Children's Environments: Accessibility Consultation for Safety, Independence, and Learning

Introduction

Shoshana: Children, as you know, are all extremely different. Thus, regulations and accessible design issues are related to different body sizes, grasping strength, and hand function related to a specific age. Most of what we will discuss here is a general way of looking at accessibility and design for children. We are going to look at more than just ergonomics and architectural guidelines. We are going to look at sensory issues, which is something that the building industry needs our input to learn about. If any of you work with children with autism, ADD, attention deficit disorders, traumatic brain injury, and those that have sustained a concussion, you know that there are unique issues related to children and play and school environments that need to be addressed. These issues may go beyond the legal guidelines that the contractors and designers actually know about.

Today, we will cover assessment issues and design specifics and elements. I will also talk about some of the solutions that designers and occupational therapists have come up with in terms of designing for safety, independence, play and interaction, and sensory issues. I will go over some unusual problems, and I will go over some case studies as we go along. Listing priorities is a crucial part of working with a team, and you want to try to get people involved in the design. You do not want to come in as the expert saying, "This is what you need." You want to create a team of consumers, professionals, and advocates who will be working together to create the best options. We will also talk about some of the technical assistance and funding resources that are available for you.

The Interdisciplinary Team: Accessibility Consultation Professionals

First of all, a team of professionals can often be involved, and it can get complicated.

• Medical rehabilitation professionals
  • OTR/OTAs, RPT/PTAs, rehab nurses, social workers, case managers, vocational counselors, rehab engineers
• Building professionals and designers
  • Architects, interior designers, landscape architects, building contractors, civil and mechanical engineers, building inspectors
• Miscellaneous
  • Disability advocates, lawyers, independent living center advocates, housing agency personnel

You want to make sure that the best possible team is created if it is possible financially and logistically. With the advent of conference calls, Skype, and other venues, it is easier to create a team of people at a much lower cost because you do not have the travel costs and the on-site costs, as well as it is easier to get people involved. You may have medical professionals, educators, building professionals, designers, advocates, community resource people, etc., all involved in one team building a playground or a school environment, public or private. There are also big issues with home environments, which are not related to legal issues, but they are related to the home environment's design issues.

In terms of playgrounds, and museums, and other public spaces, they either come under compliance with 504, which is the Rehabilitation Act, which is a federally funded project, or ADA, which most of you have heard about, the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is mostly related to public spaces that are state and local, not federal, and also private enterprises. It does not cover homes other than publicly funded, local, publicly funded homes, and 504 would cover your federally funded projects for residential environments.

Philosophical Basis

In the late '80s and early '90s, as I started working as an OT and worked with people with mobility problems, sensory issues, visual impairments, hearing impairments, strokes, and hand function issues, I saw very few people with disabilities out in the community. As there were so many barriers, how could they get out in the communities? I began learning about the different laws related to accessibility and how to create an environment that instills in a person the self-confidence to live their life with their disability, especially if it is a traumatic disability and a sudden change. Some of the philosophy behind how I view my consultation services are below. 

• Independent Living Movement (ILM)
• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
• Model of Human Occupation (MOHO)

Independent Living Movement (ILM)

The first one I have used is the Independent Living Movement (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Overview of the Independent Living Movement.

This looks at the consumers as the experts, and we are just here to provide information, guidance, and mentoring. We are not the decision-makers. We can provide options and choices, but we are not making definitive decisions for the clients.

Many of you live in states where you have access to independent living centers, and they were created as a result of the Independent Living Movement. They are usually locally funded, but at first, they were federally funded, and there were many initiatives in more urban areas. There are many more in rural areas that promote the consumer model of community-based services, client-centered service delivery. These things came after the Independent Living Movement, but it started the ball rolling. It initiated the idea that people with disabilities deserve civil rights just like everybody else. It was not until 1990 that people with disabilities in the private sector actually were given those rights as people were given in1964 with the Civil Rights Act.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

From your psychosocial training, many of you know Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

