APIEDR =

A = Assessment

P = Planning

I = Implementation

E = Evaluation (client(s), program(s), practitioner(s), facility(ies))

D = Documentation

R = Reevaluation

Participant Sign-in Book

Important for tracking participation and maintaining contact with clients over time, we have all clients, facilitators, volunteers, etc, sign into the participant registration book at each table or activity area.

Attendance does not determine levels of participation, engagement, or benefits to participants, but is important in later evaluation phase of programs and longitudinal data considerations.

Assessment

This is where the facilitator gathers any existing documentation from other sources, practitioners, databases, etc. and applies any additional functional assessments to determine the client's current level of function or impairment, with useful specific coding. This is critical for initial baseline so that later evaluations can determine if progress actually being made by the chosen interventions during the planning phase.

There are MANY tools out there, and it is important to use the right tools for the right client's needs. There is no one best tool alas, and that is a dangerous approach. If you prefer to use only a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail, that does not mean best (or safest) practice.

The Red Book

Assessment Tools for Recreational Therapy and Related Fields, 4th Edition by joan burlingame (Author), Thomas M. Blaschko 

Extremely useful compilation of assessment tools for a wide range of populations and targeted goals.  One of the best aspects is that is includes if the tools have been tested for validity and reliability, and what the scores were for these considerations.

If a tool hasn't yet undergone any such evaluation for V&R, this can be a red flag about the real usefulness of the tool, especially in the age of increasing demand for evidence based practice. Also a good caveat about the risk of internally created assessment tools and how one could undergo a process to evaluate one's in-house tools for V&R.

Prompt - Thought/Question of the Day

Often as simple as text on a whiteboard or handout, a simple prompt for thought. This may be related to prior sessions for recurring clients, or may be from a larger pool of prompts to just be thought-provoking and discussion starting / ice breaker, specific to the goals of the clients in attendance. This may be helpful for beginning self-assessment, and might be helpful if there is an interview phase of assessment for the participants that the facilitator can add to their logbook for the client notes.

RPG Specific

Genre Preference

In House Genre Assessment Tool

Player Style Assessment

GM Style Assessment

In-house Play Style Assessment Tool

Some other tools folks may want to consider

Bartle Taxonomy of Player Type

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Setting Preference

System Complexity Preference

Planning

The Cookbook

Therapeutic Recreation Program Design: Principles and Procedures (5th Edition) by Norma J. Stumbo (Author), Carol Ann Peterson. https://www.amazon.com/Therapeutic-Recreation-Program-Design-Principles/dp/032154188X

Literally a cookbook for program planning (in addition to the cover art being similar to the Betty Crocker Cookbook classical design). Even after implementing hundreds (or thousands) or programs, this is an invaluable resource to go back to from time to time to consider improvements to each project's program plan design.

The Blue Book (older version)

Recreational Therapy Handbook of Practice: ICF-based Diagnosis and Treatment 1st Edition by Heather R. Porter and joan burlingame. https://www.amazon.com/Recreational-Therapy-Handbook-Practice-ICF-based/dp/1882883535

Older ICF codes, but handy single volume reference. This is the template used for the TR RPG Handboodk of Practice draft manual. Very helpful both for planning phase, but also helpful in assessment, documentation, and evaluation/reevaluation phases, especially matching the ICF/ICD codes to actual client functioning and considerations for adaptations.

The Green Book & The New Blue Book

New Blue Book Recreational Therapy for Specific Diagnoses and Conditions. https://www.amazon.com/Recreational-Therapy-Specific-Diagnoses-Conditions/dp/1882883969

The Green Book, Recreational Therapy and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health. https://www.amazon.com/Recreational-International-Classification-Functioning-Disability/dp/1882883950

Facilitation Ideas

Dattilo

Facilitation Techniques in Therapeutic Recreation by John Dattilo. This book has some excellent program ideas, including "Adventure Therapy" and many others that are close parallels to RPGs. Full disclosure, Hawke Robinson has been asked to write a chapter for this book on "RPG Therapy" for an upcoming edition. https://www.amazon.com/Facilitation-Techniques-Therapeutic-Recreation-Dattilo/dp/1939476097/

