Stuart J. Schleien

Schleien, Ph.D., CTRS/CPRP, is a Professor and Director of Graduate Study of Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro since 1997. Dr. Schleien has made a significant impact on recreation/leisure and sports programming in the United States and throughout the world. As a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist and leader in the field, he has developed best practices that have helped parents and professionals design inclusive recreation, sports, and volunteer programs for children and adults with diverse skills and abilities. He has specific expertise as a systems change agent for inclusive recreation services, helping agencies manage successful organizational change and development. Dr. Schleien has written seven books and over 125 journal articles and book chapters on these topics. His most recent text, entitled "Community Recreation and People with Disabilities: Strategies for Inclusion" (2nd edition), is used in recreation and park settings, schools, and universities across the globe. He has presented his work throughout the U.S. and Canada, and in Australia, England, Germany, Israel, and Sweden. He was recognized as the "Researcher of the Year" by the Minnesota Recreation and Park Association, and "Educator of the Year" by the Minnesota Association for Retarded Citizens. He was the recipient of the "Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt Award for Excellence in Recreation and Park Research," the most prestigious award bestowed upon a researcher by the National Recreation and Park Association. Dr. Schleien made keynote addresses to the 5th Paralympic Scientific Congress for the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games, and at the Lund University (Sweden) 2003 Conference on Inclusive Communities, as well as a presentation at the Sweden Paralympics Games in Stockholm in October 2003. Dr. Schleien' research interests include therapeutic recreation, volunteerism, developmental disabilities, and the social inclusion of individuals with disabilities in community settings.

There are 54 included publications by Stuart J. Schleien :

TitleDateViewsBrief Description
Access and inclusion in community leisure services 1993 2668 Handicapped people benefit from participating in mainstream recreational activities. Laws that require physical accessibility by handicapped people will likely increase their opportunities for participation and improve the societal attitudes towards ...
Acquisition and Generalization of Leisure Skills From School to the Home and Community by Learners with Severe Multihandicaps 1988 2305 This study demonstrated the acquisition and generalization of leisure skills, social interactions, and appropriate and cooperative play behaviors by two children with severe multi-handicaps. The leisure skill program occurred in an elementary school....
Art and Integration: What Can We Create? 1988 2134 In 1975, Public Law 94-142 (the Education for All Handicapped Children Act) proposed specific and far-reaching remedies to the then prevalent practice of segregating children with severe disabilities in institutions or special schools. Central among ...
An Assessment of the Leisure Skill Needs of Developmentally Disabled Individuals 1979 9629 Leisure skill training as a treatment modality within the total rehabilitation services for the developmentally dis-abled in Virginia has not offered readily available information regarding its status. Therapeutic recreation service utilizes recreati...
Barriers to the Inclusion of Volunteers with Developmental Disabilities 2003 3094 Being a volunteer is an important way for individual community members to be active and vital contributors within the community, to feel connected, and to he viewed as an asset to one's community. With over 56% of Americans volunteering (Independent ...
Best Professional Practices: Serving Persons With Severe Multiple Disabilities 1989 4017 Recreation/leisure programming for persons with severe multiple disabilities has been a neglected area due to the ambiguity of roles and responsibilities among the various servicing agencies and professional disciplines, and lack of instructional ski...
Better to give than receive 2002 1071 Advocacy efforts by and for people with disabilities have traditionally focused on gaining opportunities for inclusive community recreation. While benefits of inclusive recreation experiences for people with and without disabilities have been documen...
Beyond qualitative and quantitative data linking: An example from a mixed method study of family recreation 2000 5273 In a 1993 research note in TRJ, Henderson and Bedini discussed the challenges of linking qualitative and quantitative data within a single study. Since that time, mixed method research has appeared more frequently in the therapeutic recreation litera...
Bringing inclusion into focus: A camp-based research study 2019 396 As an increasing number of Jewish summer camps welcome campers with disabilities, it becomes more important to understand the experience of these campers and that of their neurotypical peers. In this study, campers with disabilities and neurotypical ...
