The number and type of comments here and on Facebook about children with disabilities is concerning. I can’t imagine anyone would choose to deny any child a fun playground experience.

There seems to be some mis- and disinformation regarding playgrounds that children with disabilities can equally access and enjoy. I also think there is ignorance about the fact that the terms accessible, inclusive, and useable are not interchangeable.

The AODA and Canada Safety Association Standards are minimum requirements and nothing in the legislation stops anyone from exceeding those minimum standards.

When there is a claim that a playground is AODA or CSA Annex H compliant, it might mean that only some elements are accessible but the playground still might not be inclusive.

There are a number of excellent resources for municipalities to refer to if decision makers decide they will exceed those minimum standards and build playgrounds that are inclusive and useable.

Holland Bloorview’s EPIC Lab has teamed up with Dr. Kelly Arbour-Nicitopoulos (University of Toronto), Ms. Ingrid Kanics (Kanics Inclusive Design Services, LLC), and Dr. Jennifer Leo (University of Alberta) to create a comprehensive report titled, “Creating Inclusive Playgrounds: A Playbook of Considerations and Strategies.”

The development of this playbook has received generous support from Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities’ Inclusive Play Project and their mission to build more inclusive play spaces across Canada.