It is a process of going from biological needs and safety into higher levels of self-actualization. In Maslow's model, you start with stabilizing biological needs. If someone is unstable in their breathing or circulation, they are in a life-threatening situation and cannot go to the higher levels. A person needs to take care of those basic needs first and then address safety issues. You want to make sure things are safe, not just for the consumer but also for the caregivers. The next is love and belonging. When a person feels safe, their health status is stabilized, then they can think about giving to others and receiving from others. Love and belonging are one of the issues that have the greatest impact on psychological and emotional health. Number four is status and esteem. Once you have relationships and feel safe in your environments, you can then think about how you want to present to the world? It is important to help your clients and support your clients to think about goals and priorities and achieve them. This may be through technology such as an AAC device for speaking and home automation. The last area is self-actualization. What impact do I want on the world? Why am I here? What is my importance? This is a quality of life approach. Many people do not actually get there. I like to help people think about these higher areas. If a person thinks they are important and that they mean something to others, they can more easily go through the challenges that may come up later on.

Needs Satisfaction Through Occupational Theoretical Practice Model (NSTO)

Here is a model that I never see anymore, but it was in the OT literature in the 1990s. It works on Maslow's system, but it is much more specific to OT. I do not think it is one that is used very often. 

• Self Actualization Needs
  • Optimizing one’s potential
• Mastery Needs
  • A feeling of control over one’s environment for personal satisfaction and benefit of others
• Love and Belonging Needs
  • Need to develop and sustain meaningful relationships with others and to feel apart of a group and society at large
• Safety Needs
  • Need for shelter to protect one from harm (physical and emotional)
• Physiological Needs
  • Need for food, warmth, water, air, sex, need for elements to maintain homeostasis

Model of Human Occupation

The Model of Human Occupation, or MOHO, talks about the changes of roles and responsibilities, and how to adapt the environment and the tasks to help the person create a vision of who they can be as a vital, functioning part of society and part of their family systems even though they have a disability.

• Occupation is defined as roles related to daily living, including home, work, job, and community
• An individual can become disengaged from occupations
• Understand the relationship between environment and engagement in daily life activities
• Formulate solutions to problems where environmental demands are greater than the individual’s functional ability
• Generate solutions based on all of the above

Do the spaces in which this individual performs his or her occupations represent physical barriers or supports that impact performance (Kielhofner, Forsyth, Barrett, 2003)? Gary Kielhofner, who passed away a few years ago, created the model. It is a very successful model in helping people create that quality of life and functional, practical approach to getting back to the job of living. 

Qualified Individuals with Disabilities

Not everybody is considered someone with a disability or who needs to be accommodated. In a public space, we are accommodating everybody and trying to create as many universal design features as possible to integrate into the activities. But when you have an individual who needs particular accommodations, such as in a school or a work environment, they would qualify under the Americans with Disabilities Act and other legislative initiatives as a qualified person with a disability. The government has concrete guidelines, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Specific guidelines for disabilities.

There can be a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, and the government specifies what those activities are. And, there has to be some sort of documentation showing that they have this impairment. An interesting example is when I worked with a young woman in her 20's in a wheelchair, and she had to request accommodations. She said she never thought of herself as disabled until she had to request these particular accommodations. This was because, in her school and home environments, everything was accessible. She had everything she needed. Most of the time, the community she lived in was also accessible. It was after 1990 and the Americans with Disabilities Act when she first needed accommodations. She got a job requiring the use of technology in an older environment. She had to request accommodations for a person with disabilities. It also had to be a recognized disorder by the government. Many people have hidden disabilities such as sensory or psychological issues. There are also specific guidelines on documenting that legally, which we will not go over here. The other columns show major life activities, what is considered a record of impairment, what is regarded as being impaired, and which disabilities they cover.

Standards for Accessibility

These are the standards for accessible design and are used by the building industry. 

• ANSI
• MGRAD/ABA
• UFAS
• FHAAG
• ADAAG
• Local building codes

It is great to have copies in your office to refer to them and not have to memorize them. You are not the one specifying which legal guideline has to be implemented, but you may have to know which design features need to be implemented and which ones are icing on the cake. Not everything that somebody wants, because they have a disability, is part of the guideline. This is where you come in. For example, there were no federal legal guidelines for children's environments for most of my career. So, we had to bring up state and local guidelines created by local jurisdictions to justify adaptations to the federal guidelines. Amazingly, for years the federal guidelines for schools and children's museums, if they were federally funded, were adult standards. We had to get special variances to address the needs of children, even in those specialized environments.

