Running head: A REVIEW OF AT-RISK YOUTH

A Review of At-Risk Youth in Recreational Therapy:

Disabilities, Modalities, and Activity Adaptations Assignment
Joely M. Ramos
Florida International University

Running head: A REVIEW OF AT-RISK YOUTH

A Review of At-Risk Youth in Recreational Therapy:

Disabilities, Modalities, and Activity Adaptations Assignment

Recreational therapy has brought about a whole new way of approaching obstacles that
people face every day. Not only is recreational therapy making an effort to include all people,
even those that society places as outcastssuch as people with various disabilities and those
with very noticeable physical or cognitive impairmentsbut it is also focusing on the solutions
rather than the problems. Using therapeutic recreation as an effort in increasing people overall
well-being means that a broad spectrum of areas and ideas can be placed into effect. In this
paper, we will take a closer look at how recreational therapy affects a specific population of
people and the particular ways that it enhances their lifestyle. More explicitly, we will be going
in depth about youth that are considered to be at-risk or are already participating in precarious
activities.
Defining and Describing At-Risk Youth
When people think of someone with a disability, most people tend to think of someone
using a wheelchair or something that is different, such as an amputation or speech impediment
that clearly separates them from being in the category of people that consider themselves to be
normal. Although this is a flawed perception of what a disability is, most disabilities we have
learned about this far, do usually come with a symptom that is audibly or visually clear to even
the youngest of ages. When it comes to the population of at-risk youth, even though people can
consider them to be different from other youth, they are not as easily pin-pointed as having a
form of disability.
The term at-risk youth has birthed many different philosophies and questions as to
whether or not the term is appropriate for its description. One argument against using this label
is that all youth are at some degree of risk, so using this term to describe particular groups of

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youth is misleading (Robertson & Long, 2008). So, in order to avoid confusion Robertson and
Long (2008) found another authors definition of at-risk to be the most clear when stated as
follows: At-risk denotes a set of presumed cause-effect dynamics that place an individual child
or adolescent in danger of future negative outcomes. At-risk designates a situation that is not
necessarily current but that can be anticipated in the absence of intervention (as cited in
McWhirter et al., 2004, p.6).
All youth have obstacles, but some do not have the environmental, cognitive, social, or
emotional means necessary to overcome those obstacles. In such environment is where the last
part of the previously stated definition becomes most import. In the absence of intervention we
find that an adolescent can go from minimal risk which everyone begins in, to remote, high,
imminent, and then even at-risk category activity. The categories that at-risk youth are placed in
are selected depended mostly on their environment, so whether or not they are in a good
neighborhood, have a positive relationship with friends and family, the number of stressors they
are surrounded with, and so on. These environmental indicators are seen through the recreation
management of the youths surroundings. For example, looking at the playground in a
neighborhood and how well it is kept up with or not kept up with can tell you about the living
conditions of a child. The more indicators that a youth is exposed to without proper intervention,
the more likely that their development and/or education will be less than optimal (Robertson &
Long, 2008 as cited by Gordon & Yowell, 1994, p. 53).
There were approximately 35.9 million youth, which is 50% of the total youth population
in the United States in 2000 that were considered to be at-risk, according to the U.S. Census
Bureau (Robertson & Long, 2008 as cited by Lugalia, 2003). Population has increased since
then, but so has the field of recreational therapy in focusing on these youth. Not all of them are in

