It is interesting to look into how disabled children get involved in playtime and what helps and what effectively excludes them from such taking part in certain activities. Disabled people are entitled to exactly the same rights as those who have no disability whatsoever.
The 1995 Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) is designed to ensure that disabled people have equal rights and do not suffer from prejudice or discrimination through all areas of their lives and as part of this it includes access to public services.
All children regardless of their ability or disability should have opportunity to experience play through an accessible playground. Whilst not all parts of a playground would be accessible for a disabled child it would be wonderful if both disabled and non-disabled children could simply play together.
Many playground designers often focus their design towards including play equipment which is wheelchair accessible for children who are disabled however; it is important to look at other disabilities whereby other play equipment could also be useful at ensuring disabled children are not excluded from play.
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It is one thing to have suitable play equipment for the disabled to utilise but what is the point if a playground is simply in-accessible? Pathway surfaces leading to a playground should also be wheelchair friendly and the overall location easily accessible for the disabled.
There is a lot of relevant guidance concerning playground design, disability and the outdoor surfacing which is used. Careful consideration needs to be taken when it comes to the width, gradient and surface treatment used.
Playground designers should include the use of safety surfacing as part of their design as this absorbs any falls and minimises injury. Further to this it is a wheelchair friendly surface and therefore would mean children and indeed parents with disabilities wouldn't be excluded from experiencing play.
We should ensure that as much as is possible disabled children are offered the same quality and extent of play experience as those who are not disabled although acceptance that not all equipment can be accessible to everyone. More effort must be taken to ensure that with any playground design there is thought given to disabled children and equipment suitable for them included.
Sometimes there is an argument that inclusion of equipment specially designed for use by disabled children would further increase segregation however we do not agree this would be the case. Disabled children should experience say the swings like any other child, why can’t they have swings suitable for wheelchairs, swing seats with suitable harnesses for the disabled and then swings for the non-disabled.
We searched and unfortunately there are very few playgrounds with such facilities available; they are few and far between. A playground should be welcoming to both disabled children and non-disabled and currently we feel many disabled children are excluded from the playground.
Hopefully soon this will change, whilst there are playgrounds which are heavily accessible and specially designed for the disabled as mentioned they are few and far between. Let's hope more playgrounds are designed and installed which are suitable for the disabled and then disabled children can feel more included in play.
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