Special Playgrounds That Make Sense: The KidSense Project
by Karen Gibbs
Two-year-old Jack didn’t know that brother Cole, 4, was autistic. What he did know was that he wanted to play, and Cole would only sit on the floor, inattentive. With a burst of toddler imagination, he walked over to Cole and began pushing him across the floor. Soon, Cole laughed and stood up. Heart spoke to heart, and then Jack sat on the floor and let Cole push him. They named the game “Push-Push,” and from that day on, they were friends.
Cole and Jack are the sons of LeAnne and Joe Cantrell. “Special needs parents” is what they call themselves. Autism labels the entire family. It motivates them, too.
LeAnne knew that she could reach Cole—she just had to find out how. What she learned was revealing. Autistic and ADHD children have a common problem. They are acutely aware of their surroundings and have trouble ignoring even the most muted stimuli. As LeAnne describes, “Whether it is the low-level hum of fluorescent lighting, the texture of a tag inside a t-shirt or the distant whine of a weed-eater, special needs children often cannot filter incoming impulses the way typical students can.” These sensory stimuli distract and accumulate, making it difficult or impossible to concentrate.
“I wanted to crack this crust and allow my child to learn,” explains LeAnne. Through trial and error, much research and study, LeAnne gained appreciation for Cole’s problem and his physical need to work off this sensory overload. According to child psychologist Dr. Persephanie Silverthorn, not only do special needs children need physical activity, their doctors should prescribe it.
Anyone who’s been stressed knows how good it feels to step out of a tension-producing situation and take a walk or jog. In the same way that we are restored and refreshed by this activity, special needs children such as Cole are also positively affected. The big difference is these children need this exercise break much more frequently.
Stacey Autin, mother of 6-year-old Jack, who is autistic, testifies to the benefits of activity in helping Jack learn. “It always helps Jack if we jump on the trampoline for about ten minutes. This gives him 30-60 minutes of concentration.”
In keeping with this philosophy, LeAnne Cantrell developed the sensory playground concept for special needs children. Schools that have special needs children often have a sensory room, where autistic and ADHD children can go to exercise their fine motor skills. LeAnne’s sensory playground, however, provides a nearby outdoor place where these children can use their gross motor skills, something that research has found extremely beneficial to their learning process. “Ninety to ninety-five percent of kids with autism or ADHD experience increased learning with frequent sensory breaks,” says LeAnne.
A little more than 18 months ago, armed with an idea and zealous determination, LeAnne began working toward building the first sensory playground. Soon, other mothers of special needs children joined the cause. Through their combined efforts, they have raised $50,000 to date. Groundbreaking for the first KidSense-type sensory playground in America took place in November 2008 at Pontchartrain and Tchefuncte Schools in Mandeville
How it works is simple. Students are first evaluated to determine the number and length of sensory breaks they will need each day. Para-professionals escort students to the playground at scheduled times and guide them through prescribed activities, such as crawling through a tunnel or exploring the images imprinted into the sensory sidewalk.
These sessions are placed at strategic times throughout the child’s day, but additional sessions may be added as needed. Teachers and para-professionals assigned to these students use the sensory playground as an incentive to keep students on task. A simple “Finish three more spelling words and you can take a sensory break” works wonders in re-focusing wandering concentration.
A Smarter Playground
The KidSense yard is, in essence, a smarter playground. It is also a beautiful one. Located in a quiet, shared courtyard, it serves children at both Pontchartrain Elementary and Tchefuncte Middle schools. It’s big enough to allow an entire class of typical and special needs students to play alongside each other, regardless of their ability. It truly levels the playing field for all children.
Included in the playground are multi-textured Lake Pontchartrain murals, complete with secret Braille messages written in pebbles and hand-carved redfish and blue crabs that children can “see” with their fingertips. Walkways are scattered with arrowheads, 500-million-year-old trilobite fossils and the imprinted footprints of herons and raccoons. In the center of the yard is a 11/2-ton climbing boulder encrusted with faux fossils and carefully engineered with climbing ledges that welcome little hands and feet.
Activity is encouraged with rolling “hills” and the double friendship slide with its washboard-bumpy surface. A snaking balance beam and running hill are geared to handle two students at a time. The tunnel accommodates three or four at a time, and the jet ski spring rider is a single-student activity. Alternating with the exciting stations in the park are green areas that promote calming and help the children maintain sensory balance.
All in all, the KidSense yard is a fine mixture of things that soothe and satisfy the sensory cravings of children with attention problems. The goal of this lovely, groundbreaking site is well stated by LeAnne. “As special need parents, the best thing we can do for our children is to help them learn, become independent and lead a productive life.”
And KidSense is there to provide that extra “push-push.”
For more information about KidSense, to make a donation or to purchase a pathway brick or other imprints in the Sensory Mural, please visit kidsensela.com.
