Adaptive Recreation & Learning Exchange

The City of Edina believes that each person has the right to participate in the activities of his or her choice. For residents with disabilities, the City offers many adaptive recreation programs. In addition, the City offers support in general recreation programs through Inclusion, the process of providing help for individuals with disabilities to participate in general park and recreation programs.

For more than 25 years, the Adaptive Recreation and Learning Exchange (AR&LE) has been a leader in providing options for people with disabilities to participate in programs and activities that are specifically designed to meet their diverse needs.

Adaptive Recreation Programs

The cities of Bloomington, Eden Prairie, Edina and Richfield each have programs that are specifically designed for people with disabilities of all ages. These programs include:

• Basketball
• Bowling
• Fitness programs
• Skiing/snowboarding
• Social activities for both youths and adults
• Softball
• Swimming lessons

Learning Exchange Classes

The school districts of Bloomington, Edina, Eden Prairie and Richfield Community Education Adults with Disabilities programs are working together to offer customized classes for adults with developmental and/or physical disabilities. Classes include:

• Cooking
• Health and fitness
• Independent living skills
• Leisure learning activities

Profiles

Individuals with disabilities need to fill out a participant profile (PDF). The participant profile information is shared with program staff so that they can be aware of any health, medical and special needs issues that pertain to the participant. Individuals who wish to provide support or work with the participants must complete a professional profile. In order to be on the AR&LE mailing list, complete a profile and return it.

Inclusion

A successful inclusion experience involves several steps, including individual and environmental assessment, staff training and activity adaptations. To ensure a positive experience and the accommodation of individual needs in a park and recreation program, please call the adaptive recreation supervisor at 952-826-0433 or 952-826-0379 (TTY) at least three weeks before a program starts.

Program Catalog

The AR&LE Cooperative publishes a quarterly program catalog. This is sent out quarterly to all the participants and professionals who are on our mailing list as follows:

• Winter Brochure - Late November
• Spring Brochure - Early March
• Summer Brochure - Mid April
• Fall Brochure - Mid August

Program Fees & Registration

The fees to register for AR&LE programs are broken into Resident and Non-Resident amounts. A Resident is classified as anyone living in the City of Bloomington, Eden Prairie, Edina or Richfield. Non-Residents are considered to be those living outside of Bloomington, Eden Prairie, Edina or Richfield. The difference in these fees is minimal.