LAKEWOOD'S THERAPEUTIC RECREATION PROGRAM MAKES AN IMPACT

Competing in sports and working out as an athlete has no limits in Lakewood, as mornings at the Whitlock Recreation Center demonstrate.

team has grown significantly over the last few years, and more sessions have been added because families see such improvement and focus in their athletes, Sprague said.

The program has helped individuals in the community experience lifeenhancing activities since the 1970s when the city became a partner with Jeffco Public Schools to offer Camp Paha, a summer day camp for children and young adults with disabilities. The city took over the camp in the 1980s and to this day it remains the program’s most in-demand activity.

“We are fortunate to work with so many amazing families,” said Sprague. “At our end-of-summer slideshow for Camp Paha, we heard from so many families about how important the program is to them. It offers a fun and safe place for them to drop their campers off and puts their mind at ease knowing that they are not only being taken care of but having fun.” from the Denver Harlequins wheelchair rugby team now coming in on Tuesday mornings to scrimmage. This activity, along with many others is part of the city’s therapeutic recreation program, which provides sports, recreation, leisure and outreach services to individuals with physical, mental and emotional challenges. The therapeutic program, often known as RISE, addresses the needs of individuals with disabilities coordinator for Lakewood’s therapeutic recreation program. “We have worked with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, physical disabilities and mental health conditions.”

The therapeutic recreation program isn’t just geared toward sports There are social opportunities that are wildly popular as well. Participants enjoy monthly dances, social outings and even movie nights.

Along with drop-in wheelchair sports, a variety of Special Olympics sport teams are offered throughout the year, including flag football, bowling, basketball, track and field and swim team. The swim

Now exploring the outdoors is an option for nature lovers through a new program for individuals with physical limitations who want to get out into Lakewood’s parks and trails. Freedom Trax are offered to individuals with manual wheelchairs, and these off-road wheelchair attachments allow the user to enjoy Lakewood’s trails. A GRIT chair, an all-terrain wheelchair, is also available to use.

Staff in the therapeutic recreation program are always looking for new ideas to offer the community and recently unveiled a one-of-a-kind reverberating floor at Whitlock. The floor offers those who are deaf, hard of hearing and even those without disabilities to experience music and dance. Feel the Beat, a local nonprofit, worked with the city to offer this unique experience to the community.

Through Feel the Beat’s patented floor technology, sound waves are converted into vibrations felt on a pliable floor. These vibrations travel through the bones and hearing system just as a sound wave would move through the air, allowing students to connect with the music and the beat through body motion. When combined with a specialized curriculum, musical tools and teachers communicating via American Sign Language, the result is a fully accessible and inclusive music and dance experience. A grand opening event hosted by Feel the Beat and the Whitlock Recreation Center is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 8 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. For additional information about Lakewood’s therapeutic recreation program, please call 303-987-4867 or email rise@lakewood.org.