Turning accessible playgrounds into fully integrated playgrounds: just add a little essence - Playgrounds

Parks & Recreation, April, 2002 by Tony Malkusak, Jean Schappet, Lawrence Bruya

"Make sure you put the handicapped part in the back. No one wants to see kids like that."

Wow, that sounds like something that would have been said during FDR's presidency. Unfortunately, this comment was made at a public meeting to discuss a community's new playground design. It is sad to know in some circles, people still discriminate against those with disabilities.

Parks and recreation professionals and those involved in the development of playground environments thought the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) would have solved all the problems and issues faced for disabled individuals. There seem to be as many questions now, or perhaps even more, about accessible playgrounds and how to create a universally accessible playground environment. Why does it still seem so difficult? How can we make play areas accessible, fun and challenging for everybody? What is missing here?

Perhaps all your playground may need is a dash of essence: play essence that is.

ADAAG

In July of 1990, the ADA became law. The intent of the Law was that all Americans have the right to access public services and accommodations. Those in parks and recreation recall putting together an action plan to make their facilities, parks and programs accessible. This was a difficult task, especially in the area of playgrounds, because the law did not give direction to serve as a guide for the design and construction process.

The Access Board developed a set of guidelines for play areas. They are published in Section 15.6 of ADAAG and provide a guide for new construction or alterations of play areas. They are a national building code for play areas. This allows owner/operators to determine if their newly built or altered playground is accessible, by play components that can be counted or play elements that can be measured. This has been sufficient for those who want to know that their site is accessible in meeting the minimum criteria as identified in ADAAG's final rules. Are these areas facilitating imaginative, interactive, dramatic social play at each child's highest level of ability?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. The ADAAG requirements were not designed to provide integrated play. The requirements are intended to address minimum access standards, not provide full integration or the need for developmentally appropriate play activities for all children. For example, a minimum means of accessing a composite play structure is by a transfer station. This requires children to crawl or to use their upper bodies to pull themselves along after leaving their support equipment behind. It takes those with disabilities out of their "comfort zone" and has them crawling down along the platform while their peers and siblings are running. For children with physical disabilities, their ambulatory device is the key to their equal mobility and is a vital part in building their self-esteem. So what is happening is that an accessible playground segregates those with disabilities to one portion of the playground and the "fun stuff" is located elsewhere. But does that satisfy the spirit or intent of the ADA law as it pertains to play areas?

The Essence of Play

To help us answer that question, let us step away from the adult mentality and attempt to understand what is really going on in a playground. Regardless of the range of abilities, play is about three basic fundamentals for all children capable of independent play: 1) children want to do fun things; 2) children want to be in fun places; and 3) children want to be in the middle of play. Children don't care about removing architectural barriers or about ADAAG, they just want to play with their friends. Children want to experience the rigor and challenge of a play area that is sensory rich and developmentally appropriate so that everyone can play to their highest level of ability.

For those that are cognitively capable of independent play, real play happens in the minds of children. There is more than just physical development and activity in a playground, there are also social, intellectual, emotional and ethical experiences taking place. For children, their perception of the play space is the combination of the real space (the physical playground) in which children exist, and the imaginary world that they create while interacting with peers and siblings. This is the essence of play. These are the experiences we fondly remember as adults as we reflect upon our own childhood memories and playing outdoors.

Integrated Play

Now as adults, instead of reflecting upon our own play essence experiences, we are getting hung up on such issues as the tools of play (the playground equipment and-components) and questions about meeting minimal accessibility requirements. What is missing is understanding and applying the relationships among the tools of play, accessibility issues and the essence of play. This is the recipe for integrated play. Therefore, the goal is to facilitate imaginative, interactive, dramatic social play at each child's highest level of ability. The highest level of ability pertains to each of the domains of human development: intellectual, physical, emotional, social and ethical.