Mar
2
Written by:
Greta Bullock
3/2/2010 8:37 AM
In my school district, we are not supposed to pull students for therapy sessions during lunch or recess times, but sometimes this guideline gets overlooked.
At a recent IEP meeting, I was recommending reducing a student’s PT service frequency because she had made so much progress in PT. I told her parents that she was ready to start using the skills mastered in PT in an unstructured play environment. Then, her parents said, “But PT is the only time she has for physical activity each week.” In this particular student’s case, her schedule involved about 2 hours of preschool each morning, then 30 minutes of speech, then 3 hours of ABA at school each day along with OT twice a week. After she leaves school, she goes home for an ABA home program for 3 hours each evening.
Because of her preschool classroom’s recess schedule, it just so happens that she misses it each day for speech or ABA. The saddest part of this scenario is that in my school district, I’m beginning to see that this isn’t that uncommon. More and more often, recess and unstructured play times are being used as time for therapy and services because we don’t want kids to miss core academic times.
How important is recess?
In 2009, Pediatrics reported that 8-9 year-olds who get at least 15 minutes of daily recess had better behavior, as rated by their classroom teacher. This study also found that 30% of 8-9 year-olds have little or no daily recess. Another study found that children with ADHD did much better on tests of attention and concentration after walking outdoors.
Some of this may seem intuitive because we spend so much time and energy planning structured sensory diets for students, when recess is really a built-in sensory break for every child.
Many teachers use recess as a discipline tool. They take recess away from kids with poor behavior or attention. How reasonable is this idea? Are they just making the issue worse by not providing a break for kids who really need it?
Some are suggesting that recess is as important as the other three R’s, and that it should become a part of required school curriculum. What do you think about recess? I would propose that we should all take a closer look at our therapy schedules to ensure that our kids are allowed some unstructured play, both indoors and outdoors.
3 comment(s) so far...
Re: Does Recess Really Matter?
Very much so. I am a occupational therapist and registered yoga teacher. I use my background of yoga with the children I work with, they love it. In fact just the other day I had the chance to provide yoga to 3-5 year olds. I made the class only about 20 minutes long, and I made all the poses (which are named after many animals) of animal names like frog. The children loved it, in fact the teacher would like me to do again next week. I am looking forward to this.
Back to the issue of recess, I reside in Pa and we have had a lot of snow, so the kids when in school may not have the chance to go outside. So when this happens it is important to have the recess inside, which can be done.
The children need the fresh air they need to move about and play. Yes it is very important. Jeanne K Brown.
By Jeanne K Brown, OT/L on
3/4/2010 5:24 AM
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Re: Does Recess Really Matter?
I support your point of view. I strongly believe every child should be allow to have their recess uninterrupted.
Brenda Mendoza, PTA
By Brenda Mendoza on
3/5/2010 1:46 PM
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Re: Does Recess Really Matter?
Jeanne and Brenda, thanks for your thoughts on recess. It is a really good point that when there is inclement weather, kids still need time for free play and movement breaks. I don't think of that often because I live and work in sunny Southern California!
By Greta Bullock on
5/13/2010 1:27 PM
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