Today, contractors, architects, interior designers, and landscape architects know about these guidelines. Still, if they have never actually worked in a children's environment, they may not know the comprehensive guidelines and where to find those. You might want to do some of that research yourself. I have given some of these guidelines in the handouts.

ANSI

ANSI is the American National Standards Institute, or ICC, International Codes Committee. This is the committee that I am on. It is the 117.2 Accessible Design Committee, and I represent AOTA in that group of architects, designers, advocates. I think I am the only occupational therapist there out of about 250 people when we have meetings. This is a private standard, so the government is not required to use that standard, but many governments worldwide, including the American government, use ANSI as their guide. So they adapt their standards when ANSI is adapted. ANSI is updated every few years and refined. There are many discussions about environmental areas, from bank teller machines, grocery store checkout counters, to even urinals in public bathrooms. Now, changing rooms and unisex bathrooms are hot topics.

MGRAD and ABA

MGRAD and ABA were the original guidelines, and we will discuss that in a little while. They are still used, but they are mostly focused on federally funded projects and mobility.

UFAS

UFAS, the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards, took it to the next level. This is for federally funded programs, services, buildings, and public spaces. It also covers public housing, which HUD or other agencies federally fund.

FHAAG

The Fair Housing Amendment Act Guidelines, FHAAG, are standards for multi-housing projects. You have to have a certain amount of units, but it is mostly focused on private residential spaces that are multi-family

ADAAG

ADAAG is the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessible Guidelines. These fall under the ADA and are updated periodically. These will be the gold standard for accessibility eventually, and we will not have to use so many different laws. The ADA covers state and local governments, telecommunications, and public spaces. Public accommodations are things like shopping centers, movie theaters, parks, etc. These are related to the state and local government-funded projects and are under Title II of the ADA. Public spaces that are private fall under Title III, and then there are telecommunications.

Local Building Codes

Local building codes may be stricter than the federal guidelines. You always want to go with the strictest code, and that is called the safe harbor. That will ensure that you will not have any litigation cases in the future. There are many cases in this country where these laws were not upheld. There is no police force going around saying you have to do this or else. So, unless a consumer, an agency, or an advocate group complains, these issues may never have come up to compliance. One of the issues where they do not have to comply is a separation of church and state. Religious organizations have buildings and spaces that, if they are totally funded privately by the religious organization, may not have to comply unless the local building code specifies that they have to. They have to follow basic guidelines for safety, but in terms of accessibility, they may not have to comply. There are guidelines for historic buildings as well, and they can have variances. This also applies to private clubs that are totally funded by the membership. As you can see, it can get a little tricky trying to figure out which laws apply to which projects. I will use my children's museum project as an example of something very complicated, and even the people who were building the space, designing it, and implementing it did not have the full picture.

Legislation Concerning Individuals with Disabilities

Here is an overview of those laws that I just described.

Figure 4. Overview of legislation.

There is a progression, and it goes from federally funded projects, mostly just buildings and facilities for mobility accommodations, to higher level ideas about accessibility.

The Rehabilitation Act

The Rehabilitation Act covers public housing and federally funded projects and accommodations (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Overview of the Rehabilitation Act.

Accommodations are things beyond architectural access. They may include large print, braille reading material, or a sign language interpreter. They do not have to do with the architectural access, but they have to do with accessing a program or a service in a building beyond the physical aspect.

The Fair Housing Amendment Act

Fair Housing covers multi-family private housing.

Many agencies are related to compliance, and each project may have multiple agencies that you would look to for guidance.

Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)

• Eliminates discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, environments, transportation, and telecommunications
• “Reasonable accommodations” must be provided for individuals with disabilities
• Ensures access to all private establishments/facilities considered “public accommodations”

ADA is the landmark legislation. And, it is being used as a model all over the world. It took a while to get to the point where it is as comprehensive as it is. You are getting the benefit now of coming into the law after updates, revisions, refinements, and additions. 