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correction or detention centers, nor are they mostly considered delinquents. Police arrest about
2.8 million young people for crimes annually, but the courts process only about 1.8 million as
deliquents (Robertson & Long, 2008 as cited by OConner, 2004). Due to the fact that at-risk
youth run on a continuum of risks that foresee whether or not they will get to the age of 13 and
still be considered at high risk, from the age of 6 and under the National Center for Children in
Poverty starts to see if there are factors rising against the children. They have found that 16% of
children under 6 years old are living in single parent, low income homes and became higher risk
youth after 13 years old (Robbins, T., Stagman, S., & Smith, S., 2012). The chances increase
more when there are no English speakers in the home, the children have 4 or more siblings in the
same household, one or both of the parents did not pass high school, the mother is a teen, or the
parents are unemployed. There is no specific etiology, but the causes are almost always
environmental.
The factors and numbers read about in the previous paragraphs all affect the physical,
social, emotional, and cognitive states of the youth, which may lead to secondary conditions.
Socially, at-risk youth suffer the most from rejection and neglect; they tend to have very unstable
relationships and not know how to keep the ones they do have. Physically, this may lead them
into doing things in order to gain acceptance from their peers. Peer-pressure can lead youth into
doing things such as eating less in order to lose weight or young girls having sex in order to get
male attention. Emotionally, they can also go through stages of not knowing how to properly
cope with their feelings and they can become depressed or try to release their anger through
aggressive means. Cognitively speaking, education plays a big role. Many at-risk youth are
vulnerable to dropping out of school before time because they have difficulty learning but are not
diagnosed as having an intellectual disability, so many times the challenges lead them to act out

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instead of try harder. The effects of these states in youth cause them to not only be at-risk but
possibly depressed, low performing in school, sexually active before knowledgeable, involved in
aggressive activities, and more. However, just as these places are points of need, these youth also
have many strengths. There is always potential for a youth to grow in their areas of interest and
of difficulty. Youth are young and vigorous and many opportunities are provided for them that
other age groups may not get. These opportunities include scholarships, leadership roles,
physical advantages, and second chances. Where a young teen may have vandalized before, once
recreational intervention comes his way that may turn into an artistic approach of using what was
a need before into a strength. Overall, there are various factors that entail the idea of youth that
are at-risk, but those same factors when adapted can work for the good of the youth.
Recreational Therapy (RT) Modalities for At-Risk Youth
With recreational therapy growing, more and more modalities or specific methods are
being thought of and many of them fit well into the category that helps at-risk youth. Modalities
that fall into social skills, self-expression, discovery, and education-based activities are well
focused on helping younger generations that can possibly slip out of these applications if not
presented to them. Some modalities include (i) anger management skills, (ii) developmental
assets approaches, (iii) adventure therapy, (iv) community reintegration based activities, and (v)
assertiveness training. In this paper we will look deeper into the adventure therapy modality
which helps people express themselves and discovery new strengths. However, a brief
description is provided of the other four modalities as well.
According to Robertson and Long (2008), anger management is a social skill where
thinking strategies learned, rehearsed, and applied in social situations (as cited by Shank &
Coyle, 2002). Possible client populations or conditions can be violent offenders, people with

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various mental conditions like bipolar disorder, and it may include families for counseling. This
modalities focuses on helping clients cope and express their anger in an acceptable manner.
Then, there is a new and effective modality called the developmental assets model which tries to
focus more on developing youth rather than fixing them once they are already doing at-risk
activities. Based on the Search Institute website (2007), the developmental assets approach
focuses more on developing communities, relationships, and skills that are fixated on support,
empowerment, boundaries and expectations, constructive use of time, commitment to learning,
positive values, social competencies, and positive identity. Next, community reintegration based
activities are really useful in helping youth find something productive to do with their time other
than hang out with other friends that are highly likely to carry out questionable activities when
bored. In this modality youth increase their awareness of activities in the community, maximize
participation, and take planned visits to local businesses and public facilities (Robertson & Long,
2008). Finally, there is assertiveness training where group work is built around games, role
play, and rehearsal many times for self-advocacy (Robertson & Long, 2008). This is a good
modality for youth to increase their self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and
manage relationships better.
Adventure therapy, also frequently called wilderness therapy, is an uprising and effective
modality for at-risk youth. Adventure therapy developed in response to increased demands for
rehabilitation programs for at-risk youth in the 1950s and 1960s (Duerden, Widmer, Taniguchi,
& McCoy, 2009). Many youth that are considered at-risks have poor social competence because
their relationships with family and friends are not strong, so when sat down in an office and
asked to open up even if it is to someone they trust, it is difficult for them to verbalize their
emotions. However, in situations where frustration, anger, or other strong emotions arise, they

