PROMOTION OF SOCIAL INTEGRATION THROUGH LEISURE

The Leisure Club is an innovative, integrated leisure programme which provides opportunities for children to learn valuable leisure and social skills as well as a rich environment for research on social integration. Through the Club, children with disabilities learn to take part in leisure activities, removed from formal or therapeutic settings, and have an opportunity to develop appropriate social behaviours and social relations. At the same time, their non-disabled peers develop a knowledge of the needs, interests and feelings of people with disabilities. The Leisure Club aims to enhance social integration by heightening awareness of the common needs of the participants. The Club provides an effective social setting in which the different components of social integration can be studied. Several research projects have developed from the Club, including a co- operative, multidisciplinary and international project on social integration which aims to identify factors affecting the social integration of children with an intellectual disability. It is the first of a series of international projects on social integration which will provide a methodological framework for subsequent studies. Unique features of this study are its blending of qualitative and quantitative methods and a multi- disciplinary approach. This presentation describes the Club and the unique features of the research project.