ADA coverage includes:

• Title I: Employment
• Title II: State and Local Governments/Transportation
• Title III: Public Accommodations
• Title IV: Telecommunications

I have no problem saying that this was a landmark law. It opened up people with disabilities' ability to be integrated into the community and get the technology accommodations they needed for employment. Before this, private businesses were not required to accommodate a worker with a disability. So often, the federal government employed people with disabilities or went into private ownership of businesses. It is now against the law to discriminate because of a disability if someone is qualified to perform a job with technologies or with accommodations.

Title II focuses on state and local governments and transportation. These are projects that the state and local governments fund. If they have federal money, they may have to comply with two laws: the 504 and Title II laws. It can get a little complicated, so it is good to work with a team that knows about that.

Title III covers public accommodations, and Title IV is telecommunications.

We will be discussing playgrounds in which state and local governments are the primary funders, but it does not just cover playgrounds. But in terms of our example for children's environments and learning, we will use the playground aspect.

Consultation about ADA Title II: State and Local Government and Transportation

There are many elements to accessibility. Some of these are not related to playgrounds, but these are things that you might want to think about when you go into an environment, whether it is a pediatric or a geriatric client.

• Provide access to buses, railways, airplanes, and subways, utilizing knowledge of:
  • Accessibility requirements
  • Adaptive equipment
  • Mobility limitations
  • Communication requirements
• Provide consultation to state and local government-funded libraries, educational programs, public and private agencies

Assess the Following Elements for Barriers

• Parking the car and accessing the exterior entrance
• Walking, stepping, climbing walkways and stairs
• Opening/closing handles/doors
• Lock/unlock doors
• Operate light switches/electrical plugs
• Type and degree of lighting
• Open/close curtains, windows
• Move from one area to another and through each area without obstructions
• Access/use toilet
• Walk-up/down the stairs
• Mobility on floor surfaces
• Access and use environmental controls--thermostat, breaker boxes, security system, emergency call system, intercoms, entertainments systems
• Safety: unobstructed access/location and use fire extinguishers, understand and a post-fire escape plan, use/location of carbon monoxide detectors & smoke alarms

The accessible parking has to be as close as possible to an accessible entrance. You cannot stick the parking all the way on the other side of the parking lot. It also has to be a safe, direct entry and as efficient as possible. You will look at the width of the parking space and whether it has an aisle for accessing a lift. You do not want the aisle to be too big because someone will park in it and block your client if it is too big. So the aisle has a certain guideline for width and also signage for designating it. There has to be a walkway that leads up to the exterior entrance, and it does not have to be the main entrance. It can be anywhere where it is feasible. While you hope it is the main entrance, it can be on the back through a parking garage. Usually, it is designated where the accessible parking area is.

Walking, stepping, and climbing are skills you want to assess when looking at both walkways and stairs. It is also important to look at handrails and the height and the width of the steps. You need to look at ramps and whether the ramps are safe. They may be too steep or do not have landing areas where people can rest and keep going. The handrails might not be graspable, and there could be lighting issues. There can be many issues in each of these areas that you would want to think about.

Opening and closing doors is another area. You need to have graspable handles, even in a playground environment. You would want that for those with no finger function. A closed fist test is a way to look at whether a handle is. An example of an accessible handle would be a levered handle. You can access a levered handle with your elbow, with your arm, or even with your chin. Round door handles are not accessible. You can put things on the handle, like an add-on lever, to make it accessible and give it a gripping surface. The lever does not cost very much, and you do not have to change out the handle. This is an example of a low-cost accommodation that would make it ADA compliant. You can also use this accommodation on faucet controls that are round and that does not have a protrusion to enable you to use it with a closed fist. There are pressure issues in terms of, you know, is the door able to be opened with someone that's maybe a little bit weaker than such as a child? So we need to look at those kinds of issues.

There may be issues with locking doors. This is important to address due to safety. We also may need to look at light switches and electrical plugs. Types and degree of lighting are other things to address. One of the things you do not want to have in children's environments is fluorescent lighting. It can cause incredible sensory issues as well as issues with cognition, attention, and emotional well-being. That is a whole other lecture that I gave previously on OT.com, and you can access that one if you like on sensory issues.

Opening and closing windows are an important skill as well. A person needs to be able to at least open one window for emergency and ventilation. Other areas of consideration are restrooms and toilets, walking up/downstairs, mobility and floor surfaces, and electronic systems for environmental controls and safety issues. There are a lot of elements to think about.