Building Positive Social Networks Through Environmental Interventions in Integrated Recreation Programs 1990 2343 The purpose of this article is to present sociometry, circle of friends, and cooperative learning technologies that therapeutic recreation specialists can use as strategies for including persons with disabilities into integrated community recreation ...
Community for all: The therapeutic recreation practitioner’s role in inclusive volunteering 2005 2183 Participation in volunteerism has great potential in helping individuals reach their desired goals such as improving self-esteem, sense of purpose, social connectedness, happiness, quality of life, and community inclusion. A rationale for the facilit...
Creating Positive Change Through an Integrated Outdoor Adventure Program 1997 10903 This paper reports on the efficacy oran integrated outdoor adventure program in creating positive change for people with and without disabilities. Utilizing a variety of measurements, this longitudinal study (21/2 years) found...
Data-Based Research in Therapeutic Recreation: State of the Art 1983 4480 During difficult financial times, it is critical not only to evaluate therapeutic recreation programs and document client progress but also to disseminate objective program data to therapeutic recreation and other practitioners. The purpose of this s...
Drama: A Medium to Enhance Social Interaction Between Students With and Without Mental Retardation. 1993 4414 Twenty-four fifth grade (or equivalent age) students were assigned to one of two treatment conditions consisting of equal numbers of students from regular and special education classes. One group was involved in a dramatic games condition culminating...
The Effect of Integrating Children with Autism Into a Physical Activity and Recreation Setting 1987 9264 The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate behavior patterns of severely handicapped autistic children integrated into a physical activity and recreational milieu and to determine if there were significant changes in the subjects' socia...
Engaging Volunteers with Disabilities: A Qualitative Study 2005 1672 Many volunteer administrators often wonder what they can do to increase their volunteer base and improve the efficiency, longevity, and morale of their current volunteers and staff. One virtually untapped, and certainly underutilized, population fro...
Engaging Volunteers with Disabilities: A Qualitative Study 2010 1006 The authors outline the benefits to engaging volunteers with disabilities. They discuss their research study focused on the qualitative benefits of such engagement for both volunteers and volunteer administrators.
Exploring family recreation activities in families that include children with developmental disabilities 2000 6289 Based on a larger exploratory investigation that employed a mixed method research design, this paper reports the recreation activities of families that included children with developmental disabilities (N = 65). The most popular and frequent forms of...
Improving integration outcomes for children with and without severe disabilities through cooperatively structured recreation activities: A synthesis of research 1993 3549 The use of cooperative learning strategies within integrated recreational activities has proven to be a powerful combination in facilitating the inclusion of children with and without disabilities. This article offers a synthesis of research in this ...
Inclusive Community Leisure Services: Recommended Professional Practices and Barriers Encountered 1996 6376 Statewide studies conducted throughout the United States during the past 2 decades focusing on community recreation programming for people with disabilities have found these services to be lacking. Confusion regarding programmatic responsibility, and...
Inclusive Community Leisure Services: Responsibilities of Key Players 1997 2069 The purpose of this study was to identify the inclusive practices employed and barriers encountered by key players in Minnesota's community leisure service agencies that were actively serving people with disabilities in inclusive programs. By identif...
Inclusive recreation: The tipping point is within our sight 2006 1410 It is likely that inclusive recreation will transform from a legally-mandated service that agencies address primarily because it's the law (and politically correct), to an embraced and genuine philosophy that welcomes and accommodates people of all a...
Inclusive volunteering: Benefits to participants and community 2002 12539 Society has become increasingly interested in volunteerism. After previous research revealed a lack of volunteer opportunities for individuals with disabilities, a pilot project was developed to examine the benefits of volunteerism for this populatio...
Integrated Wilderness Adventure: Effects on Personal and Lifestyle Traits of Persons With and Without Disabilities 1989 5389 This research studies the effects of participation in an integrated wilderness adventure program on the personal and lifestyle traits of persons with and without disabilities. Participants in a national wilderness trip program, Wilderness Inquiry, we...
