A treatment service designed to rehabilitate people with disabling conditions or illnesses by reducing or eliminating the negative effects of their conditions. Therapeutic recreation restores or improves functioning and independence and provides recreation resources and opportunities. The goal of therapeutic recreation is t o improve the health and well-being of people who are developmentally challenged. One example of therapeutic recreation might be adaptive versions of sports such as basketball for a person confined to a wheelchair.
A specialized field within recreation whose specialists plan and direct recreational activities for patients recovering from physical or mental illness or who are attempting to cope with a permanent or temporary disability.