NCJ Number
94843
Date Published
1983
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The recreation staff at the Sacramento County Main Jail (California) used the Positive Indirect Recreation Approach (PIRA) to design an effective recreation and physical fitness program for inmates who were over 55 years of age and/or blind, handicapped, or mentally retarded.
Abstract
the PIRA method attempted to get the inmates involved in recreation skills development, in performing physical fitness programs, and in learning how to play or to execute simple activities. A survey of the inmates revealed that most mentally retarded inmates wanted to play the two available video games; a blind inmate wanted to learn proper exercise skills and to lift weights; the remaining elderly inmates wanted to read, walk, play video games, and watch other inmates play competitive sports. The staff worked out individual recreation, physical fitness, and exercise programs for each of the special inmates. A variety of games and activities were specially designed to meet these inmates' needs, such as table games; cards; and reading, painting, and drawing assignments. The activities planned were simple, took short amounts of time, and had easy goals for accomplishment. The need to treat handicapped, mentally retarded, blind, and elderly inmates the same as other inmates during recreation is emphasized, and the usefuness of the PIRA method in developing an effective program for these groups is noted. Two diagrams are included.