Limited leisure awareness, knowledge and skills of young adults with mental retardation become major barriers for these individuals in making successful transitions into active community living. To overcome this barrier, many people with mental retardation should be provided systematic and comprehensive leisure education. The authors identify a clear need and rationale for leisure education for young adults with mental retardation. The structure, content and evaluation strategies of a leisure education model are presented to assist professionals in providing comprehensive leisure instruction. The leisure instruction is intended to instill self-determination, leisure appreciation, self-awareness, decision making, social interaction, knowledge and utilization of leisure resources, and recreation participation into the lives of young adults with mental retardation, thus assisting them in making the transition to community living as an adult.
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