Running head: INTERDEPENDENCE THROUGH HIKING
Article Critique of Hiking for Persons with Disabilities: Experiences of Interdependence
Mary Culverwell
Brigham Young University
INTERDEPENDENCE THROUGH HIKING
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Article Critique of Hiking for Persons with Disabilities: Experiences of Interdependence
I read the article Hiking Excursions for Persons with Disabilities: Experiences of
Interdependence by Natalie Ginther, Donna Goodwin, and Jennifer Peco (2009). I am going to
give a summary of the article and then state the strengths and weaknesses I found in the article.
In the last section I am going to talk about the principles we can apply to our lives and my
personal reaction to the article.
Summary
This article describes the relationship of dependence, independence and interdependence.
The therapeutic recreation world has focused on independence as a highly wanted goal for
people with disabilities. This focus on independence makes dependence look like a characteristic
that shows you are weak, cannot do things for yourself, and you do not make your own choices.
It is now being recognized that perhaps interdependence is the best of the three to have (Ginther
et al., 2009).
The article goes on to talk about how outdoor recreation activities enrich the lives of
many people. These activities give us positive changes in attitude and teamwork, trust and
improved personal relationships usually are rewards of recreation. Outdoor recreation programs
provide a suitable setting for exploring the connections between interdependence and
dependence (Ginther et al., 2009).
A one-wheeled hiking frame called the TrailRider for persons with disabilities was
created. It was designed by Sam Sullivan and makes it possible for people with disabilities to sit
securely in the chair while being carried by two or four other people (called sherpas). The rider
has a passive role, thus demonstrating the conflict of dependence, independence and
interdependence (Ginther et al., 2009).
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Four people with complete spinal cord injuries participated in a hiking excursion using
the TrailRider. It was an eight-week program and included trails that were wide enough for
wheelchairs and others that needed the TrailRider in order to hike. The volunteers or “sherpas”
included university students and staff. Data was collected of the participants’ experiences and
included interviews and field notes (Ginther et al., 2009).
Strengths
I really enjoyed reading this article. It gave a good base of the concepts of independence,
dependence and interdependence and then went on to describe the process they took to measure
these characteristics on a hiking excursion.
One of the strengths of this article was they used a lot of personal quotes from the
participants. This gave the article a real feeling and you could actually hear from the people who
participated how life-changing outdoor recreation can be, especially when you have a disability
like a spinal injury that makes it hard for you to be active outside.
Another strength of this article is that they used people first language. Ever since we
learned about this in class I have been very conscious of it and this article did a very good job. I
saw the participants as people first, and then as somebody who had a disability.
Weaknesses
A weakness of this article is that the authors gave a bad connotation of the word
dependence. The authors really highlighted on the fact that independence should be something
every person with a disability should strive for. I think that is important that we strive for this as
well and do as much as we can for ourselves, but sometimes it is necessary to depend on others.
We all moments of weakness in our lives and if we always view dependence as a bad thing,
sometimes we will not ask for help when we really need it (Ginther et al., 2009).
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Application and Personal Reaction
I really liked this article because it made me think about how I view dependence and
independence. I think that if I were a person using the TrailRider I would have a hard time letting
others help me. I am a very independent person and like some of the participants, it would be
difficult for me to give up control and let others help me. I don’t like being an imposition on
others.
Because I have a hard time letting others help me, I thought a lot about the atonement
after reading this article. The biggest application I got out of reading this article realizing the
importance of interdependence. I need to be willing to lean on Jesus Christ and depend on him
for forgiveness of my sins and comfort. This does not mean I am not an independent person, but
instead it means that we are all human and sometimes we have to rely on others for things that
we cannot do by ourselves.
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INTERDEPENDENCE THROUGH HIKING
References
Ginther, N., Goodwin, D., & Peco, J. (2009). Hiking excursions for persons with disabilities:
Experiences of interdependence. Therapeutic Recreation Journal, 43(1), 43-55.