Integrating Children With Severe Disabilities for Intensified Outdoor Education: Focus on Feasibility 1990 3012 The feasibility of an intensified (i.e., all-day-for-2-weeks) integrated camping experience for children with and without severe disabilities was evaluated as was the impact of integrated programming on camp staff members' attitudes. Procedures emplo...
Integrating physical education to teach appropriate play skills to learners with autism: A pilot study 1988 6769 This pilot study attempted to determine the effects of a collaborative socio-motor, adapted physical education/therapeutic recreation curriculum on the social play and motor development of learners with autism and their nonhandicapped peers in an int...
Integration and Environmental/Outdoor Education: The Impact of Integrating Students with Severe Developmental Disabilities on the Academic Performance of Peers Without Disabilities 1994 5800 This study assessed the amount of environmental information which nondisabled children acquired while participating in a 1-day integrated outdoor education experience with children who were severely developmentally disabled. Learning gains of 88 seco...
Making friends within inclusive community recreation programs 2003 7812 Until 1990, participation in recreation activities by persons with disabilities generally was assumed to result in the formation of healthy friendships and social relationships with their nondisabled peers. Research has since proven that not all of t...
Matched, Comparative Study of the Recreation Integration of Adults with Mental Retardation who Moved into the Community and those who Remained at the Institution 1996 2180 The matched, comparative study described and compared the recreation integration of adults with mental retardation who moved from institutions to community residences with their counterparts who remained at the institutions. Subjects had more severe ...
The North Carolina challenge for inclusive recreation 2007 885 In the fall of 2005, Dr. Stuart J. Schleien and Kimberly D. Miller of the Department of Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro embarked on an exciting journey. They were in search of the key ...
OnStage and InFocus 2013 881 Documentary chronicling the transformative journey of a group of determined community theater performers with varying abilities working together to put on a show that demonstrates their value to society. Presented by InFocus®, Community Theater of Gr...
Parent Perspectives of Barriers to Child Participation in Recreational Activities 2014 4969 Parents who have sons and daughters with disabilities usually have significant influences on their children’s play, community participation, socialization, and overall quality of life. For several decades, parent-professional partnerships have been c...
Participation of children with autism and nondisabled peers in a cooperatively structured, community art program 1995 5566 Two groups (one younger, one older) of children with autism participated in monthly art activities with same-age nondisabled peers at a children's museum. The study sought to investigate the feasibility of offering a cooperatively structured art educ...
Patterns of Family Recreation in Families that Include Children with a Developmental Disability 1997 1213 Grounded in the naturalistic paradigm, the present exploratory study employed survey (n = 65) and interview (n = 16) methods to examine patterns of family recreation in families including children with developmental disabilities. Statistical...
Perceived Responsibilities of Special Recreation Services in Minnesota 1985 1994 Recent federal legislation has established the right of individuals with disabilities to live, learn, and by implication, recreate in least restrictive environments. These initiatives have facilitated the move of large numbers of handicapped persons ...
Photovoice: A Collaborative Methodology Giving Voice to Underserved Populations Seeking Community Inclusion 2012 4210 Through a collaborative effort between a local university and an advocacy organization, adults with intellectual and developmental disability participated in a community-based participatory action research project using Photovoice, a methodology that...
Photovoice: A Tour Through the Camera Lens of Self-Advocates 2012 1801 Photovoice is a creative form of Participatory Action Research (PAR) that empowers underrepresented groups from the community to become the actual researchers and instigate change. Seven individuals with intellectual and other developmental disabilit...
Playing together growing together: Parents' perspectives on the benefits of family recreation in families that include children with a developmental disability 1998 6733 This exploratory investigation, grounded in the naturalistic paradigm, employed survey (n = 65) and interview (n = 16) methods to examine the benefits of family recreation in families that include children with a developmental disability. Descriptive...
Re-injecting spontaneity and balance in family life: Parents’ perspectives on recreation in families that include children with developmental disability 2004 4429 Grounded in the naturalistic paradigm, a mixed-method research design (survey questionnaire, n = 65; and interview, n = 16) was used to explore the nature and benefits of, and constraints to, family recreation in families that included children with...