Skills of an Accessibility Consultant

• Ergonomic analysis and measurements
• Injuries, illnesses, and conditions impacting physical, cognitive, emotional needs.
• Progressive illness
• Specialized products and equipment
• Knowledge of accommodations and adaptations to existing work areas, equipment, and tasks
• Evaluation tools and documentation guidelines, processes, and procedures
• Injury prevention and interventions to maximize safety, function, and independence
• Analysis and monitoring of the effectiveness of interventions and future needs
• Knowledge of developmental and educational goals and age-appropriate challenges and skills

OTs and PTs have a lot of knowledge and skills in accessibility consulting because of our knowledge of ergonomics, human factors, progressive illnesses, and illnesses. I am training the building industry people on what MS is and what you need to think about in the long term. Other special populations may include spinal cord injury and/or autism. I have a book that I use with resources on different disabilities. Often, I will photocopy the page and give it to them to help them create and design an environment. They can then educate others to work with the clients in a much more skilled and sensitive way.

We also know specialized products and equipment. These are sometimes things that the contractors and the builders do not think about. Automatic faucet controls are one example. Many public spaces have them, but they can be put anywhere, and it might make it easier for someone to access their water system and prevent scalding because you can set the water temperature.

OTs and PTs have to know how to accommodate learning issues or workspaces. We can adapt tasks and evaluate what tools would be appropriate. An example might be the guidelines for a person's hand strength, grip, size of their hand, reaching range, and manipulation ability.

We also work on injury prevention. This is a big area that the contractors and designers may not think about. Even people who create job descriptions in HR settings may not have insight into injury prevention. This is where our knowledge of ergonomics, environmental barriers, and human factors come into play. We can then monitor the effectiveness of these interventions and identify future needs. So if a person has a progressive illness like MS or Parkinson's, what will they need in the future to keep them functioning as long as possible in that particular environment?

We also know developmental and educational goals and age-appropriate challenges and skills. This is what we are going to go over today. We will start with playgrounds, but many of the concepts that I describe can be used in not just playgrounds but any environment for children, and you can adapt these for adults as well. These are good guidelines for thinking about the specifics of what is needed when you do your accessibility consulting.

Major Issues to Consider in Children’s Environments

Grasp

You will need to assess grasp strength, handles for grasping, and hand sizes for different age levels. If you are consulting, you are not designing. You are consulting with the playground designers and builders. You want to address the ages of the population using the space. How old are the kids? What are the site constraints that we need to know about? What materials can be used to make it easier and safer to access those handles and grasping controls?

Strength/Manipulation

We also need to look at the functional issues of manipulation and control. We can also build in some challenges to make it interesting.

Heights

For surfaces, you want to vary the heights for different ages. You want to create at least one accessible route through each exhibit or each environment, and it may not be the same route that all the kids take. If you look at the video link that I give at the end of the course, it beautifully shows how one environment could be adaptable, and one is not. It is not required that every element be adaptable.

Accessibility

Depending upon the space, you want to have the child, or an adult, access the environment and participate with the others, and not feel excluded.

Cognitive Issues

Designers often forget cognitive issues. These can be concepts such as directionality, mapping, and understanding the goals of the activity. We want to provide safe challenges so that it becomes a learning experience and not just a boring, repetitive experience that they will get tired of.

Sensory Issues

Looking at sensory issues, and I think there's a lot more knowledge today. I mean, just this week, I must have turned on the radio and heard three broadcasts on autism. There are books everywhere on autism, and Asperger's, and sensory issues. Most of us have had pretty extensive knowledge about visual and hearing impairment issues. Still, the sensory issues are crucial, and often people with visual and hearing impairment are the areas that don't get addressed for them. You might use braille, large print, or have good contrast on signage and directions.

Alternative Media

You have alternative media options such as picture symbols. Other symbol communication systems can create stories and/or directions for people in public spaces. Often when creating an environment, designers do not think that some people may have cognitive issues. Using color or changes in the environment, like handrail design, can cue a person. Environmental cues can help people go to the next space so that there is a continuous route if that is the goal. Is it important to look at the goal of that environment? Now, if the environment's goal is to create a spiral where they are going around in a circle like a maze to create cognitive challenges, then that is a different story.

