Running head: CORRECT APA FORMAT



Riding the Waves: Therapeutic Surfing to Improve Social Skills for Children with Autism

Crishelle Stegelmeier

Brigham Young University

Riding the Waves: Therapeutic Surfing to Improve Social Skills for Children with Autism

Autism seems to become more and more prevalent as time goes on. This may be due to more children being diagnosed or an actual rise of children with autism. In any case there have been many approaches used to help those affected by autism, especially children to improve their quality of life and especially their social skills. Surfing camps are designed to teach children with autism skills that help them to build meaningful relationships, confidence, trust, and other social skills (Stuhl & Porter, 2015). Surfing, among other recreational activities, prove to be an effective way to not only teach positive coping skills, but also to help the children to get outside and be active (Stuhl & Porter, 2015).

Summary

This article was a combination of the findings of 6 different researches done on surfing used as the modality to help children with autism to build social skills. Children with autism tend to struggle with interacting and working with peers (Stuhl & Porter, 2015). The purpose of the surfing camps is to use interventions that model and instill social skills and provide opportunities for the children to be successful in doing something new (Stuhl & Porter, 2015). There are many different structures for the surf camps. Participants aging anywhere between 5 and 18 ranged their behavioral problems and developmental disabilities (Stuhl & Porter, 2015). Some programs last only 2 days while others stretch to 8 weeks. Though the programs varied in length the objective was the same to help the participants to gain skill and confidence in social skills, self-reliance, and social skills (Stuhl & Porter, 2015).

The surfing camps did well in helping the children to interact and accomplish new things. Each program was found to be significantly effective in helping the children to be more assertive, empathetic, responsible, and engaged as reported by both the parents and the students (Stuhl & Porter, 2015). There were many benefits and lasting effects reported by both the parents and children, including: vitality, resilience, physical health, communication, self-control, friendship and many other social skills (Stuhl & Porter, 2015). These were all reported in various surveys and questionnaires designed by the researchers. There is some bias in the reporting system since reporting was done through surveys filled out by the parents and participants after camp and because there is no control group to compare them to (Stuhl & Porter, 2015).

To apply the information, they gathered from all the different studies, they identified different things to recommend to Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialists to utilize in the programs they design in the future (Stuhl & Porter, 2015). Many of these focused on bridging the gap between the things they learned at surf camp with daily life and school, including the families and parents in the process more, and helping the students to have more interaction with peer mentors and staff (Stuhl & Porter, 2015).

Strengths

The article did very well at being clear and direct. Written to a broader audience, it used simple language anyone could understand. The facts from all the studies were included so that the reader could understand the findings from all 6 studies. Everything was cited correctly and therefore easy to trace back to the study it was found in. A diagram was used to summarize what was found to be effective and the results it produced, this helped bring it all together visually for readers. The authors did a remarkable job at bringing all the information together and showing how it applies to those looking to use surf camps as a way to help children with autism in the future.

Weaknesses

Though the language was easy to understand, the way the article was formatted and organized was confusing. It was hard to know which study they were talking about and what results matched with each study. There were only 2 headings used in the whole article and no sub headings to clarify and direct the reader. These things made it hard to understand the article without reading it through thoroughly.

Application

Compiling research can be an effective way to understand the scope of a modality within therapeutic recreation. One study is not enough to help you to grasp the implications and results of a certain field. In looking at the findings it is key to use many different sources and ways of gathering data to fully understand and grasp the chosen modality. It can be easy to compile it all together without providing clarity about what is effective and not so effective without good formatting and structure in your article. Bringing research together to learn is powerful but needs to be done with clarity.

Personal Reaction

I found this article very informative and an interesting read even though I was confused and lost knowing which study they were talking about. Autism is something that needs interactive and play therapy to model good social skills. I have some really close friends and family that have autism. Reading this article helped me to reflect on my relationships with them and how I can better interact and work with them.

References

Stuhl, A., & Porter, H. (2015). Riding the wWaves: Therapeutic sSurfing to iImprove sSocial Sskills for cChildren with aAutism. Therapeutic Recreation Journal, 49(3). Retrieved from

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