Boundless Playgrounds in Southeast Michigan: Safety, Accessibility, and Sensory Elements

Kodjebacheva, Gergana; Sabo, Tina; Brennan, Molly; Suzuki, Rie

doi:10.7721/chilyoutenvi.25.1.0132

Cited by 3 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Findings from this paper and others (20,28,57) indicate that the environmental design of entry points and surfacing and paths warrant as much care and attention as the playground itself. Barrier-free entry points are necessary to ensure easy access to the playground, particularly for children with mobility-related impairments [e.g., (13,25,40)]. While deemed as a promising practice, enclosing the playground space to prevent children from straying highlights the additional consideration of the playground site's proximity to hazards such as road traffic and open water (e.g., rivers, drainage ditches).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, adapted play components that enable children with physical disabilities to fully and safely engage in playground play (e.g., slides that can be accessed via ramps, wheel-on merry-go-rounds) remain largely absent from playgrounds (9,10,14,15,17). Many playgrounds also lack sensory-based play components that may promote active engagement among children with developmental disabilities, such as tactile play components that offer different textures to touch and manipulate, or musical play components that produce a variety of sounds and vibrations (25,26). These ongoing playground design issues may explain why playgrounds have been identified as landscapes where children with disabilities can end up feeling isolated, excluded from peer interaction, or excluded from the play space entirely (17)(18)(19).…”

Section: Playground Experiences For Children With Disabilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Having a playground design that can accommodate the presence of adults can be helpful for having assistance readily available (48). Some examples of the adapted equipment in the literature include raised sandboxes that accommodate children using wheelchairs (25,39,41), merry-go-rounds with ramped or flush surface access (15), swings with full body support (12), and staticfree roller slides that can be used by children with cochlear implants without discomfort (42). Children with disabilities have identified swings as a favorite piece of play equipment (17,21).…”

Section: Play Equipment Accessible To All Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The importance of having play components shaped in recognizable designs (e.g., like a car) that foster creative and imaginative pursuits was evident in three studies (17,25,50). Two studies involving children with varied impairments revealed a desire for play equipment shaped in recognizable designs such as cars or houses (17,50), although playground designers should ensure that these imaginative play components are spacious and wheelchair accessible (25).…”

Section: Play Components Shaped In Recognizable Designsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nine studies (10,12,17,25,26,(39)(40)(41)(42) highlighted the importance of informational features that aid in spatial orientation, communication, and guidance on equipment use to enhance the play experiences of children with disabilities. For instance, having a central auditory or visual cue such as a waterfall may assist with spatial orientation (42).…”

Section: Informational Features To Aid With Spatial Orientation Communication and Guidance On Equipment Usementioning

confidence: 99%

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A Scoping Review of Evidence-Informed Recommendations for Designing Inclusive Playgrounds

Brown

Ross

Leo

et al. 2021

Front. Rehabilit. Sci.

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Background: Playgrounds provide children with many sensory, motor, and socioemotional experiences that are critical to child development. Unfortunately, playgrounds also represent an environment where children with disabilities experience barriers to accessing play. Structures and materials that are prominently found in almost all playground designs (e.g., swings, slides, sand) can present as obstacles for many children with disabilities to engage in independent play.Aims: This scoping review engaged in the empirical literature to address the research question, “What are the evidence-informed recommendations for designing inclusive playgrounds to enable participation for children with disabilities?” Consideration was given not only to the physical design of playgrounds, but also the playgrounds' surrounding built and social environments.Methods: A systematic search of Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL, EMBase, ERIC and Scopus was conducted. Only peer-reviewed literature published in English between January 1990 and January 2021, with a primary focus on inclusive playground structure design related to any type of disability were included. Data extraction included the study author(s), year of publication, country of origin, purpose, disability types considered, methods, sample characteristics and key findings. Key findings were synthesized into evidence-informed recommendations, which were later collated, using inductive content analysis, into five broader thematically congruent groups.Results: Thirty-five studies were included using case study (n = 17); observational (n = 6); survey (n = 5); experimental (n = 4); and multiple study (n = 3) designs. Thirteen evidence-based recommendations and one promising practice were categorized into five broad playground elements: entry points; surfacing and paths; features to foster inclusive play; staffing/supervision; and design process.Conclusion: These recommendations build upon previous design-based best-practices that focused exclusively on the physical design of the playground. Our recommendations have implications for how future playgrounds should be designed to maximize usability and inclusiveness and the overall playground experiences for children with disabilities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Playground Experiences For Children With Disabilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Play Equipment Accessible To All Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Play Components Shaped In Recognizable Designsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Informational Features To Aid With Spatial Orientation Communication and Guidance On Equipment Usementioning

confidence: 99%

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A Scoping Review of Evidence-Informed Recommendations for Designing Inclusive Playgrounds

Brown

Ross

Leo

et al. 2021

Front. Rehabilit. Sci.

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Caregiver perceptions of inclusive playgrounds targeting toddlers and preschoolers with disabilities: has recent international and national policy improved overall satisfaction?

Stanton‐Chapman

Schmidt²

2017

Research in Spec Educ Needs

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The purpose of the current study was to survey and interview caregivers of children with disabilities (ages 2–5 years) to obtain their input as to whether current playground equipment meets their child's needs. A total of 149 participants agreed to participate. Caregivers (i) indicated that their child with a disability could not fully participate in the playground's offerings, (ii) felt that the playground was not appropriate for their child with a disability and (iii) dreamed of a fully inclusive playground that met their child's needs. The results also demonstrate that social participation barriers continue to remain for families who have children with disabilities despite the passing of international human rights standards targeting individuals with disabilities and a global focus in improving the overall well‐being of children with disabilities.

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Universal Design in Playground Environments

Hurst,

Lee,

Ndubisi

2023

Landscape Jrnl.

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This study compares three playground environments for the impact of Universal Design on playground use and the physical activity levels of users. While Universal Design principles are increasingly used in playground design, most prior work has focused on their roles for people with disabilities. This study explores Universal Design impacts on all users regardless of their age or disability status, applying a case-comparison methodology with one case playground (built with Universal Design principles) and two comparison playgrounds (built without Universal Design principles) that are comparable in other conditions. Using a modified System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities tool that enables location-specific recordings of momentary environmental observation data, this study compares use and physical activity in playground environments. User location and characteristics were recorded on a plan map of the park and the playground. The data were collected from 70 randomized observation periods per park (210 total for the three parks) recording 12,520 total users. Results showed that while the total user counts were similar across the three parks, the Universal Design playground showed 82% more users than in the mean of the comparison playgrounds. The study also applied methodologies serving to evaluate the place-based effects of park elements on the intensity of park use and physical activity. The playground areas produced 46% of park use, with the highest percentages of active use (29.2%) in the parks as a whole demonstrating the contribution playground environments make to overall park use and physical activity.

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Boundless Playgrounds in Southeast Michigan: Safety, Accessibility, and Sensory Elements

Cited by 3 publications

References 5 publications

A Scoping Review of Evidence-Informed Recommendations for Designing Inclusive Playgrounds

A Scoping Review of Evidence-Informed Recommendations for Designing Inclusive Playgrounds

Caregiver perceptions of inclusive playgrounds targeting toddlers and preschoolers with disabilities: has recent international and national policy improved overall satisfaction?

Universal Design in Playground Environments

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