Safety

We want to create a safe space where people do not get lost. You may have a parent with a disability and a child that has no disability, or a child with a disability, and a parent that has no disability. You want to make sure you are looking at all those issues regarding the kind of accommodations and supervision needed. Lastly, you want to have alternative means of participation. An example may be an area that has a ramp and stairs to access.

Issues for Park and Playground Play

There are many issues for park and playground play. 

• Child Cognitive Development Objectives
• Child Physical Development Objectives
• Physical Activity Goals
• Programming Goals
• Environmental Factors
• Site Design Program
• The Physical Environment

We talked a little bit about the cognitive issues previously, and the physical issues are a little bit more obvious, like wheelchair access or vision impairment. A playground design goal in a public space may be very different from the goals of a playground design in a school, especially for a school with kids with disabilities. You want to get the teachers, administrators, parents, and the community involved to see their goals. Now everybody's needs may not be met, but at least you are getting an idea of who you are working with. There may be cultural issues as well, so you want to address those as well. If the environment you are helping to create serves a specific population, you want to address those specific areas like those with hearing impairment. This may go way beyond the law in terms of design and technologies. Environmental factors also are important. Things like not having poisonous plants near a playground or having fencing contain the children to keep them out of dangerous situations. You also might opt for increased space if the goals are to have that openness. The site design would be created as a team to create an environment that meets all the site requirements. You also want to look at the physical environment like hills, trees, and shade. I just went to a beautiful playground, but it was 92 degrees, and all the metal equipment was hot. There was also no water system, so sometimes you can have sprinkler systems to cool off the kids and adults. These suggestions go beyond the requirements by law, but they can make a difference in terms of the comfort and the use of that facility.

Child Cognitive Development Objectives

Here are some of the cognitive issues that are interesting issues to look at.

• Develop concepts of
  • In, out, through, across, over, under, up, down, high and low
  • Shapes and colors
  • Conservation of materials, volume, and measurement
• Improve orientation and develop special concepts
• Stimulate
  • Auditory discrimination
  • Visual awareness
  • Tactile awareness
  • Reading and math functions
• Develop
  • Interactive/communication skills
  • Tasks and role performance
  • Understanding the consequences of own actions

You can teach concepts, like directionality, while you are creating this environment. You can build in concepts of out, through, across, over, under, up, down, high, and low. You can even create games within the space that would teach those concepts. Other things that can be incorporated are shapes and colors. I have seen tic-tac-toe designs, shapes, and colors used in playground spaces. You can also incorporate volume and measurement. There may be requirements that spaces use recycled materials and a certain amount of local building materials. You might want to teach those concepts within the environment as well.

Space may have elements that improve orientation and build special concepts such as hot and cold.

Many items can be incorporated into the design to stimulate different senses. There may be an optical illusion to stimulate vision. You can make it challenging, but you also want to make it safe. You cannot create an illusion that affects mobility, especially kids with disabilities. You can also enhance tactile awareness of things that are hot or cold or with different textures. Reading and math concepts can also be added. How far is this? What is a kilometer? There can also be chimes or bells to create different sounds. They can also push buttons to create sounds. I went to a playground last week with my grandson. They had a metal tube that you talked about. You could hear the person on the other side of the playground because the tube carried the sound. It was enjoyable. We were talking to each other, but we could not see each other.

You also want to create areas where there are opportunities for interaction and turn-taking. This helps to develop social skills. In Prince George's county of Maryland, each public playground has a different theme, like food, winter sports, or Little Red Riding Hood. This makes it more interesting. Playgrounds also help children understand the consequences. For example, if you fool around on the stairs, you may fall off the stairs. Now, if they fall, you hope that they do not fall on concrete. It is important to have surfaces that will cushion the fall.

Child Physical Development Objectives

Here are some physical things that you need to look at. 

• Improve upper body strength
• Improve lower body strength
• Improve eye-hand coordination
• Improve gross and fine motor skills
• Improve balance

Physical things include upper body strength, lower body strength, eye-hand coordination, gross and fine motor skills, and balance. One example of balance may be an unsteady bridge, and it presents a challenge. But that cannot be the only way to get across or part of the main path. You need to give people an option to take that challenge or not. At a children's zoo last week, they had a pretty scary bridge. My grandchildren loved it. I tried it, and it felt very unsteady to me. Many different equipment options can provide fun experiences.

