“ Designing an inclusive playground means creating places where the openness , curiosity , and impartiality of children – with or without impairments – are abundant and full of cooperation and togetherness .”
This way , a playground can be a meeting place , where people – children and their parents or caregivers – can learn from and with each other . Side by side , they compensate for or overcome social and structural barriers . The planning and design process should address as many abilities as possible in addition to children using wheelchairs . It ’ s not about “ levelling down ”, nor is it necessary to remove every sandbox so that a child with limited mobility doesn ’ t notice that he or she cannot run . The opportunities of one child often present barriers to another . For example , a pull-up bar , accessible for a child in a wheelchair , can represent a barrier for a child who is visually impaired . Since the bar cannot be sensed with the child ’ s white cane , there might be a change in the floor structure to mark this activity . Or a sensory pathway with different floor coverings – a fun experience for a child who is visually impaired – can create a barrier for those in wheelchairs , overcome by taking a different path . Designing a play space to be inclusive means considering unique needs . Barrier-free components can be part of an inclusive playground design , offering challenges and a more robust play experience .
Designing an inclusive playground means creating places where the openness , curiosity , and impartiality of children – with or without disabilities – are abundant and full of cooperation and togetherness . Creating an environment that considers human dignity doesn ’ t mean finding the lowest possible denominator . Rather , it means enabling the potential of a society in its entirety to experience and benefit from being inclusive . This is a rewarding challenge .
Maria Feske is a psychologist , B . S . Furthermore , she is a nationally certified Occupational Therapist with many years of experience in working with children and adults with disabilities . Maria Feske is head of the day care department for people with disabilities of a charitable institution in Berlin . She is the mother of an eleven-year-old child . As a consultant for Berliner Seilfabrik , she and the team located in Berlin design playground concepts that are up to such special challenges .
Learn more in “ The Inclusive Playground – A Rewarding Challenge ”, a handbook to inclusive play spaces , appearing in collaboration with Maria Feske . It provides resources and guidelines on how to create inclusive playgrounds .
Read the handbook online :
Berliner Play equipment for life
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