Pike Road playgrounds now have inclusive features
All three of Pike Road Schools’ playgrounds are now equipped with communication boards and inclusive swings to make sure that all children have fun and can communicate, regardless of their abilities.
The boards help students, verbal and nonverbal, with or without disabilities, feel confident and safe to communicate with their teachers and peers.
The boards are already being incorporated into the classrooms and now students can use them to communicate in a space to play with others.
The inclusive swings allow all students to have access to the playground regardless of whether they have physical disabilities.
“I have been able to see it work in way more ways than we ever imagined,” Pike Road Elementary School principal Cyndal Whiten told Action 8 News. “So it’s really just beyond a communication board on a playground. They’re able to communicate with their peers, grow, learn and just really take it to the next level for their communication.”
“It’s great even for our nonspeaking learners or our EL learners who can relate to a picture a lot easier than a word to express their feelings,” Dawn Ellis, a special educator at Pike Road Elementary School, said. “It’s not just for our learners that are nonspeaking, but for all our learners to help communicate those wants, feelings, and needs.”
