical condition.
– Physical benefits:
increases circulation, develops muscles, improves balance and coordination. Our physical condition improves, as does our endurance, strength, mobility and speed.
– Socialisation:
sport is very effective for social inclusion. Getting out of the house, making friends and being part of a team can be difficult for people with reduced mobility or other disabilities. Human beings, by nature, are social animals and contact with others positively stimulates fundamental aspects of personality development. Contact creates social skills, cooperative relationships, recognition, tolerance, empathy and teamwork.
- Psychological benefits:
sport helps to increase the spirit of self-improvement, self-discipline and self-approval. In addition, for people with disabilities it creates a feeling of usefulness and recognition of one's abilities and skills. It also improves self-esteem, as it generates a good perception of oneself, because one feels satisfied that they have succeeded in doing what they set out to do.
- Vital well-being:
According to the WHO, sport is the best remedy for many diseases and improves the quality of life for all of us.
5. Kitchen
Another activity you can do if you have a physical disability is cooking. The possibilities are endless and it is very useful entertainment. In this sense, we must have an adapted space if the person moves in a wheelchair.
In fact, the kitchen is one of the spaces in the home that people are most likely to say goodbye to when there is a disability. It is often a difficulty because of the architectural barriersso it is essential for the 'reconquest' of this place to adapt and redistribute the space itself.
However, on many occasions this is not enough to achieve the person's autonomy in the kitchen. Many other variables come into play, such as personal ability and dexterity, which depend on the person's sensory-motor difficulties, knowledge of the different technical aids and support products available on the market, as well as training in their correct use and, above all, motivation and confidence in one's own abilities.
6. Listening to music
Listening to music is a recreational activity that can be done at any time and is very useful for promoting communication and relationships, learning, expression and also for improving a person's physical and emotional needs.
It serves not only for psychological development, but also for motor development, as people with physical disabilities can improve their motor skills by performing various movement and coordination exercises through sound.
Numerous studies confirm that music produces beneficial effects on the sensory, cognitive and motor systems, and thus stimulates creativity, thinking, language, learning and memory. Music also produces a 'sedative' or relaxing effect that helps reduce anxiety and states of stress and nervousness, which can be particularly useful in physical and emotional rehabilitation therapies.
On a general level, we can distinguish the benefits of music therapy on three levels:
Cognitive level
Music enhances learning and orientation skills and improves attention and concentration.
Physical level
Music helps maintain joint mobility and strengthens muscles through relaxation and reduction of anxiety levels. Internalising the rhythm, beat or melody also affects people's physical abilities, improving their bodily response to stimuli, their balance and their motor skills.
Emotional level
Music therapy satisfies the need for recreation and escape and strengthens social interactions by increasing self-esteem, improving social skills and helping to prevent isolation.
7. Reading stories or listening to audio books
Everyone loves a good story. Reading is one of the few disabled activities that can be done alone, but reading to another person is a bonding activity: you can add your own personal touch to the narration, emphasising certain parts of the story or adjusting your voice according to the events in the story. It is therefore the perfect family activity. Choosing to listen to an audiobook, on the other hand, can prove to be a fun alternative solution. Regardless of whether you choose to read a book or listen to an audiobook, there are many genres and types of books that vary in length. There is, therefore, always something for everyone's taste.
8. Spending time with animals
Who doesn't like playing with animals? We all know how much better it can feel to come home after a stressful day at work and find our four-legged friend ready to greet us. Even for a disabled person, the company of these living creatures can prove to be a therapeutic activity, because it can improve cognitive development and develop emotionality and empathy, and teaches how to care for a creature different from oneself and boost self-confidence. This is precisely the principle of pet therapy, which is especially effective with dogs. Physical contact with an animal produces endorphins and dopamine, which are helpful in reducing stress and giving positive emotions.
Conclusions
Carrying out activities is very important for people with disabilities. It is essential to find the one for which one is best suited, to give vent to one's creativity and to give oneself the opportunity to communicate what is often difficult to express in words. We would like to remind you that engaging in an activity together is very important, especially if it is with a family member, as this can contribute to the general well-being of the whole family.
At Mia Medical Italia, we are always willing to provide a free consultation to listen to our customers' needs. Fill out the form and we will get back to you immediately.