Accessible playgrounds for all children: Find one near you

Posted: Published on September 12th, 2014

This post was added by Dr Simmons

MAP: Find the playgrounds near you

Janna Espinoza's daughter Coraline has hearing loss, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and developmental delays. Nearly 2 years old, she can't sit up, stand, creep or use her hands as a typically developing child does.

Coraline is among an estimated 6.4 million children in the U.S. with a disability. And for these kids the simple ritual of playing outside can get very complicated.

"My daughter can't do very much at a typical playground, except watch her older sister play," says Espinoza. "Playgrounds are a depressing place for us."

On a typical playground, danger lurks just about everywhere.

"The infant bucket swings are not safe," explains Espinoza. "She can't go down the slide. She can't play in the sand unless she is on her stomach."

Finding a place to play is a big challenge for children like these, and their parents. Sometimes, they must create one.

Espinoza's community worked for a year to raise money for Tatum's Garden, a playground in Salinas, Calif., designed for everyone to enjoy.

It's one of 2,505 playgrounds in 48 states and DC and 996 cities listed in our Playgrounds for Everyone app. NPR has spent the last year crowdsourcing the list. (These totals do not include more than 400 City of Chicago playgrounds that were just submitted, which we are in the process of adding.)

Check the table below to find the well-represented Metro areas and places where we need your help.

See the article here:
Accessible playgrounds for all children: Find one near you

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