David R. Austin - Author

David R Austin, PhD, FDRT, FALS 

David R. Austin’s practitioner experience was serving as a recreational therapist in psychiatric hospitals. He holds his PhD from the University of Illinois where he majored in recreational therapy with a minor in social psychology. His research has focused upon the social psychology of recreational therapy and professional preparation. Topics of over 170 publications have included attitudes toward serving persons with disabilities, burnout, and recreational therapy curricula. He is currently professor emeritus of recreational therapy at Indiana University. 

He is the coauthor of The Fun Encyclopedia for Therapists; Proven Activities for Therapists and the author or coauthor of several widely used textbooks:    

  1. Therapeutic Recreation Processes and Techniques: Evidence-Based Recreational Therapy (9th edition)
  2. Inclusive and Special Recreation: Opportunities for Diverse Populations to Flourish (6th ed.)
  3. Recreational Therapy: An Introduction (5th edition)
  4. Perspectives on Recreational Therapy
  5. Management Functions in Recreational Therapy
  6. Conceptual Foundations for Therapeutic Recreation
  7. Lessons Learned: An Open Letter to Recreational Therapy Students and Practitioners 

Austin produced 23 instructional videos through the federally funded Recreation Therapy Video (RTV) Project, and he is author of the Health Protection/Health Promotion Model of practice. Austin has served on editorial boards for the American Journal of Recreation Therapy, Journal of Leisure Research, Schole, Annual in Therapeutic Recreation, and Leisure Today. 

Austin has given more than 190 presentations at recreational therapy conferences and workshops throughout the United States and internationally in Australia, Canada, England, and Puerto Rico. He has given keynote addresses at state recreational therapy conferences in Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia, as well as delivering four keynote addresses at ATRA and CTRA national conferences. 

He is a past president of ATRA, the Society of Park and Recreation Educators, and the Academy of Leisure Sciences, as well as a past member of the NRPA Board of Trustees. Austin is a founding member of ATRA, a fellow in the Academy of Leisure Sciences and a founding fellow of the National Academy of Recreational Therapists. 

He has been named by Union College as a Distinguished Alumni Scholar and to its Hall of Fame. He was presented the Brightbill Award by the University of Illinois and has received the NRPA Literary Award. 

Austin is the only individual to have received the NTRS Distinguished Service Award, the ATRA Distinguished Fellow Award, and the SPRE Distinguished Fellow Award. In 1988, he was awarded Indiana University‘s highest teaching award, the Frederic Bachman Lieber Memorial Award for Distinguished Teaching.

Therapeutic Recreation Processes and Techniques 9th Ed

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eBook

Inclusive and Special Recreation, 6th ed.

eBook

Lessons Learned

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eBook

Management Functions in Recreational Therapy

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eBook

The Fun Encyclopedia for Therapists

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eBook

Therapeutic Recreation Processes and Techniques, 8th ed.

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eBook

Perspectives on Recreational Therapy

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eBook

Recreational Therapy, 4th ed.

eBook

Recreational Therapy, 5th ed.

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eBook