When designing a playground to
include children with autism, you must understand that there is a spectrum of
severity and every child is different. Some children have a more moderate type of
autism, while others will have more severe symptoms. There are other
diagnoses on the spectrum, most commonly Asperger's Disorder and Pervasive
Developmental Disorder. Some researchers even put ADHD and ADD on the spectrum.
Despite the differences along the spectrum, there are common symptoms
between people with autism and one of those is that 95% of people
diagnosed on the spectrum have Sensory Processing Disorders.
Dr.
A. Jean Ayres is generally credited with developing both a theory of sensory
integration dysfunction, now called Sensory Processing Disorder,
and the therapeutic interventions for children who have it. Her work emphasizes
the importance of three of the senses: tactile (the sense of
touch), vestibular (the sense of movement and gravity), and proprioceptive (the
sense of how our body works—muscle and joint information).
People
with Sensory Processing Disorders maybe hyper-responsive to sensory input
meaning they overreact. While other people maybe hypo-responsive
to sensory input meaning they under-react. In many people it is a
combination of both. This leads us to the fact that every child is
an individual. Therefore, just like every other child, children with
autism react differently and enjoy different activities on the playground.
However, we can take some information about the three senses talked about
above and make some general observations of what
should go into a playground that actively welcomes children with autism.
1. The playground should be fenced so that when a
child feels the need to flee from over-stimulation, he isn't able to leave the
area.
2. The playground should include nature—gardens,
grassy areas, trees, etc. Recent studies from University of Illinois
found that a walk in nature helps children with ADHD stay attentive.
3. The safety surfacing must meet or exceed all
guidelines. Children, who do not feel their senses strongly, may want to
climb as high as they can go and jump off. The intense fall enables
them to feel the impact. They may not recognize the danger so it is
important that the safety surfacing material is maintained on a regular
basis.
4. There should be quiet areas where a child may
go to regroup when she is over stimulated. This quiet area can be made
through landscaping or the use of playground equipment, such as
a playhouse.
5. The playground equipment should be spaced a
little further apart enabling the child to play without touching or being
touched by another child.
6. There should be playground equipment that
swings, goes around in circles, and enables children to climb and jump.
These activities help children with both their vestibular and
proprioceptive systems.
7. There should be equipment such as monkey bars
where a child can hang. This puts pressure on their muscles and joints and
helps to develop the proprioceptive system.
8. Parents who are raising children with autism
often talk about how much their children like to slide, so it is important to
keep slides in your playground. You might want to include
different types of slides since different types of slides often provide
different sensory input.
9. For tactile input, sand and water activities
work well. You might want to include a very large sandbox, where a child
could cover himself with sand. The weight of the sand will calm some
children.
10. There should be play activities that the child
can do by himself, while keeping out of the major line of traffic. Play
panels such as tic-tac -toe, or a marble maze, often can meet this need.
11. Children with autism often need to work on
where their body is in space. Crawling through tunnels is a good activity
for this. It may be important to have windows in the tunnels for the
caregiver to watch and provide assistance if needed.
These
are some beginning thoughts for designing a playground for children with
autism. But as always when planning a playground it is important
to have members of your community involved in the planning. Some people you
might want to include on your planning team to ensure
you get good feedback on the needs of children with autism are parents
(especially parents), Occupational Therapists who specialist
in Sensory Processing Disorders, and Physical Therapists. You may also
want to find a few children with autism that are willing to give
you their input as they are the ones who will be using the playground.
When
the needs of children with disabilities are taken into account at the beginning
of the design process, you end up with a playground that can
be enjoyed by everyone in your community.
Mara Kaplan is an educator, a seasoned advocate for inclusive play and a parent of a child with a disability. She has 15 years experience reviewing toys and designing playspaces. Currently, Mara runs her own consulting firm, Let Kids Play, where she designs accessible playgrounds, reviews and recommends toys, and conducts universal design assessments. Mara also speaks about her journey as well as other topics dealing with play throughout the country. You can read her toy reviews and sign up for her newsletter at www.letkidsplayblog.com. Learn more about accessible playgrounds and where to to find one near you at www.accessibleplayground.net.
