Leisure Time

The concept of community living implies that the residents spend a large part of their leisure time together with the co-workers.

Since they are often heavily impaired in their social interaction and their communication, only a few of them are able to shape their leisure time independently, out of their own initiative, so that they themselves are satisfied or happy.

Without the therapeutic structures developed for their house- and work-related activities they easily slip back into rituals and stereotypical patterns of behavior. For this reason they are dependent on the initiative and the offerings of co-workers.

At first, of course, they just go along with the activities offered to them, not contributing anything themselves. But after a while they learn that it's fun to do things with other people. And so they gradually broaden the range of their ability to be active in the area of leisure time as well.

Events and activities undertaken outside the farm are therefore an important component of the farm life. The highest aim of their education -- integration into "normal" society -- can only be achieved when the autistic residents come together with other people and interact and communicate with them.

These people are not acting "therapeutically." The social situations demand from the residents that they be socially attentive and process a variety of social stimuli.

Some of the residents have special difficulties in this area, avoiding such complex situations and tending to react fearfully when they have to cope with demands outside the farm.

Only one farm resident, a young woman, had built up such a strong self-consciousness and developed such a need for social interaction that she was able to shape her leisure time herself. She took part in a theater group in Bremen that she was able to get to on her own, using public transportation. She went along with the group on theater trips and also played in a music group. She was able to go shopping in town by herself and even had friendships outside the farm. (In the meantime she has moved to a facility for "assisted living" in Bremen.)

The farm offers the other residents a variety of different activities. One main focus of these are motor activities:

• Extended bicycle tours
  
• Hikes
  
• Swimming in Bagger Lake or in swimming pools

Almost all the residents seem to enjoy these events. Such motor activities are good for the reduction of both emotional and muscular tensions.

Motor activities during leisure time thus offer the possibility of improving bearing, mobility, and gross motor activity.

Gymnastics and swimming are each offered one afternoon per week. All the residents enjoy eating out in restaurants, going shopping, going to concerts, discos, movies, exhibits, nearby markets, and of course the Bremen Open Air Market.

The residents also like to use the farm bus to go on excursions (on Saturdays or Sundays in a small group).

Sometimes the co-workers and residents have formed such a close relationship that some of the co-workers and community service workers (conscientious objectors) will invite residents to do special things with them from time to time or visit them in their homes.

Special high points in the rhythm of the year are the free vacation times that each of the houses plans and executes for itself in the fall (1 week). And in winter a small group will go on a weekend ski trip. Here again the possibility is given for residents and co-workers to get to know each other in a different environment and in different situations.

Intensive experiences, especially the leisure time of a vacation, sometimes even have a therapeutic effect. Difficult communication situations on the farm can be "defused" by living together in a completely different situation.

Whereas in the beginning there was some concern about whether new situations in other environments would lead to behavioral or adaptive problems on the part of the autistic residents, it is now evident that less structured, less normative situations -- such as those among non-handicapped "normal" people -- balance out the everyday and work life and are therefore a necessary supplement to life on the farm.

Some learning goals can only be achieved in this context.

Some festivals and celebrations take place on the farm itself, in relation to the seasons and particular holidays, for example:

• The Christmas celebration
  
• The farm's Summer Festival
  
• Cook-outs
  
• Birthday celebrations
  
• Evenings around the fireplace
  
• Just "being together" after the evening meal

The parents also participate in some of these festivals.

These shared farm activities bring stability to the farm community, even though relatively little communication may still be taking place among the residents.

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