The Recreational Therapist needs to ensure the Treatment Plans include a minimum two goals, with
three objectives for each goal. When creating goals, the Recreational Therapist must include content,
condition, and criterion. The content will be the goal. For the condition, the goal must include a measurable
time frame (which can be re-written and extended if the goal is not met within the given time frame). For the
criterion, the Recreational Therapist must outline how exactly success will be defined. In what measurable or
clearly identifiable way will the Recreational Therapist be able to determine that the goal has been
accomplished successfully? Is there a current baseline for which the future status of the goal progression can
be compared? The marker for the achieved outcome must be stated in the goals and objectives.
Furthermore, arbitrary or subjective language, such as “appropriate” or “just”, is forbidden when writing
goals and objectives. Leisure education is a goal that should be reserved only for individuals who:
1.) have recently acquired some type of disability, 2.) have a deteriorating condition without a recovery prognosis,
or 3.) have a substance abuse disorder.
In the home and community-based setting, because most of the supported population has congenital,
lifelong disability(ies), Recreational Therapists indefinitely (ongoingly) provide Recreational Therapy to the
individual supported. In other words, there is not an expected discharge or discontinuation of service.
Therefore, knowing that the Recreational Therapist may have a life course to assist the individual, together, the
Recreational Therapist and individual supported may choose intensive goals, and then track the progress over
a long period of time. The Recreational Therapist may create a goal with one objective that can be reached in
three months, while another objective may take an entire year. As individuals supported successfully reach
goals, the Recreational Therapist can update and change the goals, which is possible at any given time. When
considering goals, the Recreational Therapist should strongly consider the individuals’ interests, as well as
activities readily available in the community.
