February is all about love, so let’s show some love for recreational therapy! February is International Recreational Therapy Month, sponsored by the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC), enhancing public awareness of therapeutic recreation programs and recreational therapy services and promoting inclusive recreation opportunities for people with disabilities of all ages.

February 5-11 also marks National Burn Awareness Week, sponsored by the American Burn Association (ABA). Burn, fire, and health professionals come together and share a common burn awareness and prevention message, along with information about burn injuries. This year’s theme is scald injury prevention. The National Scald Injury Prevention Campaign offers a variety of information tools and tool kits to share with the community.

There are several ways that recreational therapists and activity professionals can help raise awareness about burn and scald. These include

• Senior safety – teaching older adults how to use assistive devices like silicone potholders to avoid burn and scald injuries.
• Family safety – discussing how to prevent pediatric scalds with parents and their children during a family baking activity.
• Taking the lessons home – sharing consumer resources for burn prevention with a client and their family so they continue being safe at home.

If you are recovering from burn injuries or are interested in learning more,

• Check out the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center’s (MSKTC) informational resources on burn injuries.
  • The MSKTC recently published a Hot Topic Module on exercise after burn injury.
• Don’t forget to check out the NIDILRR-funded North Texas Burn Rehabilitation Model System, videos from the Boston-Harvard Injury Model System Center, and return to work information from the Northwestern Regional Burn Model System Center.
• And see what these other projects funded by NIDILRR are researching in relation to burn injuries.

You can learn more about recreational therapy

• Through the NCTRC
• By searching NARIC’s Spotlight blog for our numerous posts on recreational therapy.
• Or through NARIC’s FAQs on recreational therapy, aquatic therapy, and finding accessible recreational activities.