Physical Activity Goals

Many physical activity goals can be achieved in playground spaces.

• Vertical and horizontal circulation
• Climbing
• Sliding
• Rocking
• Spiraling
• Transferring, transitioning
• Cognitive activities

For example, there can be areas that go around in a spiral. Pathways can take you through a cave. There can be climbing and sliding challenges. There can be things on springs to allow movement and rocking. There can be a space where someone in a wheelchair can transfer onto different pieces of equipment. And as we discussed, there can be cognitive challenges added to spaces.

Programming Goals

• Needs assessment/audience
• Safety and accessibility guidelines
• Evaluate emotional risk factors
• Evaluate passive recreational needs
• Understanding site constraints and opportunities
• Neighboring social environment
• Establishing a budget
• Maintenance considerations
• Physical amenities

A needs assessment should be completed first. In my situation, we had a meeting with all the teachers and parents. There are many needs assessment questionnaires available on the Internet, and we adapted them to fit our needs. It was a special ed school, and they were getting a pretty huge budget for creating a playground and an outdoor space. The original playground was built in the 1960s when it was not a school for kids with disabilities. The kids barely went outside because it was not safe, and they could not contain the original space.

During the needs assessment, we were able to assess safety and accessibility issues. The physical therapists were there, and they wanted stairs with proper handrails but also a ramped area.

It is important to evaluate both emotional risks and passive recreational needs. These include eating spaces and maybe even sports areas. For example, a tetherball or some sort of volleyball area could be created that would not impact the people's safety in the playground area.

It is important to understand the site constraints and opportunities. For instance, there might be problems with drainage. I went to a park a couple of weeks ago after a rainstorm. That thing was a mud bath, and it did not have good drainage. I went back two days later. Having water systems far enough away from the playground area where it is not going to cause all that muddiness is important. You also want to have ground materials that will create drainage but not become moldy. Wood chips may not be a good solution due to splinters.

You might not create total accessibility, or you might have to use many switchbacks, for example, if space is steep. Neighboring social environments also need to be considered. Is it near a school? Is it near a seniors' center? Can you create a playground with an opportunity for older adults to come and hang out with the younger generation?

Establishing a budget is a biggie. The budget determines the materials and equipment for space. In the school that I just spoke about, we did an extensive needs assessment. They got a pretty substantial grant from the city to obtain this new playground, and by the time the landscape architects had come to our school, we had the equipment picked out. We also had the goals and objectives. They liked our refined plan of action as we were able to stay within the budget. They were very impressed, and they wished that all schools had done that beforehand.

There are also many maintenance considerations. Wood structures can deteriorate with the weather conditions. Metal can be scorching in the summer and extremely cold in the winter, so you might want to consider nylon coated equipment plastic. However, you do not want any toxic materials. You also want to make sure that it looks nice and is not cheap and flimsy. You want to make sure it lasts and does not need to be replaced in a short amount of time.

Environmental Factors

• Entrances, pathways
• Signage
• Enclosures
• Equipment, multipurpose
• Games and settings
• Surface treatments
• Safety, aesthetics
• Topography
• Vegetation
• Manipulative settings, props
• Gardens and integrative activities

You need to look at parking, entries, and pathways. It was really nice in the playground. I described that it had a close pavilion where we could eat our lunch and play games. They even had an area where you could do other activities like throwing a ball. It is nice when you have an open space where you can easily wheel out some equipment for the kids to play and wheel it back where it is secure. Sometimes equipment can be embedded into the design like a hopscotch board on the ground.

We also talked about surface treatments, like rubberized tile or wood chips. You want to make sure everything is non-toxic and that it complies with ANSI standards. You also want to make sure that you do not have to replace the flooring constantly. With the chips, you have to add some every year.

Looking at safety, how does someone call for help if they do not have a cell phone? We also need to look at topography and site constraints. It is also a good idea to look at the vegetation. For example, I made a list for the designers of toxic plants. You would be surprised at how many parks have toxic plants such as the holly tree. The berries on a holly tree are toxic for humans. Another good idea is to make sure that there is no poison ivy or poison oak there. Also, are there snake holes?

