Week 13: Time Slips and Dramatic Arts

  Last week in class we had two students present and teach us about "Timeslips". In my understanding, "Timeslips" are using pictures to allow individuals to express creativity through storytelling of what they believe the picture is about.  I really enjoyed learning about "Timeslips" because I think it is an awesome activity that can be expanded and adapted to reach all populations.  I really enjoyed listening to different challenges the students who use them with the elderly populations have faced.  Some examples we talked about were inappropriate comments to others in the group or about the picture and also encouraging individuals to participate.  I think it is very important to include everyone's ideas when they share in order to encourage them to participate again in the future and know that everyone's input is equally valuable for the story.  We were even able to practice "Timeslips" with a smaller group from the class.  This was a lot of fun and I thought it was helpful to see how the facilitator can ask questions.  I think it is also very imporant as a facilitator for this activity to have enthusiasm because the more you have as a facilitator, the better the activity will turn out.  There are many therapeutic benefits of "Timeslips" but some include: promoting creativity, enhancing teamwork, promoting social interaction, boosting confidence, having fun, increasing happiness, laughter, and intellectual stimulation.  I was so excited about "Timeslips" that I called my Mom ( who is an OT and works with geriatrics in an assisted living home) and told her all about them.  I really want to volunteer this summer and try this activity with a group!

   The second part of class was a long leadership presentation about dramatic arts.  The group touched on different kinds such as plays, music, art, clay art video, and other creative types of dramatic arts.  They chose to focus on puppets.  We all made our own sock puppet and created a small play to put on for the class.  I thought this was a good activity.  We all were able to be creative when making out puppets and when coming up with a mini skit.  I personally think puppets are a great tool because they allow individuals to express their feelings, especially if they are an individual who is shy.  We talked about the use of puppets in a medical setting such as demonstrating to a child what will happen for a medical procedure or using the puppet as a tool to make things  less intimidating for the child.  Puppets are also great because they may demonstrate the feelings of the individual if they are not willing to simply state or talk about their feelings.  I think that puppets are often seen as only for kids, but they have a lot of potential to be used with populations other than kids such as with individuals who have mental disabilities. 

   This class period was a lot of fun and I also learned about acitviites that I plan on using in my future.  I learned that I really like activities that can be used as a group because I think working in a group has so many benefits for individuals such as social skills.  I think working in a group is also great if you are in a setting where you want to reach many people, but do not have the time to work one-on-one.  I also learned that I am goofy, but shy.  It was funny when we put on our mini-skit because I did a different voice that I normally would not do without the puppet.  It was funny because I was not even behind a table.. I simply had a sock on my hand and that made it okay to open up a little and do something a bit crazy.  I think that was a good example of how puppets can alllow someone to open up a bit and just be silly. 

  I tried to give as much input as possible about the therapeutic benefits of puppets and also added in on the "Timeslips" discussion.  I think it is important with all activities to recognize the therapeutic benefits in order to be able to better match activities with certain individuals I will be working with and also for documentation reasons for individuals' healthcare plans.  There are many people who have trouble seeing the therapeutic benefits of activities that may seem simple, silly, or stupid to them. As therapeutic recreation specialists, I believe it is our job to share with others the deeper meaning and potential behind all recreational activities and let our passion for using recreation to enhance the lives of others spread to other people who may not understand what therapeutic recreation is all about.


“The human body has limitations;
the human spirit is boundless.”