The Activation Unit in St Christopher’s Services Longford caters for people with intellectual disabilities with an age range of 18 -45 years.  As a result of the diverse programme within and outside the centre it was observed that individuals demonstrate better behaviour, communication and social skills when outside the centre doing leisure activities.

It was also noted through work with parents and other support networks that leisure time activities were very limited and were perceived as an area of great need, especially as people became older

A survey of the leisure activities available in Longford was carried out and the leisure content of the day programme was increased as a consequence of these findings. This included evening activities, weekends and holidays away, which were offered to people attending the unit.

This programme only served to reinforce the original perceptions of the parents and staff i.e. people behaved better and demonstrated better communication, interest and enthusiasm in their day to day activities when involved in leisure activities. It also reinforced the awareness of the lack of supported leisure options for people with disabilities who wish to be involved in leisure in the community but may also need considerable support to do so.  There were no state or private services, which provide a service of this kind in the Longford region.

A leisure survey and research on the effects of participation in leisure were carried out in the Activation Unit to provide concrete evidence of the effect of leisure and the incidence of leisure participation amongst this population and their peers.  The conclusions of the study showed that people with intellectual disabilities participated in considerably less leisure than their non disabled peers and what leisure they did avail of was usually enjoyed with family members rather than friends. The study also showed the many and varied positive consequences of increased leisure for people.