Inclusivity Assessor

I have become a certified Inclusivity Assessor and Inclusive Advocate from the New York State Inclusive Recreation Resource Center.

The Inclusivity Assessment Tool that I use is has been rigorously designed to capture valid, reliable, and necessary information about the inclusivity of a recreation agency or program. The Tool describes the physical aspects of a recreation agency, as well as the administrative and program practices that promote inclusion. The information collected with the tool is descriptive, functional, and detailed, so that users of recreation programs, areas, and facilities can make better plans for inclusive recreation.

If anyone is interested in having their recreation sites assessed or training on inclusion, I would love to work with you. An assessment is not scary, it is not filled with legalize. It provides you a good description of your site that you can provide to someone with a disability so that the person can make their own decision whether they are able to use your recreation site. It can be a very helpful document when looking for grant funding.

Depending on the number of facilities you have I can complete a full Parks and Recreation department in one day. This will provide detailed information on each of your parks, swimming pools and community centers.


Mara

Samuel Goes to Prom

Prom was a huge success, except that the camera didn't work well. So the pictures are a little blurry, but you can still tell the kids had a wonderful time and the entire staff at Pioneer Education Center is beyond amazing.

Here is Samuel with his date, Katie. Notice the beautiful corsage on her wheelchair. All the girls had them, matching their dress. And look at Katie's hair. They put it up in a French twist. It was beautiful. The professional photographer had already been in to take all their pictures. We will get them next week, framed. Because as the principal said, "We don't do anything half way. Our students deserve it!"


Then it was time for the promenade. All 25 students who were going to prom were called by name and either walked or rolled through the arches. Then the walked/rolled around the entire gym while everyone clapped and took pictures. There were some college students totally decked out for prom that helped escort the students. It was so much fun. One teacher went through an entire box of tissues crying from watching how grown up and beautiful all of the students were.

This is another one of Samuel's friends from his class. Again--beautiful.

After the promenade it was off to the multipurpose room for a catered luncheon. Each prom guest was assigned a table. As you can tell from even the poor quality pictures, the faculty did a great job decorating the room and setting the tables.

After the luncheon, I can't tell you exactly what happened, because parents do not go to proms, only students go to proms. They made all of us parents leave. After all, they are in high school now, we shouldn't be around all of the time : ) I do know that Samuel came home with a plastic blow up guitar and those light up necklaces. He was keyed up from the day and very happy.

What an amazing day. What an amazing school. Thank you to every single staff person who works at Pioneer and to all those that volunteered to make the day so special. The kids loved it and so did all of us parents.

Students with Special Needs Go to Prom

For the first year Samuel's school is holding a prom. It is Friday!

The students that go to his school have more profound disabilities than the ones describe this in CNN article. http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/06/01/special.needs.kids.prom/index.html

The school is unbelievable in what they are doing. The teachers go so far beyond what they are required to do to make school an amazing experience for both students and parents.

They arranged to get prom dresses and suits for all the students and are altering them themselves. There will be a hair dresser and a make up artist at school in the morning to "dress" the students. Each student is getting a boutonniere or corsage.

They have hired caterers (the teachers had a lot of fun tasting the food). There will be professional photographer there to take each students picture. There will a parent's promenade (which is typical for schools around here), where parents get to see all the kids all dressed up. This is the only part we get to see--parents are not allowed at the prom. As they would not be allowed at any other prom.

The whole thing is so cool. Samuel is wearing a three piece pin striped suit. I will post pictures once I have them. He is going with Katie--who is a girl in his class who thinks Samuel is great. She follows him with her eyes all of the time and if they are sitting together, she often puts her arm on Samuel's wheelchair tray instead of her own.

Most teachers, walk out of the door exactly when school is over, but the teachers at Pioneer Education Center in Pittsburgh, PA are planning a prom in every detail.

It Takes a Motherhood

I belong to a lot of social networks. Too many to count. Don't we all. It is important to me that I get my messages about accessible playgrounds and inclusive play to as many people as possible. It is also important that if someone is ready to build an universally accessible play space, they know that I am here to help.

