Recreation for Teenagers and Adults With Disabilities

Picture your child as an adult doing an activity they enjoy and spending time among people who care about them in the community. They are having fun, learning, growing and making connections in the world. They are also safe and supported.

How can you and your child find these activities? What’s a good fit? How will your child get to an activity and who will go with them? This page has a collection of tips and ideas from other parents of children and young adults with disabilities and special healthcare needs. It shares how they found recreational and social activities to fit their child’s interests, needs and abilities. 

It can feel overwhelming to think about your child’s future all at once. It will take some looking and planning, but there are choices out there. Start with one idea or activity to explore. 

Why Recreation?

As your child becomes a teenager or an adult, you’re probably thinking about their quality of life and their future. Will they go to college or another school? Will they work or have a career? How will they fill their days? How can they find things they enjoy doing

Parents ask themselves these same questions all the time. This is especially true as their child gets ready to transition out of school, losing the structure and activities school offers. 

Social and recreational activities are important because they offer a good time and connections with others. They can help fill your child’s day and life. Isn’t that what growing up is all about, exploring new things?

Finding the Right Activities

Getting Started

The first questions to ask yourself are: “What does my child like doing? What do they show interest in?” Involve your child in these questions as much as you can.

Maybe your child likes to sing or likes music. Maybe they like anime or art. Maybe they seem to like being outside or around animals. Maybe they really like more structure, or less. Just like you, your child has things that attract them. These are the clues to get started finding recreational and social activities.

Ask around and search online for activities that fit your child’s interests. Pay attention to who or what organization is running the program. Parents told us they try to figure out if it is an established program or organization. Does it seem like it’s going to stick around? While some families may want to check out different events, others are looking for an activity their child can stay with for a while if they like it.

Work or volunteering can also be social and recreational for some teenagers and adults. Certain companies and organizations are looking for diverse volunteers and staff. Where could your child work or volunteer? See our page on careers.

Also, don’t be afraid to approach organizations and companies that don’t seem to have programs or classes designed for people with disabilities. You can always ask them, “What do you think about including my child?” Pay attention to their attitude and reaction. Read on for more tips on starting something new.

Things to Keep in Mind

For any activity, find out:

• Where is it located? Distance and transportation like a car or bus route are all part of deciding if it will work for your child and family.
• How much does it cost? Are there discounts for people with disabilities? 
• Is it convenient? Will the place, distance and setup work for your family? 
• What will the activity be like? You can always call or email the program for details. For example, some young adults have trouble with noisy places or events with flashing lights like a dance. Think about asking if they can make changes to a room setup or program rules if they concern you. Maybe using adaptive and assistive devices and technology could help your child too. 
• Will your child need someone to go with them to the activity? This might be a family member or an attendant. Other parents mentioned having paid attendants or volunteers go with their child to activities. They found or paid for these through the CLASS waiver, other Medicaid waivers, SSDI or by reaching out to university health care and social work programs to ask about volunteers or interns. 

To get you started in finding an activity, we have a list from parents with some programs in Texas and places to look for activities. We hope they inspire even more ideas for your family.

Programs in Texas

Find many ideas when you search in our Find Services, Groups, and Events section on this website. For example, if you search “recreation” hundreds of choices come up. You can organize the search by other key words and by your city or zip code in Texas.

Texas Project First keeps a list of recreation and travel options for children with disabilities and their families. Here are some other programs:

• Best Buddies – one-on-one friendships, leadership and employment programs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
• Texas Rowing for All – serves the whole state, based in Austin.
• Special Olympics of Texas, including the Unified Schools program.
• League Challenger Division has little league teams for all ages.
• YMCA sometimes has Miracle League sports programs and other activities.
• The Challenged Athletes Foundation has a list of more adaptive sports programs by state.

Places to Look for Activities in the Community

Here are other places to look for clubs, activities, classes, events, volunteering and more:

• Faith-based and religious organizations like churches and synagogues and other places of worship—for example, Young Life has Capernaum groups
• County and city recreational services—some like the McBeth Recreation Center in Austin are just for people with disabilities
• Community centers
• Gyms
• Libraries
• Camps sometimes have activities scheduled when it’s not summer—see our camps page
• Museums (don’t forget to see if they have discounts)
• Animal programs, animal rescue, shelters and zoos
• Sports programs and sports fan groups
• Art programs and art schools
• Grocery stores for work, volunteering or cooking classes
• Universities and community colleges often have classes or events for the community
• Nonprofit programs, such as a food pantry or Habitat for Humanity

Many cities and communities in the state also have special programs, such as Greenleaf NCC’s social creativity clubs in Austin or Morgan’s Wonderland Multi-Assistance Center in San Antonio. 

Starting Something New

Just because certain programs are offered for adults with disabilities, they still might not fit your child’s needs and interests. Don’t be afraid to work with your child to start something new if you have a good idea and the energy to try it. You could create an activity or start a partnership with a company.

• Connect with other parents to start a club or one-time activity. See our friendships after high school page for more tips. 
• Help your child find someone with the same interests to go with them to an activity. Quirky Buds is a matching app and your child can search by your area. Hello It’s Me is a dating site for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
• Look out for groups already going on in the community and talk to them about joining. One parent told us she’d noticed a group of families and people with disabilities at a bowling alley in her town, and they were happy to have her family join their weekly meetup.
• Reach out to organizations that interest your child and seem to be inclusive.

If you are talking to an organization that is happy to work with you and your child, but it doesn’t  design or offer a program for people with disabilities and special healthcare needs, here are some ways you can help set up the relationship for success:

• You and your child can go in and talk to the staff or supervisors. Look for the “we can handle this” or “we want to try” attitudes.
• Share information about your child, maybe a one page profile.
• Focus on your child’s strengths and the things they like. 
• Also focus on safety, which might mean bringing someone to support your child for the first few times or all the time.

As long as they are willing to spend time getting to know your child, this could be the start of a strong, trusting relationship. 

Virtual or Online Programs

For some adults and teenagers with disabilities and special health-care needs, their computer or phone is a good way to connect with others and find an activity. This might be especially true for families in smaller towns or rural areas far from community organizations or for a child who does best at home because of their health care needs. You know your child best and what might keep their attention.

We are talking about live virtual activities that other people around the state, country or world are a part of at the same time as your child. There are many other choices for recorded or live streamed videos for recreation. 

Here are a few virtual recreational activity ideas other parents have told us about to get you started:

• Music activities, sing-alongs and dance parties, like Daniel’s Music Foundation events
• Interactive recreational or other therapy
• Video games and virtual reality activities with others
• Friendship groups, like Friends Shine Online
• Educational and entertainment programs, like Adults in Motion

Trying Out Activities

After you and your child have picked an activity, take a deep breath and give it a try. It’s a learning experience, no matter how it goes the first time. Maybe you need to make some changes. Maybe your child needs to warm up and go a few times. Maybe it really was not right for them and you move on, or it was the perfect opportunity, and your child loves it. It’s all part of the process of building a full life with experiences and community connections.