1 in 5 Australians is living with a disability. It can be daunting for parents, educators, and activity providers to think about how to engage children with a disability in outdoor play. We recommend you ask questions, because every disability is different and nobody knows what they need better than the individual living with the disability. A little understanding and flexibility can provide opportunities that help to enrich the lives of these children, and ensure they don't miss out.
Persons with a disability include individuals with physical, sensory, intellectual, psychiatric, and/or other health related disabilities. Australians of all abilities should have access to sport and physical activity opportunities.
Relevant Information
All Abilities Queensland: Opportunities For All
The Queensland Government is building an inclusive Queensland where every person, including the one in five Queenslanders who have a disability, can thrive and reach their full potential as equal citizens.
All Abilities Queensland: Opportunities For All is the state disability plan for 2017-2020. It builds on progress already made and guides how Queenslanders can work in partnership with Commonwealth and local governments, the corporate sector, non-government and community organisations, communities and individuals, to provide opportunities for all.
National Disability Insurance Scheme
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a new way of providing individualised support for eligible people with permanent and significant disability, their families and carers. The NDIS is the insurance that gives us all peace of mind. Disability could affect anyone – having the right support makes a big difference.
Disability Action Week is held annually in September with the aim of empowering people with disability, raising awareness of disability issues, and improving access and inclusion throughout the wider community.
Disability Inclusion Fact Sheet
The Disability Inclusion Fact Sheet provides the outdoor recreation industry with introductory practical information to increase offerings for people with a disability.
Universal Design
Integrating the Principles into Camp Activities - Sport and Recreation Victoria (SRV)
Developing Inclusive Camp Programs
This workshop introduced delegates to the Principles of Universal Design and their integration to camp program. The purpose of this approach is to enable all people, regardless of age or ability, to participate equally in the camp experience.
YMCA Victoria, in partnership with the Victorian State Government, are currently using a process to apply universal design principles and philosophy to design of camp programs, adventure activities, camp facilities and flexible teaching methods to create an inclusive camp environment.
Various case studies of universally designed camp activities were used to illustrate how adventure activities can be accomplished in multiple ways to meet the needs of a broad range of campers with different abilities.
Outdoor Activities for the Visually Impaired
Outdoor Activities For People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired - (American Blind Foundation)
36 Fun Summer Activities for Kids Who are Blind or Multiply Disabled - (Wonderbaby.org)
Outdoor Adaptations for Children Who Are Blind - (Our Everyday Life)
Games for Blind Boy Scouts & Cubs - (Inquiry.net)
Outdoor Activities for the Hearing Impaired
Inclusive Outdoor Games For Deaf Children - (Pentagon for Learning & Play)
Group Games For Deaf And Hearing Children - (SoundAdvice)
Games for Deaf Boy Scouts & Cubs - (Inquiry.net)
Related Articles
November 22, 2017, Parkrun.com, Bronwyn Bell
Every Saturday thousands of people complete parkrun at locations all across Australia – old and young, Mums and Dads, sons and daughters, those just in it for the post-run coffee with friends and those focussed on their next PB. Sprinters and walkers and everyone in between – parkrun really is for everyone. And for one father-son combo in Perth, even a wheelchair won’t stop them giving parkrun a go.
Let me introduce Gordon – parkrunner, dad and his epic beard (more about that later!). He caught the parkrun bug back in 2015 at Claisebrook Cove parkrun, WA’s oldest parkrun. Although parkrun wasn’t a weekly event for him, he squeezed it in when he could, including achieving the occasional PB. Read more.
A Better World for Wheelers and People with Disabilities – Google Maps’ Call to Arms
September 7, 2017, Ausdroid.net, by Alex Dennis.
Google’s Map and Local Guides team have taken to their blog overnight calling on people with disabilities and their family, carers and friends or even the general public to help add information relating to accessibility about venues, places of interest and transport stops and interchanges.
The call to arms comes from Sasha Blair-Goldensohn who is a Software Engineer for Google Maps Content and Community team, who after an accident eight years ago has discovered what it’s like to navigate the world on wheels. As Sasha learnt, that those of us with mobility issues need information about places before we arrive. Does the art museum have a stair-free entrance? What about the cafe across the street? And is there an accessible restroom at that new restaurant? Read more.
Miracle on the Mountain Play Outside Park to provide environment for kids with disabilities
May 1, 2016, Nooga.com, By Jenni Frankenberg Veal
Outdoor play is an essential part of childhood, providing time and space for kids to imagine, climb, run, socialize and explore in the great outdoors. But for many children with disabilities, outdoor play is often enjoyed from the sidelines. However, a new park on the South Cumberland Plateau (Tennessee) is making outdoor fun available to children of all abilities.
On Saturday, the Miracle on the Mountain Play Outside Park broke ground on 14 acres in Coalmont, which is situated near South Cumberland State Park in Grundy County. Once complete, the park complex will feature one of Tennessee’s first Miracle League baseball fields, a one-of-a-kind inclusive play playground, and a 1.2-mile American with Disabilities Act-compliant trail and reading garden. Read more.
More resources and information on all abilites inclusion in Queensland can be found on the Queensland Outdoor Recreation Federation (QORF) website - the peak body for the outdoors in Queensland.
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