"Inside the Playspace" Playground Blog

Here is a great checklist, for designing your playground area for accessibility, and inclusivity for all users. Be sure to visit the Active Playground Equipment website for dozens of photos and solutions for all of your playground needs.

Planning Stage:
- To get a good perspective on a broad spectrum of needs, make sure that you include people with disabilities and even parents who are raising children with disabilities on the playground committee
- Even involve children with disabilities to look at the playground designs, and have them give their input on inclusivity.

Accessibility, Ramps and Surfacing Suggestions:

- Use a more solid playground surfacing solution for users with mobility devices, like walkers or wheelchairs. SofSurfaces or ActiveTurf is a great surfacing solution for this particular use.
- Slopes on accessible ramps should not be any more steep than 1:20, as per ADA standards.
- Every 12 feet of ramp, there should be a 60″ diameter flat area to be used as a resting spot.
- Transfer stations limit accessibility to the playground to only users with walkers. Transfer stations do not lend themselves well to users in wheelchairs as mobility devices.
- There should be at least 36″ in width on the ramps that lead up to the playground equipment. This gives the user ample space to navigate the ramp.

Tips for designing Inclusive Playgrounds for sensory stimulation
- Provide some areas of quiet play, free from distractions.
- Play huts, or cozy shaded areas are popular, with stimulating colours.

Tips for designing Inclusive Playgrounds for children requiring visual and sensory stimulation
- Braille panels, bright colours, and spinning colourful gears are an excellent choice.
- Provide navigation space between play centres
- Music panels, drums, and other sound generating devices make fantastic choices.
- Provide sand and water areas for tactile stimulation, and texture changes for stimulation.

Tips for designing Inclusive Playgrounds for children with hearing impairments.
- Use stimulating colours, but don’t make them too busy or confusing.
- Use symbols to clarify the purpose of the play element.
- Use lots of different tactile experiences, like sand, tactile panels, and play panels with sliding objects.

For children with cognitive impairments
- Always keep in mind the safety and abilities of the users.
- Use pathways and bike paths with ground paint
- Be sure to design the inclusive playspace so that users are also challenged to increase their abilities.

Checklists for Creating a Universally Accessible Playspace

Playground, and play structures s are great places for gross motor activities. You can greatly improve your playground by
including places for diverse play activities. Also include more than one way to access areas (like ramps,
stairs, and a rope ladder). The following are some of our favorite suggestions.

Quiet Play
- Under-deck areas, crawl tunnels, play huts and treehouses, where users can interact and feel hidden.

Pretend Play
- Use theater panels, store counters, or drive thru panels to encourage interactive and imaginative play
- Install imaginative trucks, jeeps and other interactive playground components.
- Install bike paths, and paint hard surfaces to indicate areas of travel
- Use gear panels, bubble windows, and motion panels to stimulate.

Fine Motor Activities
- Install chalk panels, or painting panels right on your Active Playground.
- Active Playground has many activity panels, and sliding gadget panels.
- Offer sandboxes, and areas for creative play.

Vestibular and Proprioceptive Play
- Provide safe motion items, like HemiSpins, or rotating dishes from our ActiveMotion line.
- Provide swings with accessible seats
- Spring riders, and pivoting balance items, like ActiveSK8, or Active Wave, in our ActiveMotion line are favourites.
- Install lots of climbing ladders, rock climbing panels, and challenges to encourage climbing and navigation.

Tips for designing for Inclusivity and Sensory Play
- Play panels with music, or drums are a favourite.
- Talk tubes, periscopes and lookouts are a great choice.
- Sandboxes, and water play help stimulate senses.

Nature Play
- Plant lots of grass, flowers, and shady trees in the playspace to offer a natural environment.
- Bird feeders are also a great addition.

Active Playground Equipment.

We recently finished a beautiful turn-key playground for Generations Daycare, in London Ontario. It consists of a new Discovery play structure, and a tile surface that was installed flush with both the grass, and the concrete foundation.

Click this link to see some photos, and read more about it.

An excerpt from the Paediatric Child Health Volume 7 issue, No 5 May/June 2002.

The full article can be found here:

In 1999, Canada’s high school dropout rate was 12%, down 33% from an estimated 18% in 1991 (48). Students leaving before graduation were more likely to report a lack of enjoyment with school, dissatisfaction with their courses and teachers, and nonparticipation in extracurricular activities. School physical education programs and extracurricular physical activities could play a significant role in improving students’ attitudes, discipline and behaviours (49). Although information on the number of children in Canada taking regular physical education classes is incomplete, it is estimated that most schools offer half of the recommended provincial requirement, and less than 4% offer quality daily physical education programs. Unfortunately, in 2001, only 33% of all schools in Canada had formal physical education classes, and programming varied from school to school (Guy Tanguay, personal communication). Formal physical education is optional after grade nine in Canada. In recent years, parents and the business community have pressured educators to adjust the curriculum to prepare students for the workforce.

Some claim that reducing the number of hours spent on physical activity will increase academic achievement. Yet, there is no evidence that regular physical activity hinders educational performance and there is modest evidence that shows that it actually enhances academic achievement (50).

The 1996 United States Surgeon General’s report recommend 1 h or more of aerobic physical activity and exercise on most days (51).  Physicians have a vital role to play in the reinstatement of regular quality daily physical education in all schools and in all age groups. Children and youth should be provided with safe school recreation facilities that are stocked with appropriate equipment, ensuring exposure to a wide range of physical activities, especially those encouraging lifestyle changes. School-based facilities are not only important for increasing physical activity during school hours, they are an essential means to allow all children access to cost effective community recreation programs after school.