Date of Award:

12-2017

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA)

Department:

Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning

Committee Chair(s)

Keith M. Christensen

Committee

Keith M. Christensen

Committee

Phillip S. Waite

Committee

Shelley L. K. Lindauer

Abstract

Play is necessary for the social, emotional, intellectual, and physical development of all children. Although playgrounds are designed to support the play of children, children with disabilities are often unable to fully participate in play on playgrounds. In part due to the lack of awareness of evidence-based practices supporting the play of children with disabilities, playground designers continue to perpetuate this disparity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the evidence-based practices for inclusive playground design that support peer interaction between children of all abilities, and to demonstrate how they can be implemented into a playground design.

A systematic review was completed in order to find evidence-based practices for playground designs that support play for children with disabilities. The systematic review evaluated and synthesized all current literature and provided a summary to answer the research question, ‘what evidence-based practices for playground design support play for children with disabilities?’ The design process was also used in this study to describe how the findings from the systematic review were implemented into the design of an inclusive playground.

This research found 22 identified studies from which 10 evidence-based practices of playground design that support play for children with disabilities were determined. These 10 practices are; circular playground design that links activities to complementary activities; playground equipment designed as common and recognizable objects; loose parts on the playground such as various props for imaginative play, play houses and tables, sporting equipment, sand toys, musical instruments, and water play opportunities; accessible surfacing and sufficient space for maneuvering between and on pieces of equipment; equal amounts of elevated and ground level components for gathering in groups, and more ramps or transfer systems to access elevated components; multi-niche settings (equipment/activities that require more than one child to operate or play); equipment that provides appropriate levels of challenge and risk for children of all abilities; observation points or “jump in points;” comfortable or “cozy” places, often created by enclosed areas or pieces of equipment; and sensory stimulus activities and visual or tactile cues throughout playground.

The evaluation of the inclusive playground design found, that while certain of the 10 practices were easier to implement than others, all of them could be implemented given adequate consideration and use of creative design solutions. As our society strives to make various environments and built structures more inclusive, the results of this study provide a helpful resource to guide designers, administrators, businesses, city councils, and many more organizations in their work to create inclusive playgrounds.

Checksum

e7a377936eba58c78b3c09a6a3725c86

Download

Share

COinS

Copyright for this work is retained by the student. If you have any questions regarding the inclusion of this work in the Digital Commons, please email us at .