Planning for Accessible Play Areas
|This playground is designed with a sturdier ramp so parents with disabilities can interact with their children|
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) says that all new and altered play areas will be accessible to and usable by people with disabilities. The ADA Accessibility Guidelines give the technical and scoping provisions to make play areas accessible to and usable by children with disabilities. Get a copy, read them and use them throughout the entire planning process. An excellent overview is available in the NCHPAD factsheet on Designing Accessible Play Areas. Be able to defend your ideas and designs within the parameters of these requirements.
Don't forget parents in your designs. Parents with disabilities need to be able to move around the playground in order to support and interact with their children as they play.