Can you have specialized themes? These can be a nice addition to playground areas and outdoor spaces. A raised garden and/or an interactive garden where you can actually smell and eat the plants might be an option. There are many community spaces in many parks now where people come in and do their own planting. Others use vegetables in school. There are many ways to incorporate interactive areas in an outdoor environment.

You also want to have the flexibility to increase challenges or decrease challenges as needed for different populations. As we talked about, adding in multi-sensory stimulation can work on sight, hearing, touch, and smells. For example, we can change the materials that will help cue them within the environment if they have a visual impairment.  If you have a green playground and you have green trees, this may be an issue. 

Site Design Program

Here are things to consider in the design process.

• Accessibility
  • Visible Entry
  • Minimize interaction between children and traffic
  • Clear pathway routes between play area and adjacent use areas
  • Create clear borders and edges for all use areas
  • Create 10 ft wide path for maintenance vehicles
  • Transition hard through soft surfaces
  • Scale furniture to children's size
• Safe Challenges
• Balance Challenges and Risks
• Diversity and Clarity
• Environmental Familiarity
• Graduated Changes
• Flexibility
• Defensible Space
• Multi-Sensorial Stimulation

Physical Environment

Surface Treatments

The ground surface where you are walking needs to be firm, stable, and material that does not shift under normal pressure.

Pathways

There are certain guidelines for pathways, and these are in most of the regulations.

• Width between 44"-88" wide and headroom of 80"
• Thresholds not to exceed 1/4"
• 1/2 thresholds with 1:2 beveled slope.
• Narrow paths should have a passing lane every 100'
• Bridges and curves provide excellent solutions for path diversity
• Transparent mazes and intersecting loops to promote continuity of movement and exploration

I am not going to go over them, but there are many measurements to think about. Many of these specifications are in the additional handouts.

Sloping

Sloping is very interesting. There are many specifications, and many you can find online.

• 0-1% is considered level
  • 1% cross-slope is necessary for drainage.
• 2-4% is considered optimal
  • 0-4.9% is not considered a ramp
• 5% or greater is considered a ramp (ADA) and must have
  • edging
  • handrails
  • a maximum run of 30' and then a landing with a 60" radius
• Ramps over 8% slope must be covered.
• Surfaces of slopes areas must be made of non-slip surfaces.

You want to have the slope with the least about of slope as possible because you will have people in manual wheelchairs and walkers who may not be able to get up and down. On the non-accessible routes, you could have more challenges.

Related Websites

Here are some resources.

• The ADA Checklist for Readily Achievable Barrier Removal http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/checkweb.htm
• For the long-form, for new construction or renovation, the ADAAG Checklist http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/checklist/a16.html
• National Clearing House for Educational Facilities http://www.edfacilities.org/ir/playgrounds.cfm
• Adaptive Environments Center www.adaptenv.org

The Adaptive Environments Center has a self-evaluation guide for public, elementary, and secondary schools. It is a wonderful checklist that you can download for free. The Department of Education is another excellent resource. It is based on adult standards, so you have to download the Access Board Government Standards for children's environments on three levels. It is broken down into young children, young elementary, and older elementary. You can download some of those resources.

Other Resources

You can also email me and sign up for my newsletter, which also gives a lot of great technical assistance information through that website. It is www.aotss.com. 

This is not government regulation, but this is a good guide for children's different heights in Figure 6. 

Figure 6. Height guidelines.

Here is a YouTube link that you can view after the course on playground design. It is an interesting one because it goes through people with and without disabilities going through a play environment, and it points out the accessibility features.

Another great resource I wanted to tell you about is "Play for All Guidelines: Planning, Designing, and Management of Outdoor Play Settings for All Children." It is a book by a landscape architect on play areas by Robin C. Moore. Google Accessible Play Spaces is another great resource. I would suggest you create your own resource list. You want to create a new resource list every time you are working on space. You want to create a master resource list and then add to it and delete items as needed for specific specialty populations.

Thanks for your time today. You can email me with questions: shoshana@aotss.com