The View from the Playground: A community member’s perspective on inclusion

Dreams Start on the Playground

By John Mullan, President of PlayCreation

What does it mean to a child with a disability to be accepted as is? What does it mean for a buddy with typical abilities to understand that the desire for laughter, friendship and play is universal? What does it mean for us to have a generation growing up dwelling on what makes people similar, not what makes us different?

I recently attended a community playground design workshop sponsored Shane’s Inspiration. They were helping the City of Gig Harbor, Washington voice their design ideas for their very own fully-accessible, inclusive playground. Spending just a few hours with kids with disabilities and their parents made me wonder why it has taken our society so long to realize the importance of inclusion.

Can you believe it took until 1990 to sign the ADA? Just as with women voting, or blacks being 3/5 human (the Three-Fifths Compromise is found in Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 3 of the United States Constitution)…we look back and think “how absurd that we would exclude a vital portion of the population for so long.” What I want to know is what are we doing about it now, in our parks, at these magical islands we call playgrounds?

Ever ask a six year old if she wants to go to the playground? Just watch her eyes get big and smile widen. The playground draws kids in. And no kid should be excluded from that…not only because “it’s the right thing to do” but also because dreams start on the playground. Which brings us to the dream of a playground where kids with disabilities and typical abilities have the opportunity to play side-by-side.

I was amazed, at the community design session, by how much thought and effort these children put into designing their playgrounds.  They were as obsessed as I am about detailing where everything goes, and their imagination blew me away. There were kids with disabilities and without, armed with crayon and paper, creating fantastic playgrounds. Group labels and societal classifications did not matter (and damn well they shouldn’t). 

Once this playground is open and the kids’ design ideas come to fruition, Shane’s Inspiration will continue to support the playground and the community by helping launch two programs that use the playground as a classroom for learning acceptance, inclusion and understanding. Through a simple day of play and connection, our kids will learn about themselves and others at the playground.

So when we talk about dreams, friendship, achievement and inclusion starting on the playground…it is important to consider this in the context of what it means to the future of all the kids who are afforded these opportunities and more importantly, these programs. A FOX News investigation in 2009 said that, according to several disability rights advocates, more than half of Americans with disabilities are unemployed, and the reality is that it may be as high as 80%.

Here is what Brad Thornton, the Director of Project Development for Shane’s Inspiration, said recently: “These playgrounds are the vehicle to allow the programs to eliminate bias. One study cited that 80 to 90 percent of the adults with disabilities in the workplace lose their jobs due to lack of social skills. This generation will be more accepting, more knowledgeable and more welcoming to people with disabilities.”

It’s a shame that the number one reason a worker with a disability will lose their job is a lack of social skills. It’s a blessing that we as a society are finally advocating for the rights of all and do so in such a way as to create these playground classrooms where we can learn acceptance before prejudice.

Here is what I am advocating for this generation: use these incredible communities to lead and influence the Parks and Recreation landscape. Let’s show our kids how independence, self-understanding, confidence and a sense of contribution can all start on the playground, as long as we all have access to and are included on it.

Yes, build it. Then show them, at the human level, we all want the same things and that we all have dreams. And they will come…kids and parents of all abilities.  Because Dreams Start on the Inclusive Playground.

Photos by: Akiko Oda

To read the full article about Gig Harbor’s Design Workshop, please visit:

http://gigharbor.patch.com/articles/inclusive-playground-in-gig-harbor#photo-9003947

The View From the Playground

 Playgrounds are to children what Starbucks is to adults

By Allison Cameron Gray

When most people think about playgrounds, they think of running, swinging, and playing wonderful imagination games with their friends.  Playgrounds weren’t always that way for me. 

In preschool and elementary school, I received party invitations to parks.  Social animal that I am, of course I went.  Often, I exited early, crying all the way home. 

You see, once the cake was over, most of the kids would run to the playground, none of which were accessible then.  For me, the closest I could get on my own was to the end of the walkway because I used a power wheelchair.  All I could do was observe the fun everyone else was having on the slides and swings. It was impossible to ask my friends not to play on a playground because of me. I was worried that they wouldn’t accept me if I brought it up. And I didn’t want to intrude on their fun.  It definitely made me realize that I was different from everyone else. The only time I felt different was at playgrounds.

Instead of equating playgrounds with fun like my friends, I viewed them as social blockades.

I was nine when Shane’s Inspiration started and, as a junior architect, I designed what kind of playground I wanted!  When the first playground in Griffith Park opened I was a preteen, but I will never forget the rush I felt wheeling around, playing with wall activities and sitting on a swing.  What freedom! 

Like playgrounds, there’s a Starbucks every couple of blocks. It’s a very common place to socialize. Imagine if you could only get to the door of Starbucks, how would you get your caffeine fix?

Having fun is a right for every child, and playgrounds provide that. Fun is a necessity; every child should have it as a part of their daily regimen. Playgrounds should be a right and not a privilege.

Although, at 22, I’m way past playing on playgrounds, I went to the Shane’s Inspiration Playground in Griffith Park a few months ago when I was having a bad day, and seeing all the kids on equipment that I helped design perked up my mood.

The Shane’s playground movement provides a gift to the world that is fun, creative and most of all, recognizes children in all their uniqueness. I am grateful to have been a part of it all these years.