The transitions experienced throughout adolescence and young adulthood are difficult, and can be even more challenging to navigate for youth living with developmental or mental health challenges. These youth commonly experience challenges in daily life, leading to difficulties participating in reciprocal relationships, experiencing good mental health, and establishing positive identity and self-esteem. Adventure-based therapies may be a milieu where youth can explore their identities, connect with nature, establish social relationships, and gain experiences overcoming a variety of challenges. This qualitative case study illuminated the experiences and identity development of youth who have participated in an adaptive recreation program in Victoria, British Colombia. Semi-structured interviews were held with five youth who have participated in the program, five parents of youth who have participated, and three staff involved in the development and delivery of the program. For the within-participant analysis, Rhodes’ (2000) ghostwriting approach was used to present youth participants’ stories of their involvement. Across-participant analysis followed Braun and Clarke’s (2006) steps of thematic analysis to discover some of the shared themes among participants. Participants described development of positive self-concepts and skills, the inclusive social environment and supportive staff, opportunities to try fun and unique activities, connecting with and learning about nature, overcoming personal challenges, and the importance of this program in the lives of the youth, their families, and their communities. The results have important implications for theory, research, and practice regarding counselling and community-based adaptive recreation programming. / Graduate

INTRODUCTION: Despite the benefits of outdoor pursuits, people with disabilities engage in recreation less frequently and with less variety when compared to able-bodied peers. Waypoint Adventure, a non-profit organization, facilitates outdoor adventure programs for adults and youth with a range of disabilities. The organization is revising its program evaluation process to document outcomes that are meaningful to participants and communicate the benefits of programs to funders and other stakeholders. OBJECTIVE: Utilize principles of Universal Design for Learning and activity analysis to create and implement a program evaluation process that is accessible and feasible for use by an adaptive recreation organization. ACTIVITIES: A needs assessment was conducted to identify outcomes, stakeholders, and current program evaluation processes. Drawing upon evidence regarding cognitive accessibility design features, an accessible survey was created to measure participant outcomes. Data from cognitive interviews was used to revise the survey to address accessibility and increase response rates. Additional products include a Program Evaluation Manual, Program Evaluation Kit, and two surveys to elicit perspectives from parents and teachers. OUTCOMES: The new program evaluation process was pilot tested over a one-month period. During 18 outdoor programs, 79 survey responses were collected, representing 61% of all participants. Staff satisfaction with the program evaluation process improved in all dimensions measured. CONCLUSION: Integrating principles of Universal Design for Learning and activity analysis was an effective approach to improve the accessibility and efficacy of program evaluation for an adaptive recreation organization.