[August 19, 2011] Dothan hopes to make playground inclusive as well as accessible Tweet Aug 19, 2011 (Dothan Eagle - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The missing piece at Dothan's Rotary Miracle Playground was not a new swing set, see-saw or splash-play area. In fact, all the necessary equipment was there when officials and volunteers dedicated the play area almost a year ago. Through private donations and hundreds of hours of volunteer work, Dothan now had a play area universally accessible to children of all abilities. But something not so funny happened on the way to the playground. Leisure Services workers soon realized Miracle Playground was accessible to everyone, but not inclusive. The dream of the miracle playground pioneers was to see children of all abilities interacting with each other in a safe, fun atmosphere. Soon, many parents of developmentally challenged children felt the playground was unsafe -- not because of equipment defects, but because typical children did not know how to play alongside children with different abilities. "The playground has been built. Those environmental, physical barriers that often separated kids were gone. The social barriers still remain," said Marnie Norris, director of programs at Shane's Inspiration, a California-based national organization whose goal is to foster compassion through inclusive play. "The biggest barrier is completely invisible." Dothan Leisure Services invited Norris to help tutor workers and volunteers on how to erase the barrier. "This has been a learning experience for us from day one," said Kim Meeker, assistant leisure services director. "We built the playground and then we realized we really needed to learn something." Norris said education is vital to influencing inclusive play. Part of the process begins Saturday with the introduction of Dothan's first "My Play Club", an event organizers hope will become a monthly time of interaction and play among children of all abilities. The "My Play Club" event will be held at Miracle Playground from 8 until 11 a.m. The first event will be closed to the general public while Norris teaches workers and volunteers how to facilitate the event. The concept is simple. Children of all abilities are invited to play at the same time in the same place. Children with developmental challenges are typically assigned one or two "buddies" to help facilitate play. The event will have specific station areas such as arts and crafts, face painting, free play and refreshments. Norris said, however, it is important to allow the kids to play freely. "We want the play time to be child-directed and parent-supervised," Norris said. Shane's Inspiration also provides school programs to educate children about inclusive play. Norris said social barriers between children often disappear when their interaction helps dispel myths some children may believe about children with developmental disabilities. "A big part of it is just demystifying the differences," Norris said. To see more of the Dothan Eagle or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www2.dothaneagle.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, Dothan Eagle, Ala. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]