Others

Teaching Teens with ADHD & EF Deficits

Protocols

The Green Maze Book

Behavioral Health Protocols and Treatment Plans for Recreational Therapy, Second Edition 2nd Edition by Karen Grote, Sara Warner. https://www.amazon.com/Behavioral-Protocols-Treatment-Recreational-Therapy/dp/1882883926

Evidence-Based Protocols for Managing Wandering Behaviors https://smile.amazon.com/Evidence-Based-Protocols-Managing-Wandering-Behaviors-ebook/dp/B005FB9GLS

RPG Protocols List

Growing self-published list (Currently internally published, pending cleaning up, will eventually make available to public).

At-risk Populations

Social Skills Development

TRPG

LRPG

SABM

ERPG

Brain Injury

TRPG

LRPG

SABM

ERPG

Muscular Dystrophy

TRPG

LRPG

SABM

ERPG

Child/Adolescent

TRPG

LRPG

SABM

ERPG

Toddler

TRPG

LRPG

SABM

ERPG

Anxiety / Social Phobias

TRPG

LRPG

SABM

ERPG

Senior Adults

TRPG

LRPG

SABM

ERPG

Behavioral Domains

TRPG

LRPG

SABM

ERPG

Affective Domains

TRPG

LRPG

SABM

ERPG

Cognitive Domains

TRPG

LRPG

SABM

ERPG

Physical Domains

TRPG

LRPG

SABM

ERPG

Leisure Domains

TRPG

LRPG

SABM

ERPG

Twine for IF Development

Great opensource tool for easily developing Interactive Fiction (IF) content.

Implementation

This is so broad with so many different programs.

Some tools we like to use while implementation is underway, for later review are included in this section.

Observed Immersion Scale

"Talking Stick"

Especially important for large groups, or rambunctious participants and at-risk populations.

Turn/Initiative Tracking

Critical for keeping track of whose turn during complex tactical situations, may also have some useful statistical information that the facilitator may normally ask frequently. Tented trackers hanging over top of the GM screen a very hand process.

PC Rosters

Somewhat useful for 1-shots, but especially critical for ongoing activities that span multiple sessions to help keep track of important notes, XP, decisions, conditions, etc. that need to be tracked across sessions. While a facilitator may be able to track this by memory from week to week for 1, 2, or 3 groups, any facilitators handling many different groups will have increasing error rates if they are not in the habit of creating and using an effective roster.

This is absolutely critical if another facilitator needs to take over for the regular facilitator. Of course if the primary facilitator is keeping detailed SOAPIER notes that is helpful for client goals, but for narrative occurrences that may not have anything directly relevant to client goals, but important to the activities narrative, might only be available in the roster.

Evaluation

See the Assessment tools list.

Participant Feedback

Post-session Processing Discussion

Especially critical if any character death, TPK, or other higher stress event during the activity, but also generally always used to varying durations and intensities depending on the population and program.

For some this may mean a group discussion immediately after the session about what they noted or learned from the session, their "Take aways". These discussion could also be private one-on-one longer discussions in break-away post-processing. This can help direct bleed potential in constructive ways, aka generalization of skills from a state-based learning circumstance to potential consider more broadly in their lives rather than only within the confines of the session environment "bubbles".

Simple Satisfaction Measurement Scale

Simple smiley-frowney face icons with text for participant enjoyment, satisfaction, value, reward, etc. Typically only about 3-6 questions.

Documentation

SOAP[IER]

S = Subjective (history)

O = Objective

A = Assessment

P = Plan

I = Intervention

E = Evaluation

R = Revision

LibreOffice Suite

Very useful opensource crossplatform for documentation across word processing, spreadsheets, basic graphics and diagramming design, presentations, etc.

GIMP

Gnu Image Manipulation. Great opensource cross platform image modifying tool (alternative to Photoshop, etc.).

Inkscape

Useful vector graphics tool more for when need more powerful options than LibreOffice Draw offers (but higher complexity not always needed, so often Draw is sufficient).

Campaign Cartographer

Reevaluation

See the above reiterated. Especially important over time to validate efficacy of programs, practitioners, and facilities and considerations for overhauls.