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Come Out and Play! Adaptive playground equipment and improvements at Boettler Park make it a welcome space for children with special needs. BY KRISTEN HAMPSHIRE » SLIDES, SWINGS AND OTHER PLAYGROUND features that children love to climb might be fun and games for many — but a real challenge for young ones with special needs. For example, moving a wheelchair across mulch is no easy task. But unless your child is facing some of these challenges, you might not think about how important it is to have sensory features on the playground or a fence surrounding the space so parents and children can feel safe. So, when the city of Green parks board approved an adaptive playground for Boettler Park, it convened a focus
group of parents who have children with developmental challenges, autism and other special needs. “We gathered input and were intentional about engaging parents of kids who have special needs so we could come up with a really good playground that is well-used and much appreciated by the community,” says Councilman Rocco Yeargin, who reached out to parent mentor Rebecca Anstine, who provides support to families in the school district’s special education program. “They gave us a draft, and we were able to provide ideas,” Anstine says, relating
how parents pointed out the need for boundaries with a fence, ramps to help children access the top of slides and swings that children can get in and out of without a lot of assistance. Efforts to engage special needs families stems from the city’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, which formed twoand-a-half years ago, Yeargin says, as an
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