Relevant Assessment in Leisure Skill Training Programs 1980 6054 Assessment is a critical process in planning and implementing leisure skill training programs for handicapped individuals. Two major forms of assessment influence the success of an individual's program. The first is baseline assessment, an initial ob...
Search for best practices in inclusive recreation: Programmatic findings 2009 7623 There has been exponential growth in the number of recreation agencies adopting inclusive service delivery (ISD) practices. While many of these agencies are experiencing success with these initiatives, many others are not. The data reported here were...
Something for Everyone 2009 1206 Some 150 years ago, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted envisioned New York's Central Park as a green oasis where people of all walks of life, regardless of community standing or socioeconomic status, could escape the bustle of the city. Today,...
Support Staff as an Essential Component of Inclusive Recreation Services 2010 1465 The lack of direct support to participants with disabilities in inclusive recreation has been identified as a primary barrier. Recent findings from a search for best practices in inclusive service delivery (ISD) across the U.S. indicated the use of “...
Teaching leisure skills to severely handicapped adults: An age-appropriate darts game 1981 5426 This study demonstrates the acquisition and generalization of dart skills by three severely multihandicapped adults. The program took place in a community adult development center. By identifying the motor responses required to play darts, a 7-step t...
Teaming Up for Inclusive Volunteering: A Case Study of a Volunteer Program for Youth with and without Disabilities 2004 3487 Volunteerism is a recreational activity that may hold the key to greater social inclusion for individuals with disabilities into our communities. Facilitating inclusive volunteering opportunities for youth with and without disabilities has a potentia...
Teaming up with parents to support inclusive recreation 1997 987 For over a dozen years, recreation professionals have been exploring new ways to include people with disabilities in community recreation settings. Yet, in many towns, cities and rural areas across the country, the impetus for inclusion continu...
Understanding Friendship and Recreation: A Theoretical Sampling 1991 3925 The integration of adults with mental retardation into community leisure services has become an accepted focus of community leisure service providers. Researchers and practitioners alike have discovered that participation in integrated recreation pro...
Understanding Leisure Services for Individuals With Mental Retardation 1994 8887 This paper was developed to promote understanding of the complex process of leisure service delivery for children and adults with mental retardation and encourage people to work together to enhance leisure opportunities in integrated settings. 'The m...
Using Photovoice to listen to adults with intellectual disabilities on being part of the community 2013 4007 Imagine if you were offered a glance through the lens of a very unique photographer: a member of your community who has an intellectual or developmental disability (ID/DD). A community-based participatory research method, Photovoice, was used to enab...
A “We Don’t Exclude Anyone” Policy is not Enough: Inclusive Service Delivery in Public Recreation 2011 1036 In today’s world of an ever-increasing number of wounded veterans, aging baby boomers, and children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities, a significantly larger number of individuals with disabilities are approaching pub...
What’s in it for Me and My Agency? A Survey on the Benefits of Engaging Volunteers with Disabilities 2010 971 The authors describe the status of engaging volunteers with disabilities, including making accommodations for disabled volunteers as well as the potential benefits and drawbacks to utilizing volunteers with disabilities.
What's in it for Me and My Agency? A Survey on the Benefits of Engaging Volunteers with Disabilities 2005 1218 In 1998, the Association for Volunteer Administration adopted a formal Statement of Inclusiveness (AVA Board of Directors, 1999) that defines diversity in its broadest terms, and proclaimed the value of inclusiveness in volunteering and throughout th...
When neighborhoods need help, call in the college kids! 2009 1771 Pair a neighborhood in need of revitalization with a university program interested in partnering with their local community, mix them together, and voila! You've bridged the gap between community and university, right? Actually, it takes more effort ...
A winning recipe for volunteerism 2006 1104 A program in North Carolina takes college students, mixes in individuals with disabilities and adds park staff support to create a winning combination.