Easterling Primary School: small playground, big victory

The playground serves as an outdoor classroom and therapy area for children in special education. “We’ve found that other playgrounds are busy and large, so they don’t always lend the best environment for autistic children whose social challenges can be overwhelming,” explains Ashley Collins, the Autism and Applied Behavior Therapy Coordinator for Marion School District 1. 

 Ashley works collaboratively with special education teachers, general education teachers, and their students whose autism ranges from mild to severe.

“We’d looked at many options, and knew immediately that what Gerald had was going to be the best fit. Plus it was different!” says Ashley. She worked with occupational and speech therapists to determine what pieces would be most helpful. “Gerald was really personable and professional. He had a great sense of what we wanted, and had very specific solutions for us.”

Each structure has purpose and meaning. “We’ll see great developmental changes in our students and the chance to introduce so many learning concepts,” explains Ashley. For example, students who do not typically communicate with others will most likely begin talking and interacting more often. 

 “The playground also will be highly motivating for children that are extremely challenging to motivate through traditional avenues like praise or stickers,” she adds.  

 To work on students’ sensory processing challenges, Ashley and her team chose the Omni-SpinTM Spinner. It can be a sensory integration therapy tool for students by using movement to develop or retrain the connection between the brain and the rest of the body. This helps body awareness in general by improving muscle development that is needed for sitting and writing.

The Omni-Spin can be utilized as a "get going" tool to stimulate brain activity or a "calm down" tool to decrease brain activity, which improves attention level and focus in the classroom. Additional components include crawl tunnels and climbing walls, which are welcome challenges for students who must work on their mobility and coordination.  Students with social challenges need highly motivating opportunities to easily initiate interaction. “The double slide gives them a chance to say, ‘Come with me, let’s slide together.’ They can go together, but still have their own slides,” says Ashley.

“Most play areas are a ‘go and play’ playground. Ours is a ‘come and play’ area, which fosters an inclusive environment where adults and children of all abilities play together,” she explains. Also, the teachers and therapists can easily supervise and interact, too, because the structures are not tall.  “We struggle for every little victory here,” Ashley says.  “We must celebrate the small things, which is so important to our students." 

Be on the lookout for this playground in Landscape Structures’ 2012 catalog! It’s accessible design and price point made it a great fit for this year’s examples of what’s possible in the world of inclusive play.

 

To learn more about this project, contact Gerald Hitch at 866-304-1062 or contact email Gerald at Gerald Hitch.