One project that is very close to my heart is the Mikey Goodwin playground at Nance Park in which is located right in my neighborhood in Indialantic, Florida, and is named in honor of a late teen who was a bright part of our community and was diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), a rare and deadly form of brain cancer.
This passion project all began when I attended the ATIA conference in Orlando, Florida, in 2020 and was inspired by others to advocate for communication boards in playgrounds in my community. Later that year, town hall opened an opportunity to get involved. The timing was meant to be! I felt this playground was a perfect place to make my communication board vision a reality. Because of the park's location just off 192, it is the nearest beach access for much of south Brevard. So, I filled out an application to serve on my town's Playground Advisory Committee, with the main goal of supporting the town to meet the physical, social, and communication needs of the kids and families that I serve locally.
I'm still impressed by the numbers: For Phase 1 of the playground, we raised $240K in donations alone. Just after Phase 1 was installed last year, another $200K was approved in the budget by Florida Senate to allow for Phase 2 of this project. Thanks to all the committee members, volunteers, and donors who made this happen! (Special shout outs to Nicholle Rothengrass, who made our fundraising event happen, and Kim Tsamoutales, who is responsible for organizing so much of the behind-the-scenes fundraising!) As Phase 2 is underway this week, I am reflecting back on the hard work of my team and everything I learned in the process.
Alt text: Indoor photo of a playground core word communication board on display at PRC-Saltillo booth at ATIA conference 2020 in Orlando, FL.
What is Accessibility?
Accessibility refers to the ease of use of a space or a product. The specific features that make a space accessible varies from person to person. Accessibility does not equal ADA compliance, which can be a bit misleading. The standard for the term "accessibility" should be much higher. In terms of a playground, it doesn't just mean that the person can come if they want-regardless of the spoons they have to spend to get there; it means that the person finds it more fun than it is work to get there, returning to the space again and again.
My involvement in the playground was my first volunteer project where I could really offer my expertise from my field, and at the same time, it made me so much more connected to my community. The first thing I did upon joining the committee was research the many ways playgrounds can be made more accessible. I reached out to a former student of mine who had completed a research project on the same topic & used much of her data to form my recommendations for the committee. I also recommend reaching out to many different folks with different disabilities to hear hear their input on playground design. (This is something that I attempted, however, one should remember that when someone has a disability it does mean they are obligated to educate you on it.)
In my initial presentation, I gave the following data to my fellow committee members:
Parents (100%) and teachers (99%) agree that playgrounds are important for both physical and social development
Parents and teachers agree that playgrounds are important for children’s happiness and wellbeing
Parents (88%) and teachers (94%) agree that playgrounds are places where children can make friends
74% parents responded that their family frequently visits playgrounds
I also included the most frequent requests for playgrounds from parents and teachers of those with communication disorders, according to this research. The most common requests were the following:
Communication Boards
Accessible ground covering (poured rubber or turf)
Fenced Enclosure
Music components
Wheelchair Swing
Water Features
Now, we weren't able to accommodate all of these popular requests, but I believe that they influenced decisions in the committee when making plans that were fun for all. For instance, the committee embraced the recommendation for a communication board, and actually posted three custom boards for the first phase of the playground. This was important to me, as kids often don't have access to their high tech devices for a variety of reasons. (I will cover playground communication boards in more detail in another post.)
Thankfully, we were also able to raise enough money for a wheelchair/walker accessible ground covering. While it may not stretch to the perimeters of the park, I believe that with phase 2, it connects the different playground components well, considering the budget.
Mulch is not wheelchair accessible. Stop telling people it is. Playground designers need to stop marketing this way as a collective. Just because it is possible to push a wheelchair across "engineered wood fiber" and just because it is ADA compliant does NOT mean it is easy or fun, or therefore accessible. A person does not need to be standing there or sitting there trying to figure out how to do the thing in order for you to have an accessibility problem. The people who can't access your space are generally not going to try, so you probably won't see the problem unless you really look for it. Money is enough of a barrier to making a space truly wheelchair accessible. So please, stop miseducating the decision-makers. Thanks in advance <3
The committee also agreed on including a fence. However, some opposed it being completely enclosed, so families will still need to keep an eye on their elopers when they visit. My hope is that the current fence is helpful in keeping those kiddos out of A1A traffic; this certainly guided the decisions made about the placement of equipment throughout the process.
Additionally, we included a music component. A xylophone was added as an edit to the original design, to make the playground more accessible (and fun!) for kids with sensory needs. I am so proud of the inclusion of this feature and I love hearing it played every time I visit. I feel that it is not only offers diversity of play opportunities for the children, but is a calming euphony for any nearby.
Options for wheelchair swings were considered, but found to be extremely costly at the time of my initial research (about the full price of our original budget for the park.) We also couldn't be sure that this investment would outlast the harsh salt spray of our park. Additionally, due to safety concerns, a heavy duty wheelchair swing would have to be fenced off and separate from other equipment. Since our goal was to make the playground a place where all kids can be together to play, these factors simply weren't the right fit for our space. Instead, phase 2 features include a wheelchair accessible merry-go-round, and adaptable seating for the zip line and the swings, which a wheelchair user can transfer into or be transferred into in order to participate. Its possible that heavier duty & better desgined swings are now on the market at the time of this post- it would be worth looking into if you are designing a playground in your town!
Water features like a splash pad could not be considered for the playground at the time. Being a beachfront park & having the ocean so close for a similar sensory experience, I also did not see this as a priority. The committee agreed that the maintenance cost would be unpredictably high, considering the sand and the salt and sand coming in from the beach. If you are looking for a splash pad to cool off in, check out Field of Dreams park in neighboring West Melbourne. (I recommend you check the hours the splash pad is in operation before packing up your crew.)
Being in Florida and in the hot sun, I will add another request to the list. After the phase 1 of the playground, our community provided feedback that we desperately needed sun shades. the playground was not accessible to anyone for most of the day during the summer. The committee is responding to that feedback and prioritized shade options for Phase 2 build.
In terms of accessibility, I believe there is always opportunity for growth and improvement for any space. Overall, I am so incredibly proud of what my community accomplished and am so excited to go try it out all the new features at the end of the week. Have you visited the Mikey Goodwin playground at Nance Park? What is you or your kids' favorite feature? If you or your kids have a disability, what do you look for most in a playground? Additionally, if you have any questions about my experience on the playground, please don't hesitate to reach out!
Alt text: Custom playground core word communication board installed at the Mikey Goodwin Playground and sponsored by Spring Forward for Autism. Photo taken during build week. Woman (Rachel Homza MS CCC-SLP) pointing to symbol "excited" and smiling at the camera.
References:
Dattilo, J., Estrella, G., Estrella, L. J., Light, J., McNaughton, D., & Seabury, M. (2008). “I have chosen to live life abundantly”: Perceptions of leisure by adults who use augmentative and alternative communication. Augmentative and Alternative Communication (Baltimore, Md.: 1985), 24(1), 16–28. doi 10.1080/07434610701390558
Therrien M. Playground Experiences of Children with Complex Communication Needs. Poster presented at: Assistive Technology Industry Association Conference; May 20, 2014; Chicago, IL.
Stanton-Chapman, T. L., & Schmidt, E. L. (2017). Creating an inclusive playground for children of all abilities: West Fork playground in Cincinnati, Ohio. Children, Youth and Environments, 27, 124–137. doi:10.7721/chilyoutenvi.27.3.0124
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