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are more likely to express how they feel in an unhealthy manner after leaving the situation.
Adventure therapy provides an alternative treatment modality that maximizes the client's
tendency to spontaneously self-disclose in environments outside the counseling office (Duerden,
Widmer, Taniguchi, & McCoy, 2009). It is a safe displacement because the youth will leave an
environment and have time to reflect on their strengths and areas of improvement. Also, the
goals are set by the youth, they choose what they want to grow in, of course with the guidance of
a therapist. Adventure experiences, characterized by perceptions of risk and challenge, equip
the therapeutic recreation specialist with useful techniques to facilitate behavioral and attitudinal
change within their clients (Robertson & Long, 2008). This is all important in building the selfesteem, confidence, and providing structured leisure time for at-risk youth.
The assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation (APIE) process for this
modality focuses a lot on the interests of the youth and their desired goals. When assessing, the
therapeutic specialists should look into whether or not this youth has aggressive tendencies,
whether they have moved a lot, what kind of environment they are surrounded with, how well
the youths social competence is, and which behavioral focus the youth wants to change the
most. Many activities can be done within this modality, including low-level teams course
elements, high-ropes courses, geocaching, white water rafting, and rock climbing. In low-level
teams course, the major focus is seeing how a youth will socially interact with other youth in
order to accomplish various small obstacles, where sometimes different skills may be needed so
everyone needs to be involved at one point. High-ropes courses requires working in a team to
accomplish one big task, usually a lot more difficult than regular team courses and at higher level
than just the ground. White water rafting focuses on the experience from rushing through water
and overcoming the challenges of going into and coming out of the water safely. Geocaching

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requires following a set of coordinates and tracking and leaving clues for another person. Last
but not least is rock climbing which requires full body, mind, and determination in order to reach
a physical goal. All of these activities are important with the adventure therapy modality because
they allow youth to discover their character as they are faced with difficulties and stressors.
Activity Description and Analysis
High-ropes course usually requires just one person and a wall with different shaped
rocks and a bell at the top that is rung once reached. In rock climbing with pairs as an activity,
youth would compete against another pair of youth to see which team reaches the bell first. The
only rule is that both individuals on a team need to reach the bell together, first. If one teammate
reaches the bell but the other teammate doesnt than it doesnt count as a win until they both
reach the bell together. This causes youth to motivate, encourage, and help each other reach their
end goal. In order to win frustrations need to be put aside, and patience needs to become a
priority, since its a very physically strenuous activity for some youth. Afterwards, the teams
would sit down and talk about what their biggest challenge was and what worked best for them
to move together.
Description and Adaptations for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that
interferes with social and academic/occupational functioning or development (Porter, 2015).
Overall, about 7% of people in the United States have some form of ADHD, according to Porter.
ADHD affects a persons impulses, attention span, cognitive reactions, and language. Problems
that can arise or branch from this disorder are emotional impairments, social impairments, and
physical activity deficits. Adaptions that need to be made when providing recreational services

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are things such as the amount of focus a child or youth may need to perform an activity
successfully, how much body movement is required, and whether this person will be around
many people or just a few.
Conclusion
Overall, at-risk youth are on a continuum and placed based on their environmental
surroundings. There is always hope for succeeding when prevention and intervention is united to
people willing to mentor and guide these youth with optimism. Activities can range from
educational based to adventure focused, in helping youth cope with their situations. Wilderness
therapy has been found to be very effective in helping youth discover themselves and evaluate
how they deal with situations outside of their comfort zone. Children with ADHD like youth,
need adaptations to certain activities before they master it fully and independently. There are
specific educational focuses that both groups are growing to improve in. Without a doubt, there
will always be more to learn and more empowerment to gain for our young people today and in
the future.

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10
References

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development: The impact of adventure recreation on adolescent identity development.
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Porter, H. R. (2015). Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. H. R. Porter (Ed.), Recreational
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Robbins, T., Stagman, S., & Smith, S. (2012). Young children at risk: National and state
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