high backed swing

Domino Park

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In 2018 I wrote a blog called Park Life. In the first part I sat on a bench in a park and cried. We were with friends and even although the park claimed to be inclusive there was absolutely nothing for Quinns to play on. The second part of that blog described the day we visited a more inclusive playpark and discovered that wheelchair-accessible roundabouts and other accessible equipment existed. Being new to disability I had no idea about accessible play equipment.

This revelation took us on a journey to discover the best accessible play equipment and inspired us to take on a fundraising campaign to make our local play park more accessible and a great place for Quinns and everyone to play in. We succeeded in all we planned to do and finally everything was installed in 2023. Quinns has subsequently had many fun times in that park and hopefully he still has a few to come although he is maybe getting a bit too old for it!

Quinns beams as his Big Sister pushes him on a high backed swing in our local play park.
Quinns in his supported buggy looks with awe at the brand new Playground Communications Board in his local play park.
A group of children including Quinns in his wheelchair all play together on the new accessible roundabout in our local playpark.

I, however, am still frustrated when I see new or refurbished parks that don’t contain accessible play equipment. In my original blog I dreamt about an accessible roundabout in every park. I now think that is the absolute minimum and there could be so much more done with wheelchair-accessible play equipment. Afterall making the play equipment accessible to disabled children doesn’t exclude other children.

As part of my work as the graphic designer for Socialudo, we have developed a game called Domino Park with the aim to inspire discussion around what makes greenspaces (including play parks) accessible and inclusive. It’s a simple game where you collect dominos to build your own park. At the end the scores are tallied and the person with the most accessible/inclusive features gets the most points.

A random selection of illustrated domino tiles including a Changing Place toilet, Old Boat, Accessible Toilet and Direction Signage.
Domino Park dominoes laid out in a game to create the 'Donbridge' park. Point winning dominoes include a Lowered Basketball Hoop, Changing Place Toilet, Bike Track and Disabled Parking.
Dominos laid out on a table with wheelchair roundabout and Changing Place Toilet in the foreground.

I hope it will be a useful tool for anyone taking on a similar project to the one we did, or for anyone looking to discuss the design and development of greenspaces. I would love to hear from you if you’re inspired to play the game!

There is a Print & Play version of the game on the Socialudo website for anyone to download and play for free. The Socialudo team would love to hear from you, and answer any questions. You can even arrange to try out a ‘giant’ version of the game!

Swings and roundabouts

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From behind the camera my smile mirrors Quinns’. This was the very first time Quinns and Big Sister played together on the new accessible roundabout in our local park. 

Quinns and Big Sister enjoying the new accessible roundabout in our local park.

Back in October 2018 I posted a blog called Park life. I described my sadness at the lack of accessible play equipment and my dream of accessible roundabouts in every play park. 

Once the sadness of that day lifted the rage came. I realised Quinns would have very little chance of experiencing standard play equipment during his childhood. Only by travelling to play parks miles away would Quinns have the opportunity to play unless I took action. There was no time to waste.

Our local park was the best place to start. I got the Community Council on board with the idea first then we approached the Council. Anyone I spoke to about the idea of accessible play equipment was totally on board but there was no funding. Once the local community was involved the fundraising campaign absolutely rocketed and we soon made enough for a roundabout.

But it couldn’t stop there. One accessible roundabout doesn’t make an accessible playpark. As a family we sought out play parks to visit for research and awareness raising. By sharing the joy of Quinns’ and Big Sister’s park experiences we got everyone hooked on the story. There was no reason other than a lack of play equipment stopping Quinns having fun. We joined friends and had wonderful days out.

Five year old Quinns smiling while being pushed in a high backed swing by his ten year old big sister.
Quinns loving being pushed by Big Sister in the new high backed swing in our local park.

It all took an enormous amount of energy from us and from the many many others who helped us. We would hear about parks that had recently been renovated and make a point of visiting. It was frustrating to find that even although work had just been carried out in these parks there was still no equipment for Quinns to play on.

I often question why we had to go to so much effort to make it happen for our park while companies were spending money on inaccessible equipment for other parks. Although we had a lot of fun along the way it shouldn’t have been so much hard work to realise Quinns’ right to play.

After “The Big Push”, our final community fundraising event, we had raised enough for an accessible roundabout, high backed swing, tables and perhaps most importantly paths. Pathways would not only benefit wheelchairs users but so many others. The most common complaint about our park was the difficulties people had pushing children around it in buggies. 

Most of the work on our play park has recently been completed and it is amazing!! I confess I smiled so much on our first visit I forgot to take Quinns off the roundabout until he was pale with dizziness! There is so much joy to be had in our local park now that we can pop past for a quick spin anytime!

The biggest thank you to everyone near and far who supported, contributed and helped make this dream a reality for us and many others in our local area. We couldn’t have done it without you.