Image by Miracle Recreation
Your child deserves the best, most inclusive playground. A supportive play environment inspires creativity and connections, and moms who want to see their children flourish should research the top-rated accessible playground equipment for schools. These spaces encourage interactivity regardless of ability level, so their demand is growing. Know how to spot adaptive playgrounds and accessible equipment — it could be the haven your learner needs to come home happy every day.
Features of Accessible Playground Equipment
You might choose a day care or school based on its wheelchair-accessible playground equipment or other inclusive amenities. Talk to administrators about how they welcome students from all backgrounds. If they wanted to make play spaces fun for children with disabilities, they should say they:
- Involved parents and children in decision-making processes.
- Sought advice from professionals in disabilities.
- Assessed the student body’s needs and accessibility gaps.
- Allocated part of the budget to afford inclusive equipment.
The level of care the staff demonstrates is a crucial factor in assessing the quality of inclusive playground equipment.
Safety Considerations
Your child may roughhouse occasionally, but little bumps and bruises should not be a side effect of interacting with the playground responsibly. Soft surfaces will prevent children from getting hurt if they fall or bump into something. At the same time, there should be a balance between softness and slip resistance.
Additionally, fences will help those with learning or spatial disabilities who may be less able to discern where edges are. Fences can also protect those with musculoskeletal concerns who may need to lean on a safe surface when experiencing pain.
Accessibility Features
Inclusive, sensory-rich equipment should be more durable than standard playground infrastructure. Your child should feel comfortable using their wheelchair up a ramp because it is shock-absorbent and grounded in place. If they’re heading to a slide, the bottom should have a safe landing zone as an easy transfer point.
Various sensory components appeal to a wide range of learning styles, especially since one study revealed music and sensory play accounted for 36.2% of potential play styles. Drumming and shaking instruments are powerful tactile and auditory inclusions, enjoyable for those with visual and hearing disabilities. Lightweight, soft blocks let children throw them around without hurting anyone. Many of these fixtures can be calming, such as a sand pit or designated quiet zones so children can destimulate.
Around 7.3 million learners had their lives improved by various education services between 2021 and 2022. Here are a few other ideas for accessibility features throughout the playground:
- Braille signposts
- Wide, flat surfaces and pathways
- Transfer spaces and platforms
- ADA compliance
- Shaded zones
Various Equipment Types
There’s virtually no limit to the interactive equipment an accessible playground can have. However, features like swings, slides and climbing structures may have different shapes and sizes to accommodate those with disabilities.
Some people might assume features are off-limits when they appeal to children with different abilities. This premise is flawed, as there are countless products on the market to make fun available for everyone.
Benefits of Accessible Playground Equipment
An inclusive playground enhances all students’ physical development. It allows everyone to run as fast as they can, kick balls, hide or spin around. Every accessible playground can improve your child’s health and be completely safe.
Additionally, it fosters social skills among all children. Embedding disability-friendly equipment into the playground promotes better friendships and improves mental well-being more than keeping it separate.
Inclusivity also benefits families. Parents can proudly watch their children play in a new way for the first time or discover an accessible innovation they weren’t aware of.
Top 3 Playground Equipment Companies
You can only source the top-rated accessible playground equipment for schools from reputable, inclusive companies. These are the best places to start your search.
1. Miracle® Recreation — Monett, Mo.
Miracle Recreation is the best for a reason. It offers an extensive catalog of accessible products and solutions. Here are a few examples of the awe-inspiring playground equipment it creates:
- Seesaws with five-point harnesses and transfer-level height
- Interactive STEM play walls called Miracle Machines that show cause and effect in a sensory environment
- Adaptable rope and handlebar climbing challenges with reclining and socializing zones
- Low-cost and energy-efficient nighttime lighting solutions for safety and security
- Weather-enduring contoured slat benches to support all body types
Its team has experience beyond schools, including churches, public spaces and campgrounds, making its perspective unlike others on the market. This company’s installations can make every fixture feel natural to the space and supportive of all age groups and abilities.
Miracle Recreation’s school solutions include everything from preschool and higher to ensure its offerings appeal to many play styles and personalities. The team has served students from all walks of life for nearly a century, making them some of the most informed staff in the sector.
Their quoting and financing systems are straightforward and user-friendly, as they are familiar with schools’ typical budgets. Miracle Recreation also offers a repair service for its equipment.
2. Playworld — Lewisburg, Penn.
Want a whirler that can hold and latch onto wheelchairs or a zooming track with an accessible seat? Playworld has tons of inventive, inclusive playground equipment. Its staff promises a play experience fostering accessibility, high safety standards and durability to last generations — and your child’s long play days.
This organization strictly regulates which materials they use via the Playworld Process, a unique way of vetting and testing what they sell. Workers inspect every product intricately, ensuring everything is only for the betterment of all children. A craftsmanship promise ensures the highest-quality materials, so you can be confident nothing will fall apart or degrade.
3. Play and Park Structures — Chattanooga, Tenn.
Play and Park Structures is all about the science of the perfect playground design. Its offerings are custom, backed by research to make learning and fun accessible for everyone. Its employees are also professionals in landscape architecture, making sure the land highlights the equipment in the most inclusive and exhilarating ways possible.
It specializes in larger structures, like the Jupiter and Meridian Starburst, which look like something out of an amusement park rather than a school playground. The catalog gives a high-thrill spin to a conventional school, respecting that students with disabilities want to experience the same excitement.
The Top-Rated Accessible Playground Equipment for Schools
An inclusive playground is essential for making all children feel cared for. If your playground lacks representation and accessibility, explore these options and suggest them to your child’s school. Anyone, regardless of ability, benefits from these installations because it exposes young and bright minds to how colorful and diverse the world can be.
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