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Active Play Alternatives Are Readily Available For Handicapped Children With Wheelchair Accessible Playgrounds

28th January, 2011 - Posted by health news - No Comments

Kids who may have to spend their day-to-day lives in wheelchairs are no different than kids everywhere. They have dreams and aspirations, they hope to be accepted by their peers, and they want areas where they can play and become active just like everybody else. A great way they can do this is by getting to play inside a wheelchair accessible playground. The issue is that such facilities are few and far between, because when nearly all organizations create playgrounds, they don’t really even think about kids who may have accessibility concerns.

With the Special Olympics, we all believe that many disabled persons do not look at themselves to be handicapped when it comes to playing sports. There are lots of very talented handicapped swimmers, skiers, basketball players, racers, and a lot of other kinds of athletes. The way they get to be so great at their chosen sport is by being provided opportunities to be active, to build muscles, and to be just like everybody else. Having a wheelchair accessible playground, kids will get their very first taste of these things, and they’ll grow up liking to be active. Playground equipment is a wonderful stimulus for both body and brain.

All it takes is a bit of creative thinking to include wheelchair accessible construction into a playground’s plans. Swings for disabled kids are really simple to incorporate into any kind of playground. After erecting the swing’s framework, it’s simple to put up, say, two ordinary swings and one that will meet the requirements of children with disabilities. This can be a specially-molded swing giving more body support, one with extra safety harnesses to have the child secure, or a platform swing designed to house the entire wheelchair while the child swings. Swings give kids who are unable to walk the sensation of flying, and the feeling of freedom is priceless.

There are other kinds of equipment that make playgrounds much more accessible to kids in wheelchairs. Ramps permit kids to get around easier, wheel through arcades allow them to pull up on their arms and build strength, and big wheelchair accessible playground structures utilize ramps and large platforms to allow wheelchairs to maneuver to various play panels and accesses to slides.

Though wheelchair accessible playgrounds may be costly to build, they are useful resources for kids who would like to play just like other kids. By giving them opportunities to join in the play, we encourage them to be everything they can be in life.