According to Stuart Schleien, Fredrick Green, and Charlsena Stone (1999) it takes three things to create a truly inclusive experience.

1. Get to the activity  NEOS must be installed on a durable, stable surface to ensure that all people can access the game and play safely.

2. Ability to function in the space On the NEOS 360, the game buttons are placed at the optimal reach range for a child using a wheelchair. The installation recommendations suggest that the NEOS be placed away from the rest of the playground equipment. This extra space  helps children with a variety of disabilities to function in the space by providing room for service animals and equipment.  It also helps a child with autism familiarize himself with the game before jumping in.

3. Create Social Inclusion or the ability to gain social acceptance in positive interactions with peers. Because NEOS attracts people of all ages from toddlers to grandparents, it helps build this social acceptance. People gather around and cheer for the players regardless of their playing ability.

In my experience, it is rare that a child with a disability gets cheered by their peers in a typical setting; making NEOS an even more positive experience. When given the chance and the right environment, children are creative in figuring out ways for everyone to play.

In one instance at a playground in Ohio, a group of 8-year-olds were playing NEOS when they noticed a girl, Angela, not playing.  Angela has cerebral palsy, which affects her ability to move most of her muscles, and requires she use a wheelchair to get around. The other children asked Angela if she would like to play. Her eyes lit up and she nodded yes. The kids pushed her right into the middle of the game.  Angela added more challenge to the game as the children needed to get around her wheelchair to hit the buttons.  Angela watched and laughed and the kids circled around her.  It was a case of true inclusion and it was wonderful to watch. –

Originally published by Play by Playworld

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After fences, the number one request that parents who are raising children with autism ask for in a playground is the opportunity to jump and bounce.  I don’t know of any American companies that provide this opportunity.  But Elephant Play does.

With a durable bouncy center of textile-enforced rubber, ElephantPlay’s Bouncing Play structures allow kids not only the freedom to climb, but to fly. Bouncing Play structures combine a unique jumping and rebounding experience that is not common in commercial playground equipment.

Beyond fun, research has shown that rebound bouncing play equipment can strengthen the heart, joints, and legs, while boosting metabolism, circulation, and lung capacity. With child obesity on the rise all across North America, the idea of instilling healthy play into kids’ every day activities is as important as ever.

Imagine a surprise buried in a sandbox – it’s the Bouncing Mat. The bed of the mat is made of reinforced rubber and attached to heavy duty springs which limit the jumping height to 18” (45 cm). The edge of the Bouncing Mat is built out of recycled rubber and thus it absorbs impact like a cushion.

By combining the Bouncing Mat with a versatile exterior rope structure, the Mini Bouncing Net maximizes activity on the playground. Not only do kids get to climb through an intricate net, its design enables young kids to reap their rewards by bouncing. The Mini Bouncing Net is a versatile structure that designed specifically for young children.

As the bigger brother of the Mini Bouncing Net, the Full Bouncing Net is a very similar play structure. However, it is bigger, higher, wider and designed for older children and higher capacities. The excitement of bouncing after climbing through the exterior net structure creates fun and challenging play.

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Accessible playgrounds tend to only offer children who are working on the simplest skills the ability to practice.  Children who have more advanced motor skills are often bored. Designers try to address this issue by adding challenging activities  separate from the easier ones; in effect, creating an area for children with motor disabilities and an area for children without motor disabilities.  While this may create an accessible playground where all children are engaged, it does not create an inclusive playground. 

A truly inclusive playground allows  all children to play together while at the same time enabling individual children to play at their  developmental level.

Playworld Systems’  Triumph Climber breaks the mold.  Unlike any other climber, it offers three levels of challenge in one piece of playground equipment.  As the challenges increase in difficulty it requires a child to use more motor planning skills. Motor planning is the ability to perform a new or skilled motor task.  One of the best ways for a child to learn a new motor skill is to imitate someone. The Triumph Climber is an ideal place for this type of learning to take place. 

Originally published on Play by Playworld

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FP – OmniSpin Spinner

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All children need this, but children with autism and/or sensory processing disorder are often over-stimulated faster, with more intensity and more frequently.  To ensure successful experiences on the playground, it becomes imperative to provide these types of spaces. Playworld Systems’ Cozy Cocoon provides the type of space a child might need to self-regulate an overload of sensory input. 

It is designed:

• So children feel they are completely enclosed, while in reality there are windows that enable a caregiver to watch over the child.
• It is small enough to convey the feeling of being in a contained area and big enough for a parent to get inside to offer the deep touch so often needed for a child to sufficiently calm down.
• So that it  can be mounted so that a child can spin, sway and rock; or set up to enable a child to slowly go around in a circle.

This was excerpt from a blog post originally publish by Play by Playworld : 

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FP – ZipKrooz – Assisted

To put this in a playground, you first purchase a Zip Krooz and then pair with it an additional bay this the Zip Krooz Assisted.

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National Center on Accessibility
National Center on Accessibility, Indiana University-Bloomington

Choosing products for use in a park or recreation facility can sometimes be challenging and overwhelming with the overload of information from manufacturers and accessibility guidelines to consider.   This monograph introduces the major considerations for purchasing products to improve access for people with disabilities in recreation environments including:

• Assessing the needs of your facility;
• Identifying specifications;
• Comparison shopping;
• Getting feedback from other customers; and
• Leveraging your purchasing power.

Before selecting a specific product, facility managers, program coordinators, maintenance staff, essentially all site personnel, should have a thorough understanding of the two types of access: physical access to the environment and program access benefitting the individual.

Read rest of the article from the National Center of Accessibility

National Center on Accessibility (August 2010). Choosing Products to Improve Access at Your Parks and Facilities.. Bloomington, IN: National Center on Accessibility, Indiana University-Bloomington.  Retrieved fromwww.ncaonline.org.

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