Review

Reviewed by Cathryn Grant

Cathryn is a senior access consultant at Architecture & Access. Her background is in occupational therapy and public health.

WHEN THE RISK IS WORTH IT: THE INCLUSION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN FREE RISKY PLAY

Organisation: National Institute for Documentation, Innovation and Educational Research Roma, Italy

Author: Francesca Caprino Date: 2018

Source: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338067931_When_the_risk_is_worth_it_the_ inclusion_of_children_with_disabilities_in_free_risky_play

Children from a young age show an interest in play that could put them at risk of injury, this is called 'risky play'. It can include play at heights, playing with potentially harmful objects like sticks, speed or playing near fire, getting lost or rough and tumble. During this type of play children challenge themselves and “experience sensations of fear mixed with excitement” (Caprino, page 41).

The article describes the known benefits of this type of play for brain and physical development. However, unfortunately today children are spending less time playing outdoors without the supervision of adults and that playgrounds have designed out risky play so that they are safer.

Children with a disability face added barriers to engaging in risky play, these can be due to the disability that they experience, parents and carers being overprotective and denying the child access to risky play, physical or environmental barriers, the fear of bullying or discrimination and lack of care support to access the play environment. at their level, whilst noting that some activities may need to be avoided depending on the child’s disability, but this should be assessed by a trained professional. Playgrounds should be accessible, and they should also be challenging. It is recommended to include the use of natural elements and have some uneven and bumpy surfaces as this might just allow a child in a wheelchair to experience the thrill of jolting over these at a fast pace!

In summary, a child with a disability may need extra support to access risky play but we should not aim to design-out risk in play environments, especially for children with a disability.