3 minute read
SCHOOLS
from Green 2021
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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effort to involve more community members in decision-making. The Boettler Park adaptive playground is one of 13 parks in the city, says Michael Elkins, administrator of parks planning and development. And, because the city’s charter grants the parks division 7% of the city’s collected 2% income tax, “how we are funded is the backbone for the options our community enjoys in the parks system.”
Improvements and additions to Boettler Park include sensory features like chimes and a wall of colorful drums. Plus, there’s a dignity slide that is a popular play feature, Elkins says. “If a child with mobility issues with assistance from an adult climbs to the top of the stairs and comes down, the end of the slide has a wide opening so the child can slide over, which allows friends or others playing to go down,” he describes.
A front-facing swing allows parents and children to engage. “How many times as a parent are you swinging a child, pushing them from behind, and you miss that faceto-face interaction?” Elkins relates.
Fencing around the park creates the boundaries Anstine described. She says, “Parents say it is fantastic to go there and just feel safe and secure knowing their child can play at the park.”
— Michael Elkins
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