Press Release
The Value of Leisure
Seven Million+ Americans
with Developmental Disabilities Deserve Its Benefits
Today, Americans work harder (two working parents to support a household has become the norm), weigh more (24 percent of adults are obese, double that of a decade ago) and spend most of their free time engaged in inactive pursuits (21 million Americans tune in to watch survivor each week!). At the same time, psychologists, sociologists and healthcare professionals write articles and give talks about people's decreasing satisfaction in work, increasing alienation, and exploding health problems.
Leisure as a valued part of life has a long history. Evidence of leisure activities can be found in archeological sites from Egypt to China and all points in between. Plato believed leisure—the act of learning for learning's sake—was an important part of a balanced life, and Arnold Toynbee, one of the 20 th century’s most respected historians, had this to say on the subject: “To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization.” It would be hard to argue that leisure is held in the high esteem today. In our workaholic world of DINKS, Yuppies and PDAs, success, not satisfaction, rules supreme.
And while all American's lives are affected by this decline in leisure's esteem in our busy lives, one group is particularly hard hit: the seven million youth and adults with mental retardation in the U.S. today. Members of this group are often socially isolated, experience higher-than-average rates of obesity, and frequently lack resources and know-how to pursue leisure activities on their own. Including leisure activities—and the accompanying friends, social support systems and satisfaction—in their lives can be a critical part of improving their physical and mental well-being. It can also be a critical factor in the well-being of the millions of family members and caregivers of the developmentally disabled.
Leisure Works!, a new video and workbook program just released by IRIS Media, provides tools to help caregivers and their charges achieve this well-being. Designed to help youth and adults with developmental disabilities and their caregivers explore leisure options, Leisure Works! guides participant-viewers through a series of video vignettes and fun interactive activities that help them identify and try out activities they will find personally satisfying.
Developed with a grant from the National Institutes of Health, this easy-to-use program received high praise from staff and residents in group homes who evaluated it. Participants in the study increased the variety and frequency of their leisure activities when compared to a control group. One direct care staff person summed it up when she said, “I’ve never seen anything like it. The resident is off the couch and doing things.”
The 2002 Surgeon General’s Report identified inadequate physically active leisure-time activities as a serious health risk for Americans. A report from the National Institute of Child Health and Development on the Surgeon General’s Conference on Health Disparities and Mental Retardation cites a need to develop comprehensive health and social services for persons with developmental disabilities, and the Charter for Leisure adopted in 2000 by the World Leisure board of directors describes leisure activities as a basic human right.
Leisure Works! is one small, but important step down a path that will help lead all Americans to the rewards and satisfaction of a full life that includes satisfying leisure activities.
Product Information
Title: Leisure Works! Expanding Options for People with Developmental Disabilities
Age: 16 years and up
Running Time: 72-minutes (12 lessons)
Language: English with closed captions
Release Date: January 2004
ISBN for DVD and workbook: 0-9726539-5-1 (DVD comes in a pocket inside front cover of workbook.)
Price: 40$ ($10 S&H, $3 each addtl.)
Also available in school or group-home kit (3 workbooks, one DVD, one VHS in sturdy case). $150
SAN: 255-5042
Publisher:
IRIS Media, Inc.
258 East 10 th, Suite B
Eugene OR 97401
Toll free: 877-343-4747
Fax: 541-683-4335
www.lookiris.com