However, there is one social network I belong to just for me and my well-being. themotherhood.com is an amazing group of women who have figured out how to help each other, motivate one another and overall support each long distance. Everyday people post three things they are grateful for; there is a circle just to vent (because we all have days like that); there is a place to resolve to talk a Zen Walk every day and so much more.

On most Monday evenings, you will find me at my computer having a chat with my friends that I have met on themotherhood. I have missed the last couple of weeks, so I am looking forward to Monday.

One of the things about having a child with a disability is that your circle of friends shrinks. There isn't enough time or energy to keep up with all your friends. Some don't understand. So friends drop out of your life. For the first time in years, I feel I have a circle of friends that I can count on to be there, to understand, to help. Yes it is virtual, yes they live all over the country and we are all as different as can be. But we are all mothers struggling and celebrating our lives.

I strongly encourage every mother to come join us at themotherhood.com

One of my friends on themotherhood, Jenjen sent me a blog award because she enjoys reading what I have to say. It is so nice to know that people are reading. You can visit Jenjen's website at www.gottalovemom.blogspot.com/. She is celebrating her daughter's 20th birthday today!

Here is my blog award--such a small gesture, can mean so much and that is what happens over and over again on themotherhood.

We Must Design Communities to Promote Physical Activity in Children

From the American Academy of Pediatrics Abstract: "

An estimated 32% of American children are overweight, and physical inactivity contributes to this high prevalence of overweight. This policy statement highlights how the built environment of a community affects children's opportunities for physical activity.

Neighborhoods and communities can provide opportunities for recreational physical activity with parks and open spaces, and policies must support this capacity.

Children can engage in physical activity as a part of their daily lives, such as on their travel to school. Factors such as school location have played a significant role in the decreased rates of walking to school, and changes in policy may help to increase the number of children who are able to walk to school.

Environment modification that addresses risks associated with automobile traffic is likely to be conducive to more walking and biking among children. Actions that reduce parental perception and fear of crime may promote outdoor physical activity.

Policies that promote more active lifestyles among children and adolescents will enable them to achieve the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity. By working with community partners, pediatricians can participate in establishing communities designed for activity and health.

Top Ten U.S. National Parks

Trip Advisor's Top 10: U.S. National Parks

1.Zion National Park, Utah

2.Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz.

3.White Sands National Monument, N.M.

4.Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii

5.Redwood National Park, Calif.

6.Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Nev.

7.Grand Teton National Park, Wyo.

8.Mount Rainier National Park, Wash.

9.Yosemite National Park, Calif.

10.Acadia National Park, Maine

Do you agree? What parks would you add to the list?

How to Create an Accessible Playground by Choosing the Right Surfacing--Part III

The surfaces that are universally accessible and go beyond ADA to be actually usable for children with disabilities include Pour-in-Place, Rubber mats/tiles, and artificial grass with rubber underneath. The benefits to these surfaces besides the accessibility are the maintenance. You do not need to do daily maintenance to ensure that safety is maintained. There may be times you need to patch areas or sweep it off, but overall there is very little work to do be done.

The problem with these surfaces is the cost. They cost significantly more than loose filled surfacing; however they are your only true choice if you want all children to be able to play on your playground.

Personally, I like the artificial turf. (visit http://www.playgroundgrass.com/ to see what I mean). It looks like real grass and therefore, fits seamlessly into your park. Because it acts like grass, you will often see parents sitting on it while a young child crawls around. I have not seen this with any other type of surfacing. For children who have difficulty making transitions, I have seen them sit in the grass for awhile and then slowly move to a ground level piece of equipment.

Because it is a little bouncy thanks to the loose rubber underneath, children feel safer and are willing to try something slightly outside of their comfort zone. If there is a lot of play traffic, the surface can become slightly unlevel with dips in the grass. If the dips are not too extreme, it can actually add to the benefits of the playground for a child with a disability. The adulations allow children to practice walking or wheeling in a natural setting enabling them to practice balancing. If the dips become extreme they must be fixed which can be time consuming and costly.