Abstract
Research on play indicates that play enhances physical, emotional and social well-being throughout human development. Family play through shared leisure experiences create opportunities for families to strengthen their family bonds, build lasting memories, improve self-esteem, and increase feelings of happiness for all family members. Research on leisure experiences for families of children with disabilities have found evidence of constrains or barriers to their leisure participation and enjoyment. The purpose of the current project is to create review the literature on play and develop a journal article based on the research studies by Jorgensen-Easterla and Hoffman (2015; 2017) aimed at determining if the REACHability Foundation family program is guided by their mission to provide an increase in children with autism levels of fun, positive family recreation opportunities, and social opportunities through a weekend (i.e. Marina del Rey and Catalina “Staycation”) and week-long (i.e. Rotan, Honduras “Vacation”) family “play” experience. Based on the themes that emerged from the data, participation in shared “away” experiences can provide a sense of happiness and fun, can strengthen family bonds, can influence social opportunities, and can increase willingness to try new activities for families of children with ASD. The current project completed a thorough literature review and created an article based on the studies conducted by Jorgensen-Easterla and Hoffman (2015; 2017) that met the submission requirements for an appropriate peer-reviewed journal, the American Journal of Play.